Recent developments

COP 18, (Dec. 2012 in Doha, Qatar), adopted the common tabular format for the “UNFCCC biennial reporting guidelines for developed country Parties”  (decision 19/CP.18).  Developed
country Parties shall use the reporting guidelines for the preparation of their biennial reports. First biennial reports are due 1 January 2014.

COP18/CMP8 also adopted  COP decision 20/CP.18 on the "Status of submission and review and compilation and synthesis of fifth national communications from Parties inccluded in Annex I to the Convention and a CMP decision 7/CMP.8 on the "Supplementary information incorporated in national communications from Parties included in Annex I to the Convention that are also Parties to the Kyoto Protocol and submitted in accordance with Article 7, paragraph 2, of the Kyoto Protocol, which had been forwarded to these bodies by SBI 36.

SBI 37 (Doha) took note of the status of submission and review of fifth national communications (FCCC/SBI/2012/INF.11).  All national communications received so far have been reviewed and review reports have been posted on the UNFCCC website. 

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See also Recent developments on requirements for Reporting and Review for Annex I Parties under the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol

Background

Under the Convention, all Parties should report on the steps they are taking to implement the Convention (Articles 4.1 and 12). Most of the 41 Annex I Parties submitted their first report (known as a "national communication" (NC)) in 1994 or 1995, their second in 1997–1998 and the third after 30 November 2001. The fourth NCs were due on 1 January 2006 and the fifth on 1 January 2010.  Decision 9/CP.16 calls for submission of the sixth NCs on 1 January 2014. 

Annex I Parties submitted their fifth NCs to the UNFCCC secretariat through the submission portal. The fourth NCs and the previous NCs submitted to the UNFCCC secretariat could be also found on the website.

Reporting Guidelines for National Communications

In preparing their NCs, Annex I Parties should follow the UNFCCC guidelines for reporting and review. These guidelines have been revised twice, at COP 2 (Geneva, July 1996) for the preparation of the second round of communications, and again at COP 5 (Bonn, Oct./Nov. 1999), where revised reporting guidelines (FCCC FCCC/CP/1999/7) were adopted for the preparation of third NCs and continue to be applied for the fourth and fifth NCs. To facilitate the preparation of the fifth NCs the UNFCCC secretariat has prepared an annotated outline (278 kB) including reporting elements under the Kyoto Protocol and presented an  overview on the relevant guidelines and reporting requirement.

Compilation and Synthesis Reports

Upon requests from the Subsidiary Body of Implementation (SBI), the secretariat prepares compilation and synthesis (C&S) reports of the NCs that summarize information provided in the individual NCs. The latest C&S report of the fifth NCs, presented to SBI 34 (Bonn, June 2011), has presented a summary of information reported under both, the Convention and under its Kyoto Protocol.

In-depth Reviews

In accordance with the existing procedures and decisions under the Convention and its Kyoto Protocol, the secretariat is organizing and coordinating in-depth reviews (IDRs) of NCs of Annex I Parties. The review of each NC typically involves a desk-based study and an in-country visit, and aims to provide a comprehensive, technical assessment of a Party's implementation of its commitments under the Convention, and for the Annex I Parties that are also Parties under the Kyoto Protocol, under the Kyoto Protocol. In-depth reviews are conducted by an international team of experts from Annex I and non-Annex I Parties, selected from the Roster of Experts.

The in-depth review results in an in-depth review report which aims to facilitate the work of the COP/CMP in assessing the implementation of commitments by Annex I Parties. The in-depth review reports also allow easier comparison of information between NCs of Parties. The in-depth review of fifth NCs finished in October 2012.

The UNFCCC secretariat invited Annex I Parties to share their experiences in reporting and review of the NCs in side events at SB 33 and SB 34.