The focus at the three-day Delhi Sustainable Development Summit 2009 also will be on the United States, which is to lay out its new policy on climate change under President Barack Obama, according to organisers.

John Kerry, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is to address the meeting being held by the New Delhi-based The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) by video-link.

The Obama administration has already begun shredding climate policies formulated under former president George W. Bush, signing measures to spur production of fuel-efficient cars and vowing to lead the fight against global warming.

The meeting's theme is 'Towards Copenhagen: an equitable and ethical approach,' ahead of talks in the Danish capital in December eyeing caps on greenhouse gas emissions after the current Kyoto deal expires in 2012.

Thursday's talks will discuss the impacts of climate change with special emphasis on South Asia as well as the humanitarian dimensions of global warming challenges faced by Africa.

India faces 'the challenges of poverty eradication, sustaining the rapid economic growth and dealing with the global threat of climate change,' said Rajendra Pachauri, head of the UN's 2008 Nobel prizewinning climate panel, and head of TERI.

'India has to chart its own course of sustainable economic development,' Mr Pachauri said on Wednesday.

The conference comes days after the European Commission called for 30 percent cuts in greenhouse gases for developed countries along with other steps it hopes will provide a blueprint for global talks in Copenhagen.

The EU executive also proposed 15-30 percent cuts from all but the poorest developing countries below 'business as usual levels' as part of international measures it says are vital to combat climate change.

China and India have been spearheading calls for rich nations to spend more to tackle climate change and resisting targeted curbs on their own carbon emissions.

The Asian giants and other developing countries also insist wealthy economies must increase support to help poorer countries gain access to cleaner technology and cope with the impact of climate change.

'The drastic reduction in carbon emissions needed cannot be done with existing technologies,' said junior Indian commerce minister Jairam Ramesh. -- AFP