Madam Chair, the Group of 77 and China would like to express its appreciation to the Government and people of the Republic of Poland for their hospitality and to the Secretariat and the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC for all their hard work. Although the agenda is very full I would like to assure you of the Group's support and cooperation to make this meeting successful. We are looking forward to working in the spirit of openness, transparency and cooperation to make this meeting successful.

Madam Chair, the IPCC reports and the recent scientific findings demonstrate, irrefutably, that climate change is posing a very serious and immediate challenge to the efforts of developing countries. The adverse effects of climate change and the associated phenomena threaten the sustainable development, livelihoods and the very existence of many developing countries and in particular Africa, the LDCs, the LLDCs, SIDs and disaster prone developing countries.

The Group of 77 and China is anxious to advance work on approaches to stimulate action, in areas such as capacity building and demonstration projects. In this regard the Group will actively participate in the consideration of the EGTT interim reports on new financing sources to support the development diffusion and transfer of technology. The Group also attaches utmost importance to assessing the gaps and barriers in the financing of the development and transfer of environmentally sound technologies and to the implementation of suitable recommendations on future financing options.

Madam Chair, technology development and transfer is key to the achievement of the ultimate objectives of the Convention. It constitutes one of the major means through which developing countries can meet their commitments under the Convention. In this regard the Group of 77 and China has called for the establishment of a Technology Mechanism under the UNFCCC. The Group looks forward to advancing its proposal and would hope that it can contribute to the work of the SBSTA.

Madam Chair, the role of the Nairobi Work Program in providing information to the SBI on the scientific, technical and socio-economic aspects of impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change cannot be understated. In this regard we look forward to discussions around the need for and role of, a group of expects to support the work of the NWP.

The Group of 77 also notes the information contained the technical paper on Disaster Risk Reduction strategies, yet another grim reminder of the challenges we face.

The Group of 77 and China also stresses the need for SBSTA to open an agenda item initiate work related to common metrics to calculate the CO2 equivalence of GHG's as noted in the AWG-KP report from the Accra meeting.

In conclusion, Madam Chair, the success and effectiveness of the process going forward will depend to a significant degree on the extent to which we use openness, transparency and inclusiveness as our guiding principles. We should endeavor to afford equal opportunity for participation of all Parties.

I thank you Mr. Chairman.