SBI 41, Lima, December 2014

1. The Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) took note of the information
provided by the secretariat of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) on the financial
support provided by the GEF for the preparation of national communications and biennial
update reports (BURs) by Parties not included in Annex I to the Convention (non-Annex I
Parties).¹

2. The SBI invited the GEF to continue providing detailed, accurate, timely and
complete information on its activities relating to the preparation of national
communications by non-Annex I Parties, including information on the dates of approvals of
funding and disbursement of funds. It also invited the GEF to continue providing
information on an approximate date of completion of the draft national communications
and an approximate date of submission to the secretariat of the national communications,
for consideration by SBI 43 (November–December 2015).

3. The SBI further invited the GEF to continue providing detailed, accurate, timely and
complete information on its activities relating to the preparation of BURs, including
information on the dates of requests for funding, approvals of funding and disbursement of
funds, as well as an approximate date of submission to the secretariat of the BURs, for
consideration by SBI 42 (June 2015).

4. The SBI noted the information provided by the GEF, in its report to the Conference
of the Parties (COP) at its twentieth session,² on the funding available to non-Annex I
Parties for the preparation of their national communications and BURs under its latest
replenishment, and on the total amount of funding available in its climate change focal area.

5. The SBI also noted that, by 4 December 2014, 1 non-Annex I Party had submitted
its first BUR in accordance with decision 2/CP.17, paragraph 41(a), and that a further 7
non-Annex I Parties are expected to submit them by 31 December 2014. It further noted
that, as at 1 December 2014, the GEF secretariat had received 48 requests from non-Annex
I Parties for funds for the preparation of their BURs. In addition, the SBI noted that the
GEF Council approved, in October 2014, a project for 35 small island developing States
and least developed countries to complete their BURs.

6. Recalling decision 2/CP.17, paragraph 41(d), the SBI reiterated its urging of the
non-Annex I Parties that have yet to submit, as applicable, their requests to the GEF for
support for the preparation of their first BURs to do so in a timely manner.³ In addition, it
encouraged GEF agencies to continue to facilitate the preparation and submission of project
proposals by non-Annex I Parties for the preparation of their BURs.

7. The SBI invited the GEF to provide, in its report to COP 21 (November–December
2015), information on the procedures available to facilitate access by non-Annex I Parties
to funding for the preparation of their national communications and multiple BURs with
one application.

8. The SBI noted the progress made by the GEF in the operationalization of its Global
Support Programme (GSP).⁴ It encouraged non-Annex I Parties to take advantage of the
opportunities for technical assistance and support available under the GSP.

9. The SBI welcomed the report⁵ provided by the secretariat on the regional hands-on
training workshops on the use of the national greenhouse gas inventory software for non-
Annex I Parties, which were held in the period 2013–2014. Noting the need to train
additional experts, it requested the secretariat to make all efforts to provide further relevant
training, once the updated software has been made available in other United Nations
languages.

10. The SBI noted with appreciation that, as at 4 December 2014, 147 initial, 105
second, 9 third, 1 fourth and 1 fifth national communications from non-Annex I Parties had
been submitted. It also noted that, by the end of 2014, 20 second and 11 third national
communications from non-Annex I Parties are expected to have been submitted.

11. The SBI took note of the estimated budgetary implications of the activities to be
undertaken by the secretariat referred to in paragraph 9 above.

12. It requested that the actions of the secretariat called for in these conclusions be
undertaken subject to the availability of financial resources.

¹ FCCC/SBI/2014/INF.22 and FCCC/CP/2014/2.

² FCCC/CP/2014/2.

³ FCCC/SBI/2012/15, paragraph 53.

⁴ A project administered jointly by the United Nations Development Programme and the United
Nations Environment Programme with the objective of enhancing the support provided to non-Annex
I Parties for the timely preparation of their national communications and BURs.

⁵ FCCC/SBI/2014/INF.12.