Mr. President,

1. I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. Allow me to congratulate you on your election as President of the eighteenth session of the Conference of Parties and the eighth session of the Conference of Parties serving as a Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. I would like, also, to take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation and gratitude to the Government and people of Qatar, for the warm hospitality expressed since our arrival in this beautiful and welcoming city of Doha. We also thank the Secretariat of UNFCCC for their excellent arrangements.

2. During this CMP8, we must work together with a renewed sense of urgency and common purpose, to deliver the mandate we collectively committed to, more than six years ago, which is to complete the work of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol, in time to ensure that there is no gap between the first and second commitment periods.

3. The Group of 77 and China expects the AWG- KP to put forward ambitious quantified emission reduction commitments from Annex 1 Parties for the second commitment period.

Mr. President,

4. The Durban outcome invited Annex I Parties to submit information on their mitigation commitments or QELROs, by 1 May 2012, in order to enable the (AWG-KP) to "deliver the results of its work on QELROs" in Doha.

5. However, at the opening of this COP/MOP, only some annexe1 countries, have expressed their intention to participate in taking mitigation commitments and presented information on their "provisional" QELROs.

6. A higher level of ambition in the scale of emission reductions in aggregate as well as joint and individual contributions of Annex I Parties must be ensured in order to overcome the wide gap between the insufficient pledges that are currently on the table and what is required by science, equity and historical responsibility.

7. Furthermore, a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol must be established as the basis for comparable Annex I emission reduction commitments by those Parties that choose not to abide to the second phase of the Protocol.

8. In Durban, CMP7 mandated some specific work for narrowing down technical aspects required for adopting a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol in Doha. While discussions during 2012 in Bonn and Bangkok reached progress, many technical and political issues remain unresolved.

9. We also stress the importance of the achievement of a quality legal second commitment period and the successful conclusion of the work of the AWGLCA, in line with the Bali Action Plan.

Mr President,

10. The Kyoto Protocol is the only international instrument that sets quantified legally binding targets for Annex 1 Parties to reduce their emissions. The Protocol must be strengthened in order to ensure a meaningful multilateral response to climate change. Also it has to constitute the basis of the new legal instrument under the convention respecting the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.

11. Doha must deliver a strong and effective second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol that preserves environmental integrity. The Group of 77 and China has presented a consolidated proposal on carry-over and surplus of units to the second commitment period. We must have the willingness to resolve the remaining legal and technical issues that will allow us to reach a multilateral consensus and to strengthen the spirit of international cooperation.

12. Before concluding, allow me, Mr President, once again, to assure you that the G77 and China will continue to engage constructively and productively in these negotiations. You can count with our full support and determination to contribute to make the Doha conference a successful one.

I thank you.