Madam President,
Heads of State and Government,
H. E. the President of Mexico,
H. E. the UN Secretary-General,
Honorable Ministers and Heads of Delegation,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. I have the distinct honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

2. Let me at the outset congratulate you on your election as President for the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties and the sixth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. Likewise allow me, on behalf of the Group, to express our appreciations and gratitude to the Government and people of Mexico for their hospitality and warm welcome in this beautiful city of Cancun.

3. Over the last year, Mexico as an incoming presidency has, indeed, helped restore trust amongst parties. We are confident that our work will remain party-driven transparent, inclusive and open for participants. These principles are fundamental to our work.

Madam President,

4. Our people are suffering from the adverse effects of climate change even as we speak! A case in point would be the recent landslides and torrential rains in Venezuela, Colombia, Saint Lucia and other places in the developing world that have killed many and forced thousands more from their homes. Indeed, addressing the challenges of Climate Change is a moral and existential imperative. That is why, Madam, we must succeed in Cancun.

5. The Group of 77 and China is of the conviction that time has come to secure an outcome that fulfills the mandate stipulated in Bali. In this context, the Group stresses that balance between the two negotiating tracks, i.e. AWG-KP and AWG-LCA, must be respected and that balance in the degree of details of decisions within each track must be maintained. It is also our firm belief that whatever outcome we reach here in Cancun must not compromise or prejudge the overall objective of reaching a comprehensive, fair, ambitious and legally binding outcome in the future.

6. The central goal of the work of the AWG-KP is to define ambitious quantified emission reductions for Annex I Parties for the second and subsequent commitment periods that will significantly contribute to the minimization of future impacts of climate change. We, therefore, strongly reaffirm our position that a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol must be established for a period beyond 2012. We, once again, stress the urgency of completing the mandate of Decision 1/CMP.1 to ensure emission reductions by Annex I Parties and to avoid the gap between the first and second commitment periods.

7. The AWG-KP, Madam, must deliver the results of its work for adoption at the session in Cancun, in accordance with Decision 1/CMP.5. This is, indeed, the cornerstone of the successful outcome here in Cancun.

8. Developed counties, due to their historical responsibility for the accumulation of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, must show leadership by taking on ambitious, economy-wide, quantified emission reduction commitments and providing technology, capacity building, and new and additional financial resources to developing countries Parties in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Convention. Failing to do so, however, will seriously impede the achievement of the objective of the Convention, intensify the need for and cost of adaptation, increase their responsibility for their disproportionate greenhouse gas emissions and raise the urgency for significantly increased ambition in their mitigation commitments.

9. Three years ago in Bali the AWG-LCA was launched with the aim of enabling " the full, effective and sustained implementation of the Convention through long-term cooperative action, now, up to and beyond 2012". Last year in Copenhagen, the mandate of this Ad Hoc working group was extended "to enable it to continue its work with a view to presenting the outcome of its work to the Conference of the Parties for adoption at its sixteenth session" in Cancun. Now is the time, Madam, and success is the only option for the Group of 77 and China.

10. The Group wishes to reiterate its proposal on the New Fund and Governance and Oversight of Climate Finance and the provision by developed countries through a percentage of their GNP to address climate change in developing countries. The Group of 77 and China would like to underline that a decision on establishing a new climate change fund must address the four components i.e. structure, scope, scale and sources.

11. It is the view the Group that adaptation must be addressed with the same priority as mitigation, and requires the establishment of institutional arrangements to enhance adaptation action and address adaptation needs in developing countries, including an Adaptation Framework for Implementation, an Adaptation Committee, and an International Mechanism to Address Loss and Damage.

12. The Group also emphasizes that capacity building is a prerequisite for and essential to enabling developing country Parties to participate fully in, and to implement effectively their commitments under the Convention. The goal is to enhance the capacity of developing countries in all areas. Therefore, a body accountable to the COP shall be established to oversee, monitor and ensure overall implementation of capacity building activities consistent with the provisions of the Convention.

Madam President,

13. The Group of 77 and China reiterates the necessity of Palestine effective participation in the UNFCCC process, and to have the right of access to funding from different climate change sources.

14. It is of paramount importance to realize that transparency is key to success of cooperative actions. Cooperative and ambitious solutions require engagement of all parties, including our negotiating partners, to deliver results in accordance with the Bali Road Map.

15. The Group of 77 and China, once again, stresses that in order to succeed, our work process must be open, party-driven and transparent. Likewise, the centrality of the multilateral process under the UNFCCC in addressing Climate Change must be respected and maintained.

Madam President,

16. The Group stresses that the AWG-LCA and AWG-KP need to continue their work in 2011. Therefore, sufficient budget should be allocated for the meetings of both Ad hoc working groups' future sessions scheduled during next year.

Finally, Madam President,

17. I would like to assure you that the Group of 77 and China will render the necessary cooperation with the Mexican presidency to make Cancun a success.

I thank you.