Thaindian News

New Delhi, Feb 4 (IANS) Leaders from various regions of the world will gather here for the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) beginning Friday, the first major global meeting after the Copenhagen climate summit in December 2009.
The theme of the three-day meet, being organised by The Energy Research Institute (TERI), is ‘Beyond Copenhagen: new pathways to sustainable development’. It will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and also marks the tenth anniversary of this flagship event.

“This annual summit that has been happening since 2001 provides knowledge as well as stimulates debate on various aspects of sustainable development. It has emerged as the only forum on global sustainability issues, with an accentuated thrust on problems relating to the developing world,” said a TERI organiser.

Among those expected to participate this summit are Jens Stoltenberg, prime minister of Norway, Jigmi Yoser Thinley, prime minister of Bhutan, Matti Vanhanen, prime minister of Finland, George Papandreou, prime minister of Greece as well as Jean Charest, premier of Quebec, and Danilo Türk, president of Slovenia.

DSDS 2010 will focus on the formulation and delineation of strategies to move the sustainable development agenda forward.

Some of the major themes that will be debated include accelerating socio-economic development as a key to adaptation, role of technology, building institutions for effective climate governance, and financing opportunities post Copenhagen.

A unique feature of this year’s summit would be the closed-door in-camera session to come up with clear plans and roadmap for the next Conference of the Parties to be held in Mexico City at the end of this year.

“Since DSDS 2010 is attracting a number of distinguished heads of state and heads of government as well as several ministers and other functionaries, this is an ideal platform to hold a session for these distinguished participants to arrive at a clear plan of action towards Mexico City,” said a statement from TERI.

“At the end of the session, a white paper will be presented to all the participants of DSDS 2010.”

The DSDS series has enjoyed global support from over 60 countries, attracting participation from heads of government and ministers, and a host of other dignitaries comprising Nobel laureates, development practitioners, scientists, academics, and corporate leaders.