Mr. Chairman,

1. I have the honor to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

2. Allow me to say that under your able guidance we worked intensively. It allowed Parties to be engaged constructively in discussions in substantive issues seeking to achieve real progress. May I assure you, Mr. Chairman, that the Group of 77 and China will similarly continue to engage in future sessions.

Mr. Chairman,

3. The Group would like to underline the fact that developing countries continue to suffer from the adverse impacts of climate change, and the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. The Group also underlines the challenges faced by developing countries from the impact of response measures. Climate change threatens not only the development prospects and the achievement of sustainable development, but also the very existence and survival of societies.

4. The Group of 77 and China would like to emphasize that the mandate for AWG-LCA is "to enable the full, effective and sustained implementation of the Convention through long-term cooperative action now, up to and beyond 2012" as per the Bali Action Plan, and is committed to fulfilling it.

5. The Group of 77 and China believes that Cancun marked a milestone towards the fulfillment of the mandate of the Bali Action Plan. On this basis, the AWG-LCA must continue its work with a view to presenting its results to the Conference of the Parties at its seventeenth session in a way that contributes positively towards reaching a balanced and comprehensive outcome.

Mr. Chairman,

6. The Group underlines the importance of mitigation as part of a balanced and ambitious outcome in Durban. We expect to be able to address important issues in this context, such as ways to enhance the mitigation ambition of Annex I commitments, as well as the tasks necessary to operationalize the Cancun decisions including the setting up of registry of support for developing country mitigation actions. We recall the importance of mantaining the mitigation negotiation as a party-driven process. We would also like to reiterate that appropiate treatment of mitigation, as determined in the Bali Roadmap, demands a decision, in Durban, on establishing the commitments of the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol.

Mr. Chairman,

7. The Group of the 77 and China welcomes the progress made during this session with regard to the development of the modalities and procedures for the operationalization of the Adaptation Committee.

8. The G77 and China strongly feels that the Adaptation Committee should be operational as soon as possible after COP17. This key institutional arrangement is going to bring the much needed coherence within the Convention on matters related to adaptation, and in this sense, it will support developing countries to enhance their capacity to implement concrete adaptation measures and actions on the ground.

9. In additon, we would like to highlight the need to allocate the adequate amount of resources to the Adaptation Committee and its secretariat in order to perform its functions in a predictable and sufficient manner.

10. On this issue, Mr. Chair, lastly but not least important, we would like to emphasize that, taking into account that developing countries are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, the Governance body of the Adaptation Committee shall have a majority of members representing countries of the G77 and China.

Mr. Chairman,

11. I have the pleasure of informing you that after long nights of intense discussions the Group of 77 and China formally tabled two draft decisions for the consideration and approval by the Conference of the Parties at its 17th session. These draft decisions are on two of the very important elements of the Bali Action Plan, financing and the development and transfer of technology.

12. On financing, the Group tabled a draft decision on the role and functions of the Standing Committee, as called for in paragraph 112 of decision 1/CP.16. The Group of 77 and China is looking forward to further discussions with all Parties with the aim of rendering the Standing Committee operational in Durban.

13. On development and transfer of technology, the Group of 77 and China notes the very useful discussions which occurred among the Parties during this session of the AWG-LCA on the Technology Mechanism. However, we have had long and extensive discussions and we must now move to the negotiation stage. To this end, the Group of 77 and China has submitted a draft decision on the Technology Mechanism which is focused on the operationalization of the Technology Mechanism in implementation of the work programme, as called for in paragraphs 128 and 129 of decision 1.CP/16. We believe this text can serve as the basis for negotiations and if, as a whole, we engage meaningfully, we are certain that we can fulfil the mandate of decision 1/CP.16 to have a fully operational Technology Mechanism that will enhance the development and transfer of technology in Durban.

14. Finally, Mr. Chairman, allow me to reiterate the assurances of the support of the Group and our positive and active engagement in this process. As we move forward towards Durban, you can count with our full support and collaboration in your endeavors.

I thank you.