This executive summary presents the main issues arising from the four reports of the compilation and synthesis of 83 initial national communications from Parties not included in Annex I to the Convention (non-Annex I Parties). The information is organized according to the UNFCCC guidelines for the preparation of national communications from non-Annex I Parties. Many new initial communications have been submitted to the secretariat since the last report, but the issues of relevance for non-Annex I Parties have remained the same for all reporting Parties. Climate change education, training and public awareness, and the needs for financial resources and technical support, have been recognized as having considerable importance in the preparation of national communications and the implementation of the Convention over the long term. At the seventeenth session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI), Parties may wish to take note of this executive summary with a view to recommending a draft decision for further compilation and synthesis of initial national communications from non-Annex I Parties, for adoption by the Conference of the Parties at its eighth session