Climate change is the greatest challenge to our planet and it threatens to undo years of progress in development. Extreme weather events are on the increase and this year's weather related disasters remind us yet once again that we need to act now. The international community needs to be more determined than ever and the EU will continue to strive for globally meaningful solutions through exercising its leadership in this area. Europe is going ahead with its unconditional commitment to cut greenhouse gases emissions by 20% below 1990 levels as agreed in the Climate and Energy Package. Europe's 2020 Strategy for Sustainable and Inclusive growth also shows how tackling climate change is a dynamic element in creating jobs and boosting energy security. We have pegged our own low-emission future and economic growth strategy through a sophisticated set of regulatory measures that are already bringing results. The EU is meeting its Kyoto commitments and is well on track to achieve the unilateral 20% reduction in greenhouse gases emissions. At the same time it remains ready to scale up this reduction to 30% provided other developed countries commit to comparable emission reductions and emerging economies contribute adequately to the global effort according to their responsibilities and respective capabilities. Whilst we acknowledge that the developing countries have contributed the least to the emission of greenhouse gases, it is also evident that with the current growth paths their future emissions, in particular those of the emerging economies, must be addressed in the new climate regime. Only through concerted, truly global and meaningful mitigation actions by all emitters will we have a chance to keep global average temperature increase below critical levels.