European and Asian leaders on Monday made a declaration on confronting global warming at their bi-yearly Asia-Europe Summit (ASEM), calling for the widest possible cooperation in tackling the challenge.

Climate change was at the top of the agenda on the second and final day of the meeting which brought together leaders and top officials from the European Union's 25 members and 13 Asian countries -- the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus China, Japan and South Korea.

In the joint declaration, the ASEM countries sent a strong message on what to do about global warming after the Kyoto Protocol on climate change runs out in 2012.

"The global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible cooperation and participation in an effective and appropriate international response," the declaration said.

The leaders reaffirmed ASEM countries' determination to implement their commitments under the United Nations' Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol.

"We will cooperate to further implement the Convention and its Protocol including through strengthening the capacity of and providing financial and technical assistance to ASEM developing countries," they said in the declaration.

Saying that climate change and security of energy were interrelated, the leaders believed more international cooperation was needed to promote development, transfer and deployment of low carbon technology and access by developing ASEM countries to cleaner and climate friendly technologies.

They also called for the enhancing of energy efficiency and scaling up the use of new and renewable energy.

Source: Xinhua