At SBSTA19 (Milan, December 2002), the issue was considered by Parties for the last time. The SBSTA requested the secretariat to:

• Organize a workshop on emissions projections of Parties included in Annex I to the Convention (Annex I Parties), in the second half of 2004, as a contribution to the preparation of the fourth national communications. The report on the workshop was prepared for consideration by SBSTA21 and is contained in document FCCC/SBSTA/2004/INF.15.
• Organize a workshop on national systems under Article 5.1 of the Kyoto Protocol in the first half of 2005. (for workshop report see FCCC/SBSTA/2005/6 and Corr.1 and 2) 
• Initiate a scoping phase for consideration of a data interface and to facilitate this by providing links on its web site to the sources of data referenced in document FCCC/SBSTA/2003/INF.9. 

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change notes the importance of methodological work in several specific articles, for example Articles 4.1 (a), 4.1 (f), 4.2 (c), 7.2 (d), 9.2 (e) and 12.1 (a). More generally, the Convention contains broad requirements for Parties to exchange information; these implicitly require development of guidelines, modalities and rules. Numerous decisions have been adopted to implement these articles, beginning with decisions 4/CP.1 and 6/CP.1. Article 8.1 of the Convention also requires the secretariat to prepare reports on its activities and present them to the COP.

The Kyoto Protocol makes references to the need for methodologies (guidelines, modalities and rules) in Articles 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12 and 17. more >>

In 2002 the secretariat prepared a note on methodological issues (FCCC/SBSTA/2002/INF.12) in which it informed about methodological activities being undertaken by the SBSTA, the SBI, the secretariat and the Executive Board of the clean development mechanism.  more >>