Instant View: Cancun climate talks reach deal

(Reuters) - Following are reactions after 190-nation climate talks in Cancun, Mexico, agreed to a package of measures on Saturday to combat global warming after two weeks of talks but put off many of the hard decisions until 2011.

XIE ZHENHUA, CHINA'S TOP CLIMATE NEGOTIATOR

He said the outcome showed "everyone has full confidence in multilateralism."

"We can say that the Kyoto Protocol has been upheld in Cancun, and the second commitment period has also been reflected. At the South Africa conference (due in 2011), we'll undertake discussions and negotiations over the substantive content of the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, and developing countries particularly hope for further resolution of the issues of funding, technology, forests and adaptation."

INDIAN ENVIRONMENT MINISTER JAIRAM RAMESH

"The most important thing is that the multilateral process has received a shot in the arm, it had reached an historic low. It will fight another day. It could yet fail. I don't think that the structural problems of multilateralism have been addressed. India is very happy with this package."

MEXICAN FOREIGN MINISTER PATRICIA ESPINOSA

"This is a new era of international cooperation on climate change."

CHRISTIANA FIGUERES, HEAD OF U.N. CLIMATE CHANGE SECRETARIAT

"It's really pretty historic ... It's the first time that countries have agreed to such a broad set of instruments and tools that are going to help developing countries in particular to meet the challenges of mitigation and adaptation."

BRITISH ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE SECRETARY CHRIS HUHNE

"What this does is show that there is still a consensus internationally and a growing consensus from places that you would not have expected a year ago, from China, India, that actually we do have to go down this path to a low-carbon economy, and that it is the road to prosperity, to a sustainable economy."

"I think it definitely makes an agreement on 30 percent (greenhouse gas emissions cut) in the EU more likely. We were making lots of progress on that anyway. I think we'll have some other big member states stating that they're prepared to back this move to 30 percent."

NORWEGIAN ENVIRONMENT MINISTER ERIK SOLHEIM

"We restored the confidence in the U.N. It proved to the world that Cancun can deliver. In Copenhagen we gave up the idea of one big bang agreement. What we have achieved in Cancun is remarkable; we have constructed many floors in the future climate house."

WENDEL TRIO, GREENPEACE

"Cancun may have saved the process but it did not yet save the climate ... Some called the process dead but governments have shown that they can cooperate and move forward to achieve a global deal."

ALDEN MEYER, UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS

"Fundamentally there's not consensus coming out of here on the long-term way forward in terms of the legal regime, there are sharply different visions of what that should look like."

POUL ERIK LAURIDSEN, CARE

"There is no outright cause for celebration, but at least we have a sigh of relief. This shows that multilateral negotiations can produce results when there is political will."

JAKE SCHMIDT, NATURAL RESOURCES Defense COUNCIL

"This definitely gives the climate talks an injection of energy. It's an agreement countries can begin to implement. We're trying to build this piece by piece so countries can feel comfortable about what they are getting into. There's still a lot of work to do next year. But the hard work is done and the key pieces are done and now the world can begin to implement them."

ELLIOT DIRINGER, PEW Center ON GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

"Finally we're seeing some modest but real steps to strengthen climate action. Ultimately we need a comprehensive binding climate treaty, but there are fundamental differences among countries over how and when we get there. They (laid) the foundation for binding commitments down the road."

(Compiled by Gerard Wynn, Patrick Rucker, Timothy Gardner, Alister Doyle)