1. Guidelines for preparation of national communications from non-Annex I Parties

In accordance with Article 4, paragraph 1 and Article 12, paragraph 1, each Party shall communicate to the Conference of the Parties, through the secretariat, the following elements of information:

(a) A national inventory of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of all greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol, to the extent its capacities permit, using comparable methodologies to be promoted and agreed upon by the Conference of the Parties.

(b) A general description of steps taken or envisaged by the Party to implement the Convention.

(c) Any other information the Party considers relevant to the achievement of the objective of the Convention and suitable for inclusion in its communication, including, if feasible, material relevant for calculations of global emission trends.

Guidelines for the preparation of initial national communications from non-Annex I Parties were adopted at COP 2 in Geneva in 1996. COP 5 (Bonn, 1999) initiated a process of reviewing the guidelines, with the aim of improving them and established a Consultative Group of Experts on National Communications from non-Annex I Parties (CGE) in order to improve the process of preparation of national communications by non-Annex I Parties. The CGE made major contributions to the review of the guidelines. At COP 8 (New Delhi, 2002) Parties adopted revised guidelines.

The COP, at its eleventh session, took decisions on submission of second, and where appropriate, third national communications from NAI Parties (Decision 8/CP.11).  The thirtieth session of the SBI also agreed on conclusions which could influence the way national communications are planned and implemented (see paragraph 7 of FCCC/SBI/2009/L.12).

2. Guidelines for preparation of biennial update reports (BURs) from non-Annex I Parties

COP 17 adopted the guidelines for the preparation of biennial update reports from non-Annex I Parties contained in annex III of decision 2/CP.17, and also decided the following:

(a) That non-Annex I Parties, consistent with their capabilities and the level of support provided for reporting, should submit their first biennial update report by December 2014; the least developed country Parties and small island developing States may submit biennial update reports at their discretion;
(b) That in using the Guidelines, non-Annex I Parties should take into account their development priorities, objectives, capacities and national circumstances;
(c) That the Guidelines should be used as a basis to provide guidance to an operating entity of the financial mechanism for funding the preparation of biennial update reports from non-Annex I Parties and, in the case of the first biennial update report, to the Global Environment Facility;
(d) To urge non-Annex I Parties to submit their requests to the Global Environment Facility for support, in a timely manner;
(e) That enhanced support for the preparation of biennial update reports should be ensured by developed country Parties and other developed Parties included in Annex II to the Convention by means of resources, in accordance with Article 4, paragraph 3, of the Convention, on the basis of agreed full-cost funding;
(f) That non-Annex I Parties shall submit a biennial update report every two years, either as a summary of parts of their national communication in the year in which the national communication is submitted or as a stand-alone update report; the least developed country Parties and small island developing States may submit biennial update reports at their discretion;
(g) That the first biennial update report submitted by non-Annex I Parties shall cover, at a minimum, the inventory for the calendar year no more than four years prior to the date of the submission, or more recent years if information is available, and that subsequent biennial update reports shall cover a calendar year that does not precede the submission date by more than four years;
(h)  That these guidelines should be reviewed and revised as appropriate, in accordance with decisions of the Conference of the Parties.


3. Modalities and guidelines for international consultation and analysis (ICA)

COP17 also adopted the modalities and guidelines for international consultation and analysis contained in Annex IV of decision 2/CP.17, and decided the following:

(a) That the first rounds of international consultation and analysis will be conducted for developing country Parties, commencing within six months of the submission of the first round of biennial update reports by developing country Parties;
(b) That the frequency of participation in subsequent rounds of international consultation and analysis by developing country Parties, based on their respective capabilities and national circumstances, and special flexibility for small island developing States and the least developed country Parties, will be determined by the frequency of the submission of biennial update reports;
(c) To revise the modalities and guidelines prescribed herein based on experiences gained in the first round of international consultation and analysis, no later than 2017;
(d) That small island developing States and the least developed country Parties
may undergo international consultation and analysis as a group of Parties at their discretion.


4. GEF operational procedures for the expedited financing of preparation of NCs and BURs from non-Annex I Parties

The GEF has prepared   operational procedures for the expedited financing of national communications from non-Annex I Parties to assist eligible countries to formulate and submit proposals based on COP 8 guidelines.  Under these operational procedures, up to US$405,000 is made available to each non-Annex I Party for the preparation of its national communication.  The GEF also provides an additional US$15,000 per country for stocktaking exercise and stakeholder consultations in preparation of the project proposals.

The GEF prepared policy guidelines for the financing of biennial update reports for Parties not included in Annex I to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (GEF Guideline).  As per these policy guidelines, non-Annex I Parties can, for the preparation of their biennial update reports, access up to US$352,000 through a GEF Agency or via direct access.

 In response to a request by SBI 18 (Bonn, 2003), the secretariat prepared a user manual to facilitate the use of the UNFCCC guidelines annexed to decision 17/CP.8.

The user manual, launched at COP 9 (Milan 2003), is designed for use by Parties and national experts responsible for the preparation of the various sections of national communications, and also by national climate change teams or committees that facilitate the coordination, organization and management of various tasks and activities. It might also be useful for multilateral and bilateral programmes that support the preparation of national communications from non-Annex I Parties.

The user manual is available electronically in PDF-format in three UN languages:  English (672 kB) , Français, Español. It is also made available to Parties in hardcopy upon request.

The secretariat also prepared a Resource Guide for preparing the national communications of non-Annex I Parties.   The Modules of the Resource Guide are available at:
http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/publications/09_resource_guide1.pdf
http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/publications/09_resource_guide2.pdf
http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/publications/09_resource_guide3.pdf
http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/publications/09_resource_guide4.pdf