The Working Groups on LCA and Kyoto Protocol started their work today in Bonn, Germany, in their respective resumed sessions in the second round of negotiations on Climate Change this year.

Jorge Arguello, Ambassador of Argentina to the United Nations and Chairman of the Group of 77 and China, speaking at the opening session of AWG-KP emphasized that "The Group is committed to constructive, party-driven and transparent negotiations in this session in order to ensure that a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol is reached as part of a balanced and comprehensive outcome in Durban. Let me underscore that time is upon us. All Parties must do their best to find common language that can be acceptable to all Parties and in line with the shared goal of limiting global temperature rise".

Also today, the 34th session of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change opened, after the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) opened on Monday 6 June.

The Chairs of both bodies, Mr. Mama Konatè (Mali) and Robert Owen-Jones (Australia), suspended the meetings right after beginning, since the new proposals for the agenda coming form Delegations both from the North and from the South had not been thoroughly considered, and the draft agenda put forward in both cases was not a consensus text yet. Informal consultations of the different interested Parties continued during today.

The Group of 77 and China expressed its readiness to start substantive work immediately. The G77 held informal meetings during the day and called for Group consultations well into the evening, in an effort to help the Chairs finalize their consultations and find agreement among the interested Delegations so work could begin.

In the case of SBSTA, the Group of 77 and China is helping the Chair, Mr. Konatè, to advance in the few agenda items pending consideration. In the case of SBI, the pending issues are numerous but the Group of 77 trusts the Chair, Mr. Owen-Jones, will help the interested parties to find a formula that would allow the work to begin right away, while consultations continue to address those specific concerns.

It is expected that all four bodies will be working at full speed from today, given the complexity of the issues to be covered and the interest in making actual progress towards a balanced and comprehensive outcome that can ensure the success of the Durban meeting.