Chairs, Co-Chairs, Distinguished delegates and colleagues,

1. I have the honour to make this statement on behalf of the 46 Least Developed Countries. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have suffered terrible losses from the COVID-19 pandemic – a crisis adding to the losses caused by climate change.
2. Although we are not able to meet in person, the LDC Group is committed to advancing our work. Raising climate ambition and furthering action and support is paramount to our survival. Indeed, at the Thimphu Ambition Summit which we organized virtually last December on the theme “momentum for a 1.5°C world”, the LDC Group reiterated its commitment to, and expectations for enhanced climate action.
3. I would like to commend the Secretariat for their work to facilitate continued dialogue during this pandemic as we prepare for Glasgow. The LDC Group does struggle to connect to virtual forums, and ensuring our countries are well represented across all negotiating rooms will be challenging. It is crucial for these sessions to be transparent, inclusive and participatory. We urge all Parties to engage to the best of their ability.
4. In order to advance our work, we must progress discussions at this session and begin the full implementation of the Paris Agreement.
5. We must work constructively so that all the remaining work under the Paris Rulebook can be finalized at COP26. Advancing work on Article 6, the remaining elements under the enhanced transparency framework, and finalising a decision for a single common time frame for NDCs is critical. These decisions must secure transparency, safeguard environmental integrity, deliver more ambition rather than undermine it, and increase the flow of funds and capacity for implementing climate actions in our countries.
6. On transparency, the LDC Group is ready to work with all Parties to finish the common tables and formats needed to implement the Enhanced Transparency Framework. For LDCs, capacity building is critical to participate in the ETF and this should also be addressed in the upcoming weeks.
7. On finance, a clear process is required to assess whether there has been achievement of the mobilization of $100 billion per year by 2020. Access to climate finance remains a particular challenge for the LDCs. We look forward to actively engaging with the in-session workshop on Article 9.5.
8. The LDC Group will be actively engaged at the Structured Expert Dialogue for the second periodic review of the long-term global goal, particularly discussions related to the topics of key benchmarks for achieving temperature limits, such as the timing of net-zero emission targets, as well as information on loss on damage attribution from seminal scientific publications. We believe that the second periodic review must be completed in a way that can feed into the Global Stocktake without duplication of efforts and information.
9. We also look forward to the thirteenth meeting of the Research Dialogue. Indeed, these dialogues are crucial venues to ensure robust scientific discussion transplanted into broader policy processes in and outside the UNFCCC. In our submission for this Research Dialogue, we requested SBSTA to present updated knowledge and information on this very topic along with other topics such as melting of ice and glaciers, attribution of loss and damage to climate change and technological advancement of renewable energy.
10. The LDC Group looks forward to engaging with Parties on matters related to LDCs to explore how the LEG can extend its mandate to support LDCs. Our group is concerned about the postponement of some adaptation discussions. The Adaptation Committee reports hold numerous mandates that need early Party engagement to help reach a decision by COP26. The global goal on adaptation and methodology issues require adequate space for discussion. By postponing the consideration of the reports of the Adaptation Committee to the subsequent session, we will not have sufficient time to fully consider all areas of the reports.
11. Though we understand limited time is available, the LDC Group is concerned that items related to loss and damage have been postponed for the subsequent session of subsidiary bodies. There is significant work still required to design and operationalize a Santiago Network that is capable of effectively delivering the scale of technical assistance that vulnerable developing countries will need to avert, minimize, and address loss and damage. The LDCs Group feels that there should be a space and time allocation for the parties to discuss the operationalization of Santiago Network at this SBs session.
12. We also note that gender is not part of the agenda, an exclusion which does not bode well for keeping up the momentum on ensuring the gendered impacts of climate change are fully addressed under the UNFCCC. There is value in keeping the issue alive at each meeting.
13. On items related to Koronivia joint work on Agriculture, Capacity building, technology transfer and development, given the importance of these items for our group, we will fully engage at the informal consultations held during this session.
14. The NDC Synthesis Report released by the Secretariat shows that the level of ambition presented to-date in revised NDCs is extremely inadequate to limit temperature increase to 1.5°C. In this context, the LDC Group expects to see commitment by all countries to strengthen their 2030 targets consistent with 1.5°C pathways by presenting more ambitious NDCs well ahead of COP26.
15. We also urge countries to come forward with their long-term, low GHG emissions development strategies that map the path towards a net zero world by 2050. The invitation, which ended in 2020, should be extended because visionary and transformational planning and actions are essential if the world is to limit global average warming to 1.5°C.Chairs, Co-Chairs, Distinguished delegates and colleagues,
16. We must use this time together to build consensus. Across all agenda items, let us be open to the option and support the approach suggested by the Presiding officer to produce an informal note that may serve as a basis for further discussion with an aim of reaching agreement on this item at COP26.
17. There is much work ahead of us. we will not address the climate crisis without all of our strength. Let us come together in this virtual space to advance our discussions – leaving no one behind, particularly the LDCs.I thank you.