New Delhi: Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated the 10th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit here today at The Energy Research Institute (TERI) and announced the establishment of an Indian Network of over 120 research institutes for Comprehensive Climate Change Assessment which will bring out regular reports on the impact of climate change on different sectors and different regions of the country.

The main objective of the government to launch these institutes is to achieve one of its mission under the National Action Plan on 'Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change' to promote high quality and focused research on various aspects of climate change.

To make this network effective, the government seeks international collaboration and is slated to release first such assessment in November this year.

"We are also establishing a National Institute of Himalayan Glaciology in Dehradun and we look forward to international cooperation in this vital area," announced the Prime Minister.

Discussing the barriers to secure an agreement he said, "Industrialized countries in our view need to recognize more clearly their historical role in the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. They should respond with bolder initiatives to contain their future emissions. I would also urge greater financial and technical assistance to developing countries both for adaptation measures to cope with the consequences of these emissions; and for mitigation to reduce their contribution to future emissions."

He also urged that the developing countries need to contribute to the global cause and assured that India would not be far behind.

"India will spare no effort in contributing to the success of the post-Copenhagen process. The least developed countries and small island states deserve special attention due to their greater vulnerability to climate change. India will support all measures to assist them, both bilaterally as well as in the context of a global climate change regime," he added.

The PM, while addressing the gathering of government leaders, civil society activists, academics and scientists from around the world lauded the efforts of Dr. R.K. Pachauri at the recent Copenhagen climate summit, who earned TERI a well-deserved respect and international acclaim for its contributions to the global effort in meeting the twin challenges of energy security and climate change.