World leaders on Tuesday (23 September) pledged to step up efforts to fight climate change in the run-up to a global climate agreement in Paris at end of next year.

Speaking at the UN Climate summit in New York, EU commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso told the assembly of some 120 leaders that the EU is on track to meeting its 2020 target on cutting emissions and increasing renewable energy.

The commission’s proposal includes a reduction target of 40 percent of domestic emissions by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, plus a renewables target of at least 27 percent and energy savings of 30 percent.

“We are in the process of de-carbonising Europe’s economy,” he said.

Barroso noted that the EU aims to spend 20 percent of its overall 2014-2020 EU budget on climate action.

He also announced plans to set aside more than €3 billion in grants to support sustainable energy in developing countries over the next seven years.

Organised by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the summit aims to mobilise political will ahead of a legally binding international climate contract in Paris. It is the largest gathering of leaders on climate change since the failed 2009 summit in Copenhagen.