Mr. President:

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

On behalf of the Group, I would like to express our deepest appreciation to the COP 28 Presidency and the Emirati authorities for the organizational quality of this event, as well as for all their hospitality. At the same time, we salute the Egyptian Presidency of COP27 for the significant results it achieved.

The Group of 77 and China welcomes the decision taken in recent days to operationalize the Loss and Damage Fund. This Fund, which is a long-standing demand of developing countries, will be a fundamental tool to alleviate the devastating effects associated with climate change in our nations. We are encouraged by the announcements made to capitalize the Fund and hope that its financing will be sustained and commensurate to the scale of the loss and damages already suffered by our countries.

The materialization of the Fund undoubtedly provided a very positive signal for the development of this COP. However, our obligations still continue in other areas.

The first Global Stocktake of the Paris Agreement is a defining moment in our efforts to meet the goals set out in the Agreement. The scientific evidence gathered today indicates that the world is moving towards a temperature increase of more than two Celsius degrees, which seriously threatens the human species and the stability of the planet's ecosystems.

For developing countries, the outcome of this Global Stocktake should emphasize the following ideas. First, developed countries need to assume a more ambitious and consistent leadership role in tackling climate change, given their historical responsibility for the cumulative greenhouse gas emissions and also because of the resources and technologies they possess to reduce their emissions.

It is concerning that while there is an urgency to increase climate ambition, developed countries persist in their high levels of emissions. Developed countries should fulfill their obligations to take the lead in climate action and support.

Moreover, the Global Stocktake must serve to demonstrate the readiness of the developed countries to deliver on the commitments they have made on climate finance in support of developing countries. Even the target of mobilizing $100 billion per year has not been met to date, which is evidence of a profound lack of solidarity towards the billions of people in developing countries highly vulnerable to climate change.

The outcome of the GST must be strongly founded on the purpose of the Paris Agreement to enhance the implementation of the Convention in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty.

Achieving adequate, predictable, accessible and timely volumes of finance and providing the means of implementation required by developing countries are imperative to achieve the Paris Agreement goals and to provide the necessary financing to support the implementation of the needs identified in the NDCs, NAPs and any other relevant policy instruments that correspond to the specific needs of the developing countries.

The current challenge in many of our nations lies in the dual tackling of climate change and pursuing sustainable development and poverty eradication, including the provision of affordable clean energy for all and ensuring universal health coverage.

None of the above can be achieved, in the case of developing countries, if we do not have the support and assistance of developed countriesin addressing the challenges caused by climate change. We must all contribute to slowing down this phenomenon, but the principle of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabalities, in light of different national circumstances, must be upheld.

On other issues of utmost interest to the Group of 77 and China, we note the importance of achieving a framework to guide the implementation of the Global Goal on Adaptation.

As it is well known, climate change is a crippling reality, from which no country can escape. However, for developing countries, especially those most vulnerable to climate change, the path to adaptation is an imperative on which their immediate livelihoods depend.

In this regard, we emphasize that the framework for the Global Goal on Adaptation should explicitly indicate the provision of means of implementation and resources to strengthen the adaptive capacity of developing countries.

We emphasize as well that the overall context in which climate action must take place is the achievement of sustainable development and poverty eradication. COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh last year clearly articulated this objective and agreed to the creation of a new work program on Just Transition. The Group expects this work program to support just transition pathways at international and national levels.

Mr. President:

Along with the decision to advance the work of the Loss and Damage Fund, this Conference has also reached agreement on the operationalization of the Santiago Network, as an advisory body to technically guide loss and damage activities, which is another important milestone.

This feeling of empathy and collaboration must prevail in the remaining days to fulfill our duty to our peoples. Let us live up to our responsibility to humanity.

Thank you very much