German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged the European Union (EU) to lead the way in the fight against climate change.

Merkel, who is going to chair Thursday and Friday's EU spring summit, has put energy and climate change on top of the agenda.

"Europe cannot enter this battle alone. It's a global struggle and we all need to contribute," she told reporters after a meeting with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Wednesday.

"I think the more we are able to set a good example, the more we can convince others," she said through an interpreter.

EU member states remain divided over a plan to set a mandatory target for the use of renewable energy.

The European Commission, the executive body of the EU, made an ambitious proposal in January to have 20 percent of renewables in the bloc's energy mix by 2020. But EU foreign ministers failed to agree to make this target binding.

At the summit, EU leaders are expected to endorse plans to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels, as agreed by EU environment ministers last month.

The ministers agreed to cut by 30 percent if there is an international agreement.

Source: Xinhua