ARTICLE 4:
COMMITMENTS
1. All Parties, taking into account their common but differentiated responsibilities and their specific
national and regional development priorities, objectives and circumstances, shall:
(a) Develop, periodically update, publish and make available to the Conference of the Parties, in
accordance with Article 12, national inventories of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by
sinks of all greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol, using comparable methodologies to
be agreed upon by the Conference of the Parties;
(b) Formulate, implement, publish and regularly update national and, where appropriate, regional
programmes containing measures to mitigate climate change by addressing anthropogenic emissions by
sources and removals by sinks of all greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol, and
measures to facilitate adequate adaptation to climate change;
(c) Promote and cooperate in the development, application and diffusion, including transfer, of
technologies, practices and processes that control, reduce or prevent anthropogenic emissions of
greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol in all relevant sectors, including the energy,
transport, industry, agriculture, forestry and waste management sectors;
(d) Promote sustainable management, and promote and cooperate in the conservation and enhancement, as
appropriate, of sinks and reservoirs of all greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol,
including biomass, forests and oceans as well as other terrestrial, coastal and marine ecosystems;
(e) Cooperate in preparing for adaptation to the impacts of climate change; develop and elaborate
appropriate and integrated plans for coastal zone management, water resources and agriculture, and for
the protection and rehabilitation of areas, particularly in Africa, affected by drought and
desertification, as well as floods;
(f) Take climate change considerations into account, to the extent feasible, in their relevant social,
economic and environmental policies and actions, and employ appropriate methods, for example impact
assessments, formulated and determined nationally, with a view to minimizing adverse effects on the
economy, on public health and on the quality of the environment, of projects or measures undertaken by
them to mitigate or adapt to climate change;
(g) Promote and cooperate in scientific, technological, technical, socio-economic and other research,
systematic observation and development of data archives related to the climate system and intended to
further the understanding and to reduce or eliminate the remaining uncertainties regarding the causes,
effects, magnitude and timing of climate change and the economic and social consequences of various
response strategies;
(h) Promote and cooperate in the full, open and prompt exchange of relevant scientific, technological,
technical, socio-economic and legal information related to the climate system and climate change, and to
the economic and social consequences of various response strategies;
(i) Promote and cooperate in education, training and public awareness related to climate change and
encourage the widest participation in this process, including that of non- governmental organizations;
and
(j) Communicate to the Conference of the Parties information related to implementation, in accordance
with Article 12.
2. The developed country Parties and other Parties included in Annex I commit themselves specifically as
provided for in the following:
(a) Each of these Parties shall adopt national1 policies and take corresponding measures on the
mitigation of climate change, by limiting its anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and protecting
and enhancing its greenhouse gas sinks and reservoirs. These policies and measures will demonstrate that
developed countries are taking the lead in modifying longer-term trends in anthropogenic emissions
consistent with the objective of the Convention, recognizing that the return by the end of the present
decade to earlier levels of anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases not
controlled by the Montreal Protocol would contribute to such modification, and taking into account the
differences in these Parties' starting points and approaches, economic structures and resource bases,
the need to maintain strong and sustainable economic growth, available technologies and other individual
circumstances, as well as the need for equitable and appropriate contributions by each of these Parties
to the global effort regarding that objective. These Parties may implement such policies and measures
jointly with other Parties and may assist other Parties in contributing to the achievement of the
objective of the Convention and, in particular, that of this subparagraph;
(b) In order to promote progress to this end, each of these Parties shall communicate, within six months
of the entry into force of the Convention for it and periodically thereafter, and in accordance with
Article 12, detailed information on its policies and measures referred to in subparagraph (a) above, as
well as on its resulting projected anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse
gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol for the period referred to in subparagraph (a), with the
aim of returning individually or jointly to their 1990 levels these anthropogenic emissions of carbon
dioxide and other greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol. This information will be
reviewed by the Conference of the Parties, at its first session and periodically thereafter, in
accordance with Article 7;
(c) Calculations of emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases for the purposes of
subparagraph (b) above should take into account the best available scientific knowledge, including of the
effective capacity of sinks and the respective contributions of such gases to climate change. The
Conference of the Parties shall consider and agree on methodologies for these calculations at its first
session and review them regularly thereafter;
(d) The Conference of the Parties shall, at its first session, review the adequacy of subparagraphs (a)
and (b) above. Such review shall be carried out in the light of the best available scientific information
and assessment on climate change and its impacts, as well as relevant technical, social and economic
information. Based on this review, the Conference of the Parties shall take appropriate action, which may
include the adoption of amendments to the commitments in subparagraphs (a) and (b) above. The Conference
of the Parties, at its first session, shall also take decisions regarding criteria for joint
implementation as indicated in subparagraph (a) above. A second review of subparagraphs (a) and (b) shall
take place not later than 31 December 1998, and thereafter at regular intervals determined by the
Conference of the Parties, until the objective of the Convention is met;
(e) Each of these Parties shall :
i) Coordinate as appropriate with other such Parties, relevant economic and administrative instruments
developed to achieve the objective of the Convention; and
(ii) Identify and periodically review its own policies and practices which encourage activities that
lead to greater levels of anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal
Protocol than would otherwise occur;
(f) The Conference of the Parties shall review, not later than 31 December 1998, available information
with a view to taking decisions regarding such amendments to the lists in Annexes I and II as may be
appropriate, with the approval of the Party concerned;
(g) Any Party not included in Annex I may, in its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or
accession, or at any time thereafter, notify the Depositary that it intends to be bound by subparagraphs
(a) and (b) above. The Depositary shall inform the other signatories and Parties of any such
notification.
