Obama acknowledged that the United States has previously failed to recognize the magnitude of the climate change issue, and he pledged his government's commitment to developing clean energy sources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.

President Obama acknowledged that developed nations had caused much of the damage to the global climate, and said they also have the responsibility to lead the global fight against it.

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, representing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the summit, is expected to reiterate New Delhi's stand that any attempt to address the problem of climate change must take into account the imperatives of poverty reduction and economic progress in developing countries and the responsibility of the developed countries.

India maintains that any long-term goal or conditionalities being set towards lessening the effects of climate change 'should always take into account the centrality of the need of the developing countries in this regard'.