Madam Chair,

1. I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Member States of the G77 and China.

2. Let me take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to the Government of Qatar for its generous contribution in supporting this meeting, as well as to Thailand for hosting us in warm place.

3. The G77 and China looks forward to continuing our work under the AWG-KP here in Bangkok and assures you of our full support in moving the process forward in a constructive manner so that amendments can be adopted in Doha.

Madam Chair,

4. The members of the Group of 77 and China support a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol that is ambitious in terms of the emission reductions it will deliver, and that begins immediately on January 1, 2013 without delay, as agreed in Durban. The Kyoto Protocol is a central element of our international response to the challenge of climate change, and it is essential that we deliver a strong and legally-binding outcome in Doha that ensures no gap between the first and second commitment periods.

Madam Chair,

5. In Bonn, discussions took place on a number of technical issues, including the translation of pledges to QELROs and possible approaches to addressing the challenge of surplus Kyoto units. We also discussed legal issues related to ways to ensure no gap between commitment periods. What we did not accomplish however was an improvement in the effective ambition of Annex I Party commitments for the second commitment period.

6. The members of the group remain extremely concerned with the level of ambition presented by Annex I Parties as well as the conditionalities that certain Parties have presented in association with their QELROs. Raising the level of ambition of Annex B commitments is a priority issue for us. The G77 and China encourages all Annex I Parties to reconsider the levels of ambition they have presented, and to move up their pledged ranges of ambition, remove conditionalities, and intensify their efforts to reduce their GHG emissions in accordance with the principles and provisions of the Kyoto Protocol and the Convention.

Madam Chair,

7. The G77 and China believes that the issue of transition between the two commitment periods must be addressed in a manner that maintains the legally-binding nature of Kyoto commitments.

8. We also believe that access to the Kyoto mechanisms is properly limited to Kyoto Protocol Parties that have brought forward binding QELROs for the second commitment period and we encourage those Parties that have not brought forward QELROs to do so at the earliest possible time.

Madam Chair,

9. In conclusion, we hope that the opportunity we now have here in Bangkok will allow us to advance on these issues, move our negotiations forward and lead us to a satisfactory outcome in Doha.

Thank you.