Mr. Chairman,

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

2. The Group thanks the Secretariat for its presentation of the reports before us on agenda item 20: Sustainable Development.

3. The Group notes with appreciation of the recent appointment of Mr. Braulio Ferreira De Souza Dias as Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity and expresses its full support during his tenure.

4. At the outset, the Group of 77 and China reiterates that Sustainable Development is the comprehensive conceptual framework that the United Nations has agreed as the basis to address the multi-dimensional challenges of economic development, social development and environmental protection. This framework is to be strengthened and the basic principles in which it is founded should not be renegotiated or retracted. The Group calls for an integrated and more systemic approach towards sustainable development and looks forward to place this call high on the agenda of Second Committee.

5. In this context, the Group welcomes the reaffirmation by the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), "The future we want", that poverty eradication is the greatest global challenge today and renewed essential commitments and fundamental principles, in particular the principle of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities as set out in the Rio 1992 Declaration, and provided new direction for sustainable development.

6. The Group calls upon the General Assembly to successfully and expeditiously launch the follow-up processes agreed on in the UNCSD, by ensuring a balanced representation of developing countries, effective and full implementation of the outcomes of the conference, including effective institutional frameworks for sustainable development at all levels, as well as the provision of adequate means of implementation to developing countries. In this context, we reiterate our call to our development partners for increased new and additional financial resources, transfer of technology and capacity building for the full and prompt realization of sustainable development actions on the ground. We also reiterate the role of regional commissions to provide supports in this regard, including building capacity and effective mechanism for technology, science and innovation transfer.

Mr. Chairman,

7. The Group recalls once again that climate change is one of the most serious global challenges of our times. We underline the fact that developing countries continue to suffer the most from the adverse impacts of climate change, and the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Climate change threatens not only the development prospects and the achievement of sustainable development, but also the very existence and survival of countries and societies

8. In this regard, the G77 and China looks forward for a successful and comprehensive outcome at the COP 18/ CMP 8, and stresses the importance of the full implementation of the delicate package endorsed in COP17/CMP 7 in Durban in all its aspects, including the achievement of a quality legal second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol, the successful conclusion of the work of the AWGLCA, in line with the Bali Action Plan and the substantive progress made in the Cancun and Durban decisions, incorporating comparable ambitious targets for Annex-1 non-KP Parties, and addressing in a balanced and effective manner the issues of adaptation, mitigation, finance, technology and capacity building. The Group considers that progress in the Durban Platform is critical for taking the Convention forward. However, work must ensure a strong linkage between mitigation, adaptation and means of implementation, in a balanced manner, as is reflected in the Convention.

Mr. Chairman,

9. Desertification, land degradation, drought, dust and sand storm also represent a serious concern for developing countries. International action is urgently required to address these challenges. The Group attaches great importance to the UNCCD because desertification, land degradation, and drought corrode the three pillars of sustainable development.

10. The G77 expresses the need to renew the commitment made at the UNCSD to strive to achieve a land degradation neutral world in the context of sustainable development, and urges member states to take urgent action to reverse desertification, land-degradation and drought, as appropriate, with the assistance of the United Nations system, relevant regional and international organizations, multilateral agencies, major groups, and other stake holders. The Group reiterates also the commitments made at this Conference to resolve to take coordinated action nationally, regionally and internationally, in accordance with UNCCD to monitor, globally, land degradation and restore degraded lands in arid, semi-arid and dry sub- humid areas and calls for implementation, taking into account national priorities, circumstances and development strategies.

11. On the issue of biodiversity, the Group of 77 and China underlines the need to promote the prevention of continued biodiversity loss as the impact of unsustainable use of biodiversity threatens to increase poverty and undermine development.

12. The Group thanks India for hosting the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 11) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) held from 8-19 October 2012, in Hyderabad, India. It is the ambition of the G77 to see things moving from policy making to implementation. The meeting took significant decisions on financial issues, including targets for implementation of the Strategy for Resource Mobilization, and the budget. It also settled an interim target of doubling biodiversity-related international financial resource flows to developing countries by 2015, and at least maintaining this level until 2020. This is coupled with targets aiming to improve the robustness of baseline information as well as a preliminary reporting framework for monitoring resource mobilization. We call upon developed countries to come forward and contribute to Hyderabad Pledge for action on Biodiversity, launched at the High Level Segment of the COP.

13. The G77 and China will continue to call for the need to take further effective measures and actions to remove the obstacles impeding peoples living under foreign occupation from achieving sustainable development, as such circumstances continue to adversely affect their economic and social development and are incompatible with the dignity of the human person. Illegal actions committed under foreign occupation continue to cause socio-economic and humanitarian hardship, including destruction of properties, infrastructure and agricultural lands, which deliberately undermine development. Those actions must be brought to a complete halt in accordance with relevant provisions of the international humanitarian law.

Mr. Chairman,

14. The Group of 77 and China welcomes another opportunity to reaffirm its support for the efforts of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to achieve sustainable development. SIDS are acutely vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including phenomena such as sea-level rise, coral bleaching due to rising temperatures and the extreme nature and increased frequency of severe weather events such as hurricanes. While these challenges are not faced exclusively by SIDS, for this Group of small, vulnerable low-lying states, the threat is existential. Our response to their plight must therefore be characterized by the requisite sense of urgency.

15. The G77 calls for enhanced efforts to assist Small Islands Developing States in implementing the Barbados Programme of Action and the MSI. The Group also calls for the UN System to support SIDS in keeping with the ongoing emerging challenges faced by SIDS in achieving sustainable development, and for the convening of the Third International Conference for Sustainable Development of SIDS in 2014.

16. The Group further emphasizes that sustainable development remains elusive for Africa which is the most vulnerable continent to the negative effects and impacts of climate change. The precarious situation of Africa has been further compounded by continued loss of biodiversity, desertification, land degradation and persistent droughts especially in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel regions. Therefore, the Group reiterates that there is urgent need for accelerated action by the international community to ensure full and timely delivery of commitments related to Africa's development needs including increased ODA, capacity building and technology transfer.

Mr. Chairman,

17. During the last decade and recently, Disaster Risk is accumulating faster than economic growth, thus hampering development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The midterm review of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015, revealed that its principles have guided progress towards resilience. However, risk management systems and decision-making at national and international level require further critical development, including disaster loss accounting and integrated risk modeling, to support development and investment planning. The G77 and China reiterates its full support to the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, for its policy guidance and its coordination in this regard, and expresses its satisfaction of the results of the Mid-Term Review of the Hyogo Framework for Action (2005-2015).

Thank you.