The Premier of Greenland, Kuupik Kleist, opened the climate conference in Stockholm on Monday.
"The Arctic isn't just all ice, polar bears and glaciers. People live there too. And they need development opportunities. The issue of a new global climate agreement concerns us all, and it should be based on the principles of mutual respect for each other's circumstances, social and developmental justice and the willingness to take global responsibility," Kleist told the conference.
He also stressed that it is much easier to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from a high starting point than from a low one.
"I hope therefore that a new climate agreement will allow less developed countries to establish new industries, despite the higher emissions they will cause, and that the rest of the world will help them to do so on a sustainable basis," he added.
Kleist is a member of the Nordic Council Left-wing Socialist and Green Group (VSG).