EU action on climate change is now focused on accelerating mitigation efforts, while seeking to reduce risks associated with climate change impacts. To achieve the multiple goals of cutting greenhouse gas emissions, reducing vulnerability to climate impacts, and building mitigative and adaptive capacities, climate action needs to be mainstreamed across all EU policy sectors. As the scale of European policy grows, mitigation and adaptation need increasingly to be integrated. These policies have strong international dimensions. The RESPONSES project addresses EU policy challenges by: developing new global low emissions scenarios, placing EU efforts in a global context; building an approach for assessing EU policies against mitigation and adaptation objectives and for developing alternative policy options; applying this framework in five EU policy sectors (water and agriculture, biodiversity, regional development/infrastructure, health and energy), linked by a set of cross-sectoral integrative activities; and synthesizing the results to new policy strategies. The main outputs of the project will be: a set of global low emission scenarios, differentiated by key countries; options and strategies for integrating mitigation and resilience to climate impacts into EU policies; a validated strategic climate assessment approach. The RESPONSES consortium brings together seven leading European research institutes working on climate change scenarios, modelling, analysis and policy, combining the necessary disciplinary and sectoral expertise. Chinese, Indian and US partners and associates will also participate in the project. The consortium builds on partners’ experience in other EU and national projects, including the ADAM project, and will foster close relationships with policymakers. Research outputs will be of direct relevance to the IPCC and to post-2012 international negotiations, as well as supporting implementation of the EU White Paper on Adaptation.