Addressing the 95th Indian Science Congress in Visakhapatnam, he said the world cannot walk down the path of environmentally harmful development that developed industrial economies have pursued thus far.

"They bear the biggest responsibility for what has happened and must bear the greatest responsibility for correcting the damage," Singh said adding climate change posed a great and a new challenge to the development prospects and to the livelihood of the people.

Noting that India has adopted a "pro-active and pragmatic approach" to the problem of environmental degradation, he said "we cannot replicate the western model of wasteful consumption and environmentally harmful industrialisation.

"We need an alternative approach more mindful of our resource endowments, and also of the need to avoid damage to the environment", the Prime Minister said adding "we need a global response, a national response and a local response."