ATHERTON, Calif. (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday called the Supreme Court's decision to delay implementation of his administration's Clean Power Plan "unusual" and expressed confidence that the White House would prevail.

"We’re very confident that we’re on strong legal footing here," he told a group of Democratic donors in California in his first public remarks about the move.

Obama said the Supreme Court had in fact required the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act if they were shown, as scientists had, to be harmful to public health.

The initiative is central to Obama's plans to curb climate change and to meet U.S. commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as pledged in a multi-national agreement reached last year in Paris.

Obama said some people had commented to him in recent days that the Supreme Court's decision had struck down the Clean Power Plan.

"That's not true. So don't despair, people," he said.

The plan was designed to lower carbon emissions from U.S. power plants by 2030 to 32 percent below 2005 levels. The Supreme Court ordered a delay in implementation until legal challenges to the regulation are completed.

"This Supreme Court has said the Environmental Protection Agency is required to regulate carbon emissions if it's a threat to the public health. And we clearly can show that that's the case," he said.

Fighting climate change is critical to the president's legacy as he completes his final year in office.

Also on HuffPost:

PHOTO GALLERY Climate change seen from around the world