Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said there appears to be a lack of will in the global community to tackle the problem of climate change. Speaking at a function in New Delhi on Thursday, the Prime Minister said the need for equity is starkly reflected in the fact that the emissions per capita in the industrialised countries are 10 to 12 times that of those in developing countries.

He 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. He 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.

The Prime Minister said the problem should be solved in a way that it does not deprive developing countries of their right to development. He added India which is in the frontlines of climate vulnerability, has a vital stake in the evolution of a successful response to climate change.

He stated that India's forest cover had increased by nearly 5 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 aims to increase the forest and tree cover by five million hectares and improve forest cover on another 5 million hectares.

Dr.Manmohan Singh presented sustainable Development Leadership Award for 2012 to President of Finland Ms. Tarja Halonen.