Distr.
GENERAL
FCCC/SBI/1995/1
27 July 1995
Original: ENGLISH
SUBSIDIARY BODY FOR IMPLEMENTATIONFirst session
Geneva, 31 August - 1 September 1995
Item 1 of the provisional agenda
1. The Conference of the Parties at its first session (COP 1), by
its decision 6/CP.1 (see FCCC/CP/1995/7/Add.1), requested the
Convention secretariat to make arrangements for sessions of the
Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and
the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) on the basis of annexes
II and III to that decision. In the context of the schedule of
sessions of Convention bodies established by the Bureau of the COP
and after consultation with the Chairman and the officers of the
Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI), arrangements have been made
for the first session of the SBI to be held at the Palais des
Nations, Geneva, from 31 August to 1 September 1995. The session will
be opened by the Chairman of the SBI at 10 a.m. on 31 August 1995 in
Conference Room XIX.
2. The provisional agenda for the first session of the SBI,
proposed after consultation with the Chairman and officers of the
subsidiary body, is as follows:
1. Organizational matters:
(a) Adoption of the agenda;
(b) Organization of work of the session.
GE.95-
2. Elaboration and scheduling of the programme of work,
1996-1997.
3. Other matters arising from decisions of the Conference of the
Parties (COP):
(a) Communications from Annex I Parties: progress report on
in-depth reviews;
(b) Matters relating to the financial mechanism;
(c) Institutional and budgetary matters.
4. Report on the session.
(a) Adoption of the agenda
3. The provisional agenda for the first session of the SBI is
presented for adoption.
(b) Organization of work of the
session
(i) Documentation
4. The following is the list of documents relating to the
provisional agenda:
FCCC/CP/1995/7 Report of the Conference of the Parties on its first session,
and Add.1 held at Berlin from 28 March to 7 April
1995
FCCC/SBI/1995/1 Provisional agenda and annotations
FCCC/SBI/1995/2 Proposed programme of work
FCCC/SBI/1995/3 Arrangements between the Conference of the Parties
and the operating entity or entities of the financial mechanism.
(Draft Memorandum of Understanding between the COP and the Council of
the Global Environment Facility (GEF))
FCCC/SBI/1995/3/Add.1 Information on relevant action by the GEF Council
5. The following documents are also relevant to the work of both
the SBI and the SBSTA:
FCCC/SB/1995/1 Progress report on the in-depth reviews of national
communications from Parties included in Annex I to the
Convention
FCCC/SB/1995/Inf.1 Division of labour between the subsidiary
bodies established by the Convention
FCCC/SB/1995/Misc.2 Compilation of views of Parties on
communications from Parties not included in Annex I to the
Convention
6. Other documents may be made available prior to or during the
session.
(ii) Schedule of meetings
7. The scheduling of meetings for the session will be based on the
availability of facilities during working hours, when services are
available for two concurrent meetings with interpretation from 10
a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. There will also be some
facilities for informal meetings without interpretation. Delegations
are urged to use the services fully by starting all meetings promptly
at the scheduled time. A tentative schedule of meetings will be
proposed by the Chairman on the first day of the
meeting.
(iii) Allocation of tasks
8. Following consultations with the Chairman and officers of the
SBI, it is proposed that items 2 and 3 (a) be dealt with by the SBI
as a whole in plenary. Items 3 (b) and (c) could be assigned to a
working group (eg. chaired by the Vice-chairman), meeting during the
afternoon of 31 August, that would report back to the SBI on 1
September.
9. The Conference of the Parties at its first session (COP 1), by its decision 6/CP.1, characterized the role of the SBI as that of developing recommendations to assist the COP in the review and assessment of the implementation of the Convention and in the preparation and implementation of its decisions. The COP in that same decision requested the SBI to undertake functions given in annex I, section B, of the decision. Those tasks requiring action between the first and second sessions of the COP were listed in annex II, section B, of the decision. In addition there are a number of tasks arising from decisions 2/CP.1, 3/CP.1, 4/CP.1, 5/CP.1, 8/CP.1, 10/CP.1, 13/CP.1 and 14/CP.1.
10. The SBI will have before it a proposed programme of work
(FCCC/SBI/1995/2) drawn up by the secretariat, elaborating on the
following matters arising from decisions of COP 1 on which the SBI is
expected to develop recommendations:
(a) National communications from the Parties included in Annex I to the Convention. (Decisions 2/CP.1 on review of first communications from Parties included in annex I to the Convention and 3/CP.1 on the preparation and submission of national communications from the Parties included in annex I to the Convention).
(b) First communications from Parties not included in
Annex I to the Convention (Decision 8/CP.1 on communications
from Parties not included in Annex I to the Convention).
(c) Matters relating to the financial mechanism
(Decisions 9/CP.1 on maintenance of the interim arrangements referred
to in Article 21, paragraph 3, of the Convention, 10/CP.1 on
arrangements between the COP and the operating entity or entities of
the financial mechanism, 11/CP.1 on initial guidance on policies,
programme priorities and eligibility criteria to the operating entity
of the financial mechanism, 12/CP.1 on the report of the Global
Environment Facility to the Conference of the Parties on the
development of an operational strategy and on initial activities in
the field of climate change and the decision of the COP relating to
modalities for the functioning of operational linkages between the
Conference of the Parties and the operating entity or entities of the
financial mechanism (FCCC/CP/1995/7, para. 81 and
FCCC/CP/1995/7/Add.1, section III).
