Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, said in her New Year's Eve message she is fighting climate change with all her strength to enable future generations to live in peace and prosperity.

"Global warming is real. It is threatening," Merkel said. "Rising world temperatures and the problems created by global warming are all man-made."

She added: "So, we have to do everything humanly possible to overcome this human challenge. It is still possible."

Merkel called on Germans to think differently to beat the challenge of global warming: "To do this, we need more than ever the courage to think in a new way, the strength to leave familiar paths, the willingness to try new things, and the determination to act faster."

In a somber address, the chancellor said: "At 65, I am at an age at which I personally will no longer experience all the consequences of climate change that will occur if politicians do not act. It will be our children and grandchildren who have to live with the consequences of what we do or refrain from doing today. That is why I use all my strength to ensure that Germany makes its contribution – ecologically, economically, socially – to getting climate change under control."