UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon strongly commended the decision of the European Commission to set a new target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from 1990's levels by 2030.
The decision demonstrated the continued global leadership of the European Union in taking bold action to address climate change, Ban's press office said in a statement, late on Thursday.
"Today, EU leaders have once again placed Europe in a leading position with an ambitious emissions reduction target," Ban said.
The UN Chief congratulated the European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard for their vision, leadership and commitment, which made this positive outcome possible.
With this adoption, Ban said that the EU has shown that addressing global climate needs is in its own long-term interest, and the decision will lead to tangible and significant contributions towards the collective effort to keep temperature rise to less than two degrees Celsius this century.
"The decision will also set a new standard for climate ambition for all countries in support of the upcoming global negotiations," he added.
The UN official urged all countries to act swiftly and boldly on climate change and to make every effort to reach an ambitious climate agreement by the end of 2015.