(d) Transfer of technology (Decision 13/CP.1 on
transfer of technology);
(e) Activities implemented jointly under the pilot
phase (Decision 5/CP.1 on activities implemented jointly
under the pilot phase);
(f) Institutional and budgetary matters
(Decisions 14/CP.1 on the institutional linkage of the Convention
secretariat to the United Nations, 15/CP.1 on financial procedures,
17/CP.1 on the adoption of the Convention budget for the biennium
1996-1997, 18/CP.1 on other voluntary funding for the biennium
1996-1997, 19/CP.1 on extrabudgetary funding for the interim
secretariat in 1995, 20/CP.1 on the establishment of a multilateral
consultative process for the resolution of questions regarding the
implementation of the Convention (Article 13) and 21/CP.1 on the date
and venue of the second session of the Conference of the Parties and
arrangements for the third session.
(g) Methodological issues (including allocation
and control of emissions from international bunker fuels) (Decision
4/CP.1 on methodological issues);
(h) Technical cooperation activities of the secretariat
and its partners;
(i) Proposals on longer-term activities and organizational
arrangements, including any adjustments to the functions
and/or allocation of work, and the scheduling and periodicity of
sessions;
(j) Proposals for future cooperation between the SBI and
the SBSTA and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(Decision 6/CP.1 on the subsidiary bodies established by the
Convention);
(k) Possible contributions to the 'Berlin Mandate'
process, if requested (Decisions 1/CP.1 on the Berlin
Mandate and 6/CP.1 on the subsidiary bodies);
(l) Report on the work of the SBI to COP
2;
11. The SBI is invited to adopt an agreed programme of work for
1996-1997. Since many of the above tasks are described in general
terms only, the SBI may wish to discuss each in terms of its
definition and scope and the approach to
carrying out each task. Relative priorities within the context
of the proposed calendar of sessions, are also key
issues.
12. Details of SBI sessions scheduled for the period 1996-1997 can
be found in the programme of work. (FCCC/SBI/1995/2)
3. Other matters arising from decisions of the
Conference of the Parties (COP)
(a) Communications from Annex I Parties: progress
report on in-depth reviews
13. The SBI and the SBSTA will have a standing agenda item on
communications from Annex I Parties under which documents would be
taken up in accordance with the review process schedule. On the basis
of decision 6/CP.1, it is expected that the focus of consideration by
the SBI will be the policy aspects of the national communications, of
the in-depth reviews and of any compilation and synthesis of these,
particularly the aspects relating to the overall aggregated effects
of the steps taken.
14. The SBI may wish at this session to focus on the in-depth reviews of national communications, which are now under way. A progress report on the in-depth reviews undertaken to date has been prepared for the consideration of the SBI and the SBSTA (FCCC/SB/1995/1). It is suggested that the SBI may undertake a brief discussion of that
report. Substantive discussion could take place at future sessions
of the SBI as more in-depth review reports become available and there
is a better sense of the policy aspects warranting
consideration.
(b) Matters relating to the financial
mechanism
15. The COP at its first session, by its decision 10/CP.1,
requested the secretariat in consultation with the secretariat of the
GEF and bearing in mind comments made at the eleventh session of the
Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, to prepare draft
arrangements for consideration by the SBI at its first session and
adoption by the Conference of the Parties at its second session.
Accordingly, the subsidiary body will have before it document
FCCC/SBI/1995/3 containing a draft memorandum of understanding
between the COP and the Council of the GEF prepared by the
secretariat in consultation with the GEF secretariat. The draft
Memorandum of Understanding has been considered by the GEF Council at
its meeting from for 18 to 20 July 1995. The comments of the GEF
Council, as well as any new information on the activities of the GEF
in the area of climate change, will be contained in document
FCCC/SBI/1995/3/Add.1.
(c) Institutional and budgetary
matters
16. The COP at its first session, by its decision 14/CP.1, took
note of, and provisionally accepted, the arrangements proposed by the
Secretary-General of the United Nations for administrative support to
the Convention secretariat and requested the Executive Secretary to
pursue the question of the allotment of overhead to defray
administrative expenses, as indicated in the advice of the
Secretary-General of 14 November 1994. It further requested the SBI
at its first session to review the proposed administrative support
arrangements on the basis of a report from the Executive Secretary.
The SBI will have to take decisions in this regard so that the
arrangements may take effect from 1 January 1996.
17. The Executive Secretary will inform the SBI of the state of
consultations on this matter with the responsible department of the
United Nations Secretariat.
18. The Executive Secretary will also report on the status of
extrabudgetary funding for the Convention in 1995 and on any other
institutional and budgetary matters of current
relevance.
19. In view of the brevity of the session, it is proposed that the
preparation of the report on the session be undertaken after the
session by the Rapporteur, with the guidance of the Chairman and the
assistance of the secretariat. The report would incorporate any
decisions or conclusions adopted at the session on the preceding
items.