3. The developed country Parties and other developed Parties included in Annex II shall provide new and
additional financial resources to meet the agreed full costs incurred by developing country Parties in
complying with their obligations under Article 12, paragraph 1. They shall also provide such financial
resources, including for the transfer of technology, needed by the developing country Parties to meet the
agreed full incremental costs of implementing measures that are covered by paragraph 1 of this Article and
that are agreed between a developing country Party and the international entity or entities referred to in
Article 11, in accordance with that Article. The implementation of these commitments shall take into
account the need for adequacy and predictability in the flow of funds and the importance of appropriate
burden sharing among the developed country Parties.
4. The developed country Parties and other developed Parties included in Annex II shall also assist the
developing country Parties that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change in
meeting costs of adaptation to those adverse effects.
5. The developed country Parties and other developed Parties included in Annex II shall take all
practicable steps to promote, facilitate and finance, as appropriate, the transfer of, or access to,
environmentally sound technologies and know-how to other Parties, particularly developing country Parties,
to enable them to implement the provisions of the Convention. In this process, the developed country
Parties shall support the development and enhancement of endogenous capacities and technologies of
developing country Parties. Other Parties and organizations in a position to do so may also assist in
facilitating the transfer of such technologies.
6. In the implementation of their commitments under paragraph 2 above, a certain degree of flexibility
shall be allowed by the Conference of the Parties to the Parties included in Annex I undergoing the process
of transition to a market economy, in order to enhance the ability of these Parties to address climate
change, including with regard to the historical level of anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases not
controlled by the Montreal Protocol chosen as a reference.
7. The extent to which developing country Parties will effectively implement their commitments under the
Convention will depend on the effective implementation by developed country Parties of their commitments
under the Convention related to financial resources and transfer of technology and will take fully into
account that economic and social development and poverty eradication are the first and overriding
priorities of the developing country Parties.
8. In the implementation of the commitments in this Article, the Parties shall give full consideration to
what actions are necessary under the Convention, including actions related to funding, insurance and the
transfer of technology, to meet the specific needs and concerns of developing country Parties arising from
the adverse effects of climate change and/or the impact of the implementation of response measures,
especially on:
(a) Small island countries;
(b) Countries with low-lying coastal areas;
(c) Countries with arid and semi-arid areas, forested areas and areas liable to forest decay;
(d) Countries with areas prone to natural disasters;
(e) Countries with areas liable to drought and desertification;
(f) Countries with areas of high urban atmospheric pollution;
(g) Countries with areas with fragile ecosystems, including mountainous ecosystems;
(h) Countries whose economies are highly dependent on income generated from the production, processing
and export, and/or on consumption of fossil fuels and associated energy-intensive products; and
(i) Land-locked and transit countries.
Further, the Conference of the Parties may take actions, as appropriate, with respect to this paragraph.
9. The Parties shall take full account of the specific needs and special situations of the least developed
countries in their actions with regard to funding and transfer of technology.
10. The Parties shall, in accordance with Article 10, take into consideration in the implementation of the
commitments of the Convention the situation of Parties, particularly developing country Parties, with
economies that are vulnerable to the adverse effects of the implementation of measures to respond to
climate change. This applies notably to Parties with economies that are highly dependent on income
generated from the production, processing and export, and/or consumption of fossil fuels and associated
energy-intensive products and/or the use of fossil fuels for which such Parties have serious difficulties
in switching to alternatives.
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