Madam President,

1. I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. Allow me at the outset to express my appreciations to the Government and people of South Africa for hosting this important meeting in the beautiful city of Durban, and to the Convention's Secretariat for the excellent support to our work.

2. Against the backdrop of the Summary for Policy Makers from the Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX), adopted by IPCC member governments a few days ago and that I have referred to in my previous statement and I will not repeat for the sake of brevity, I would like to underline the fact that developing countries are now more than ever experiencing the very real impacts of climate change, which are undermining our development prospects and aggravating preexisting vulnerabilities.

3. As stated before, the global response to climate change must be firmly rooted on equity. In this regard, the application of the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities in the establishment of a second commitment period is paramount in order to contribute to the solution of climate change crisis. Significant and ambitious efforts must be made in order to achieve its adoption showing that developed countries are exercising the leadership they committed to, under UNFCCC.

4. During this CMP, we must work together with a renewed sense of urgency and common purpose, to deliver the mandate we collectively committed to, more than five and a half years ago, which is to complete the work of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol and to see that its results are adopted by this COP/MOP, at Durban, in time to ensure that there is no gap between the first and second commitment periods.

5. The Group of 77 and China expects the AWG- KP to put forward ambitious quantified emission reduction commitments for Annex 1 Parties for the second commitment period, which was originally mandated to be concluded in 2009.

Madam President,

6. In the Ministerial Declaration of the 35th Annual Meeting of G77 Ministers of Foreign Affairs, our Ministers have emphasized the importance of mitigation as part of a balanced and ambitious outcome in Durban. They reiterated that appropriate treatment of mitigation, as determined in the Bali Roadmap, demands a decision in this session on establishing the commitments of the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol.

7. As reiterated by the G77 and China many times throughout this year, a balanced and comprehensive outcome for Durban includes a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol as the key deliverable for our negotiations, in order to avoid a gap between the first and the second commitment periods.

8. A higher level of ambition in the scale of emission reductions in aggregate as well as joint and individual contributions of Annex I Parties must be ensured in order to overcome the wide gap between the insufficient pledges that are currently on the table and what is required by science, equity and historical responsibility.

9. Furthermore, a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol must be established as the basis for comparable Annex I emission reduction commitments.

Madam President,

10. The Kyoto Protocol is the cornerstone of the multilateral climate change regime. The Kyoto Protocol is the only international instrument that sets forth the legally binding obligation for Annex 1 Parties to reduce their emissions. It must be preserved and strengthened if we are to ensure any meaningful multilateral response to the issue of climate change.

11. We must come to a conclusion in this session. At the same time, we cannot lower the bar for negotiations in Durban neither keep shifting goal posts. Let me echo what we have heard from several members of the G77 and China: Durban should not be the burial ground for the Kyoto Protocol - rather, it should be the birthplace of the second commitment period under the KP.

12. Allow me, Madam President, to conclude by reiterating that the G77 and China will continue to engage constructively and productively in these negotiations. You can count with our full support and determination to contribute to make the meeting in Durban a very successful one.

I thank you.