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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