Co-Chairs,
Distinguished delegates and representatives,

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

2. The Group thanks the Bureau of the Prep Com for organizing the First Intersessional Meeting of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD). The Group pledges its full support and is fully committed to the success of this Conference.

3. We regret that the participation of developing countries has been severely limited due to the lack of funding in the trust fund and expect that for the 2nd Prep Com developing countries will receive the financial support.

4. An overview of the results achieved since the landmark Conference of 1972, the Earth Summit in 1992 and the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, show that a persistent implementation gap, and many commitments by the international community have not been fully met at the time when the world is still suffering from the repercussion of the combined global food crisis, energy crisis and global economic and financial crisis and climate change.

5. A greater level of ambition and a renewed political commitment is necessary for the effective implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development, especially at the regional and national level complemented by stronger and effective international mechanisms in terms of global and regional support as well as significantly greater financial commitments, is essential.

Distinguished Co-Chairs, regarding the themes of the Conference:
 
6. There is not, at this moment, a clear and consensual definition of what a "green economy" approach entails. Reports, declarations and discussions assume that a "green economy" can be equated with a cluster of economic policies, under the sustainable development paradigm, so as to bridge the gap between the economy and the environment. However, this assumption is far from settled.

7. Some of the questions we have is: How can the "green economy" approach contribute to the implementation of policies for poverty eradication and for the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the MDGs, in particular MDGs 7 and 8? How can the concept advance the development, deployment, and transfer of sustainable, environmentally-sound technology, the sharing of know-how and the provision of new and additional financial resources, including increased ODA, to developing countries? What would be the implications to macro-economic policies and to international trade of a green economy approach? How to avoid "green protectionism"? How are parameters to define what falls under the general banner of "green economy"? The G-77 and China expects that these and other questions will be discussed and explored in depth during this session and the ongoing preparatory process, so as to ensure a meaningful outcome at the 2012 UNCSD for developing countries.

Regarding Institutional Arrangements:

8. The G77 and China believes that an effective institutional framework for sustainable development at all levels is key to the full implementation of Agenda 21, the follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development and meeting emerging sustainable development challenges.

9. In that context, there is an international consensus on the need for enhanced coordination and cooperation among international organizations and environmental agreements. However, diverging views remain on how to enhance the efficiency of the current United Nations system in the area of sustainable development. This intersessional meeting offers the necessary space for evaluating the proposals on the institutional framework for enhanced international governance for sustainable development.

Co-Chairs,

10. The next two days are going to be very important and we expect to have very fruitful discussions that can become a basis for a meaningful outcome next year in 2012. You can count with the support of our Group.

I thank you.