In the run-up to the G8 summit in Camp David, Maryland, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, in partnership with the national science academies of the G8 member states and seven other science academies, has equipped the world leaders with a set of recommendations on addressing some of the planet’s most pressing challenges. The partners’ three statements on the topics of water and energy, greenhouse gas reduction and ways of building resilience to natural and technological disasters will today be handed over to the participating governments for them to consult during their negotiations on 18 and 19 May 2012.