The Conference of Parties, by Decision 1/CP.16, decided that developed country Parties should enhance reporting in national communications (NCs) and submit biennial reports (BRs) which outline progress in achieving emission reductions and the provision of financial, technology and capacity-building support to non-Annex I Parties, building on existing reporting and review guidelines, processes and experiences.  It also established a new process, international assessment and review (IAR), under the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) for developed country Parties that aims to promote the comparability of efforts among all developed country Parties with regard to their quantified economy-wide emission limitation and reduction targets.

The detailed guidelines for the preparation of BRs contained in annex I to decision 2/CP.17 as well as modalities and guidelines for IARs contained in annex II to decision 2/CP.17 were adopted by COP 17 in Durban.  The COP also decided, among other things, that:

• developed country Parties shall submit the first BR by 1 January 2014, and the second and subsequent BR two years after the due date of a full NC (i.e. 2016, 2020);
•  in the years when the full NCs are submitted, BRs can be presented either as an annex to the NC or as a separate report;
•  the first rounds of IARs should commence two months after the submission of the first round of BRs by developed country Parties;
• the modalities and procedures of the IAR will be revised on the basis of the experience gained in the first round of IARs, no later than 2016, and that any revisions of the modalities and procedures of the IAR should take into account any future agreement on a compliance regime for mitigation targets under the Convention.

According to the adopted modalities and guidelines, the IAR of BRs from developed country Parties will be conducted under the SBI in two steps:

1. A technical review of BRs, where relevant in conjunction with the review of annual greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories, and NCs of developed country Parties, which will result in an individual review report for each developed country Party. The information considered will include all emissions and removals related to quantified economy-wide emission reduction targets; assumptions, conditions and methodologies related to the attainment of quantified economy-wide emission reduction target; progress towards the achievement of quantified economy-wide emission reduction target; and the provision of financial, technological and capacity building support to developing country Parties.
   
2. A multilateral assessment of developed country Parties’ progress in implementation towards the achievement of emission reductions and removals related to their quantified economy-wide emission reduction targets.  The multilateral assessment will be conducted on the basis of BRs, the national GHG inventory (including the national inventory report) and the NC, the technical review report of BR, as well as supplementary information on the achievement of the Party’s quantified economy-wide emission reduction target. The multilateral assessment will be conducted under a working group session of the SBI for each developed country Party, with participation of all Parties. The Party under review may make a brief oral presentation, followed by oral questions by Parties and responses by the Party under review.

SBSTA 37 (Doha) concluded with the adoption of a work programme for the revision of review guidelines in 2013 and 2014 (FCCC/SBSTA/2012/L.28). According to the work programme, the review guidelines for national communications and biennial reports will be developed and adopted by the end of 2013, and the revised review guidelines for GHG inventories will be adopted by the end of 2014. These review guidelines will lay a solid foundation for the upcoming international assessment and review (IAR) commencing in 2014.