Thank you, Mr. President.

I thank the Secretary-General and Mr. Steiner for their statements.

I also particularly welcome the presence here today of His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Nauru, Mr. Marcus Stephen.

Mr. President,

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China in the context of the open debate pursuant to the letter dated 1st July from the Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations addressed to the Council (S/2011/408), scheduled for today, on the subject "Maintenance of international peace and security: the impact of climate change".

In this respect, the Group of 77 and China wishes to reaffirm its position. The Council´s primary responsibility is the maintenance of international peace and security, as set out in the Charter of the United Nations. On the other hand, other issues, including those related to economic and social development, are assigned by the Charter to the Economic and Social Council and to the General Assembly. The ever-increasing encroachment by the Security Council on the roles and responsibilities of other principal organs of the United Nations represents a distortion of the principles and purposes of the Charter, infringes on their authority and compromises the rights of the general membership of the United Nations.

Mr. President,

The Group of 77 and China underlines the importance of the General Assembly, the Security Council and the ECOSOC to work within their respective mandates as set out in the Charter.

General Assembly resolution 63/281 recognized the respective responsibilities of the principal organs of the United Nations, including the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security conferred upon the Security Council and the responsibility for sustainable development issues, including climate change, conferred upon the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, and invited the relevant organs of the United Nations, as appropriate and within their respective mandates, to intensify their efforts in considering and addressing climate change, including its possible security implications.

The relevant bodies in the field of sustainable development are the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and their relevant subsidiary bodies, including the Commission on Sustainable Development and the United Nations Environment Programme.

The Group of 77 and China is of the view that it is vital for all Member States to promote sustainable development in accordance with the Rio Principles, in particular, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and fully implement Agenda 21 and other relevant United Nations Conferences in the economic, environmental and social fields, including the Millennium Development Goals Declaration.

We further emphasize the critical role of the international community in the provision of adequate, predictable, new and additional financial resources, transfer of technology and capacity building to developing countries.
We maintain that the UNFCCC is the primary international, intergovernmental forum for negotiating the global response to climate change. In this sense, we recall that an appropriate response to this challenge should address not only the consequences but mainly the roots of the problem. Let me emphasize that there is a strong case for developed countries' emission reductions and mitigation actions to avoid adverse impacts of climate change.

In this context, we are extremely concerned that under current climate change negotiations, there is yet no clear indication by developed countries that they will adopt a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol. Moreover, current mitigation pledges from developed countries parties in the UNFCCC negotiations are not adequate enough to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions so as to hold the increase in global average temperature according with what is required by science. Developed countries must raise their level of ambition.

We reiterate the need to coordinate international efforts and mobilizing partners to assist the observation networks through regional initiatives such as South Pacific Sea Level and Climate Monitoring, and Caribbean Community Climate Change Center. In this regard, we call the relevant agencies and organs of the UN, including OCHA, to reinforce regional broadcastings systems to help island communities during a disaster and increase the effectiveness of observation in these regions. Any measures taken in this context need to ensure an integrated approach in responding to environmental emergencies

The response to impacts of climate change and disasters must include the strengthening of the Hyogo Framework for Action for disaster risk reduction, the increasing of assistance to developing countries affected states, including by supporting efforts towards enhancing their national and regional capacities for implementation of plans and strategies for preparedness, rapid response, recovery and development.

Mr. President,

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. Developing countries are the most vulnerable to climate change, and support for their efforts needs to be stepped up. In this regard, we call for the full and effective implementation of the commitments under the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, the Mauritius Declaration and the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. We reiterate that sea-level rise continues to pose a significant risk to small island developing states and their efforts to achieve sustainable development and, for some, represent the gravest of threats to their survival and viability.

The Group of 77 and China will continue to pursue the achievement of sustainable development and eradication of poverty, which are our first and overriding priorities, as well as the fulfillment of commitments by developed countries in all relevant bodies.

We strongly reiterate our expectation that the initiative of the Council to hold this debate does not create a precedent that undermines the authority or mandate of the relevant bodies, processes and instruments that already address these issues in all their complexities.

Thank you, Mr. President.