Dr R K Pachauri welcomed the august delegation to the 12th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, highlighting the environmental and water sectors and referring to the "tragedy of the commons". He reflected on the progression of international talks, from Stockholm, to Rio, and finally looking ahead to the upcoming Rio+20. According to Dr Pachauri, energy security would be the biggest challenge in times to come.

Hon'ble Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh, India reminded the audience about the upcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012 that marks the twentieth anniversary of the landmark 1992 Earth Summit. He reiterated poverty eradication as the overarching objective of India's approach towards sustainable development and commended India for playing an important role in the climate change negotiations at COP17 where the agreement on the second commitment period to the Kyoto Protocol was reached. Dr Singh stressed that India has believed in moving forward with focus on equity, but differentiated responsibilities as central dimensions. He expressed satisfaction that the National Action Plan on Climate Change and the eight national missions under it were making satisfactory progress and stated that the Twelfth Five-Year Plan would be designed to ensure sustainable development and inclusive growth. He seemed delighted to report that the tiger population is on the rise in India, as is the forest cover

Hon'ble Prime Minister of India,
Dr Manmohan Singh inaugurated
DSDS 2012