India has stake in evolution of successful response to climate change: PM

New Delhi, Feb 2 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Thursday said that India has a vital stake in the evolution of a successful response to climate change.

Addressing the 12th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit here, Dr. Singh said that as a developing country in the frontlines of climate vulnerability, India has a vital stake in the evolution of a successful, rule-based, equitable and multilateral response to issues relating to climate change.

Dr. Singh further referred to the principles of UN framework convention on climate change, which provide the basis of creating a workable framework based on a broad-based equitable and multi-lateral response to issues relating to climate change.

" In this context, it is necessary to recognize that currently there appears to be a lack of collective global will to address this problem with the seriousness it deserves. We need to give renewed momentum therefore to the global negotiations for cooperative collective action for management of climate change," he added.

Dr. Singh stressed on the need for a broad-based cooperation from developed as well as developing countries to address the issue and said that cooperation must be based on the foundation of the right to development and the need for an equitable distribution of burden sharing.

He further said that India's forest cover had increased by nearly five per cent between 1997 and 2007 with a small decrease since then.

Dr. Singh hoped to see further accretion with the implementation of the Green India Mission, which aim to increase the forest and tree, cover by five million hectares and improve forest cover on another five million hectares.

"Eventually these forests will act as a sink that could absorb 50-60 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. This would offset about six percent of India's annual emissions," he said.

He further said that the Government of India is trying to put in place institutional arrangements and mechanisms to promote policy development and stakeholder engagement on sustainable management of climate change.

"We have recently established a National Green Tribunal under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010. The Tribunal provides for the effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources. This includes the enforcement of any legal right relating to environment, including providing relief and compensation for damages," he added. (ANI)