As the deadline approaches for formulating a new global climate deal next year, developing countries on Tuesday urged players to uphold established principles, including that of common but differentiated responsibilities, when drafting the accord.

The appeal was made in New York at the UN Climate Summit which, gathering more than 120 heads of state and government, opened Tuesday with an aim to galvanize member states to sign up to a comprehensive new global climate agreement at talks in Paris next year.

In her address to the United Nations during the climate summit, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said the new climate change pact should uphold the principle of equity and take the development need of developing nations into consideration.

"I reaffirm that the new climate agreement must be universal, ambitious and legally binding, while respecting the principles and the provisions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in particular the principles of equity and of common but differentiated responsibilities," the president said.

Historically, developed countries ensured the welfare of their societies through a development model based on high rates of harmful gas emissions to the atmosphere, by cutting down forests and following practices that are damaging to the environment, she said.

"We do not want to emulate this model. But we will not relinquish the need to reduce inequalities and raise the living standards of our people," she noted.

Baron Divavesi Waqa, president of the Pacific island nation of Nauru, delivered a speech along similar lines when speaking on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).

"AOSIS is committed to finalizing an ambitious, meaningful, and universal agreement in Paris that is capable of achieving the AOSIS-agreed 1.5-degree temperature goal," Waqa said.

He noted that developed countries must take the lead, both in terms of reducing their own emissions and providing developing countries with the necessary means to implement mitigation and adaption.

"To be successful we must all do our part," he said.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also proposed that the new agreement that is currently being negotiated should not substitute the UNFCCC.

"Instead, it must complement it and build on its established principles, mainly the principles of justice and equity, and common but differentiated responsibilities," he said.

Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis highlighted as well the urgency of working towards a universal and binding agreement for all.

"We gather today because of the necessity to demonstrate our commitment to concrete actions in order to achieve a transformative agreement in climate change issues in Paris next year," he said.

This agreement must recognize the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, he said.

This means that developed countries and the biggest carbon emitters should lead anti-climate change efforts because they have the capability to cooperate with developing countries such as Costa Rica, the president added.

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