Distr.

GENERAL

FCCC/CP/1996/10

FCCC/SBSTA/1996/12

31 May 1996

Original: ENGLISH

CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES

Second session

Geneva, 8-19 July 1996

Item 5 of the provisional agenda

SUBSIDIARY BODY FOR SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVICE

Third session

Geneva, 9-16 July 1996

Item 3 (a) of the provisional agenda

1. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), at its eleventh session, held in Rome in December 1995, approved the IPCC Second Assessment Synthesis of

Scientific-Technical Information Relevant to Interpreting Article 2 of the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change (hereinafter referred to as "the Synthesis") and the Summaries for Policymakers of Working Groups I, II and III of the IPCC (hereinafter referred to as "the Summaries"). It also accepted the Technical Summaries and Supporting Chapters which together with the Synthesis and the Summaries comprise the complete IPCC Second Assessment Report - Climate Change 1995.

GE-96

2. To assist a first consideration of the Second Assessment Report at the second session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) (held in August/September 1995) the secretariat prepared a note (in English only) on the preparation and content of the Report. This note has been revised and will be available in all languages to the Conference of the Parties (COP) at its second session and to the third session of the SBSTA (see FCCC/CP/1996/5 and FCCC/SBSTA/7/Rev. 1 and Add.1, 2 and 3).

3. The Synthesis and the Summaries (in English only) were available at the second session of the SBSTA.

4. The Synthesis and Summaries document is now available in all six languages of the United Nations and is attached to this note, for consideration by the COP and its subsidiary bodies.