One of the greatest environmental, social and economic threats our planet is facing, climate change, and its impacts, is becoming a key international problem of the 21st century. There is no scientific doubt that human-induced climate change is a fact and that society is facing enormous challenges. The global dimension of the problem and the need to improve our understanding of the processes, impacts and the mitigation and adaptation strategies required has led to a number of international collaborative research efforts, in which Europe has played – and continues to play – a leading role.