INTERVENTION ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP OF 77 AND CHINA BY MRS. EDNA MOLEWA, MINISTER OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, AT THE MEEETING OF THE PARIS COMMITTEE ON CAPACITY-BUILDING, PARIS CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE (Paris, France, 8 December 2015)

Mr. President,

I am taking the floor on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

Thank you very much for convening this very useful meeting where we heard the various reports on the Ministerial consultations conducted today. This is very helpful to provide us with an overview of the status of the negotiations and of the process.

We also thank the Ministers facilitating for their reports and their hard work since Sunday. We are confident that this process will assist all of us to reach an agreement.
We also wish to commend you on the management of the process and the transparent, inclusive and open manner in which the consultations have been conducted.

We welcome your proposal on the next steps and the timeframe you have proposed.

We look forward to the text that will be made available to the Parties tomorrow. We are of the view that this text should be based on the Draft Paris Outcome document and the Ministerial consultations conducted under your leadership.

It is important that this text be Party-owned and, therefore, Parties need to have the opportunity to assess the text. In this regard, we request that ample time be allowed for regional and negotiating Groups to consult on the text before the text can be considered by the Paris Committee. We recognise that time is very limited, but we believe that allowing time for proper consultation will in fact save time and facilitate reaching agreement.

Mr. President,

Once again, we reassure you of our continued support for your leadership and our commitment to work with our partners towards a successful outcome.

I thank you.