• At the current rate, by 2020 China will become the world 's leading emitter of greenhouse gases.

• The EU is advocating participation of all key emitters in the future international climate change regime, which is to come in place after 2012, when the Kyoto targets expire.

• The existing modelling studies of permafrost carbon balance under future warming that take into account at least some of the essential permafrost-related processes do not yield consistent results, beyond the fact that present-day permafrost will become a net emitter of carbon during the 21st century under plausible future warming scenarios (low confidence).