Mr. Obama noted lightheartedly that he expected his successor to be a Democrat. But he also insisted that the threat of climate change to human civilization transcended politics, and that he believed the next president — Democrat or Republican — would ultimately support a global response.

“Even if somebody from a different party succeeded me, one of the things you find is when you’re in this job, you think about it differently than when you’re just running for the job,” he said.

But back in Washington, Republican criticism of the president while abroad was unusually pointed. “We want the world to know that there is disagreement with the president on this issue — not about the fact that the climate is changing, but about the priority that is being placed on it,” said Representative Edward Whitfield, Republican of Kentucky, in a speech on the House floor.

“Why should this president penalize Americans and put us in jeopardy compared to other countries of the world and require us to do more than other countries are doing, just so he can go to France and claim to be the world leader on climate change?”

Other Republicans, including the House majority leader, Kevin McCarthy of California, noted that Mr. Obama’s effort to pass cap-and-trade legislation in his first term had failed in the face of bipartisan opposition, and they said the president was ignoring important reductions in carbon emissions brought about without imposing new government fiats.