Distr.
GENERAL
FCCC/SBI/1996/4
30 January 1996
Original: ENGLISH
SUBSIDIARY BODY FOR IMPLEMENTATIONSecond session
Geneva, 27 February - 4 March 1996
Item 4 (b) of the provisional agenda
1. Article 8.2 of the Convention requests the secretariat to
facilitate assistance to the Parties, particularly developing country
Parties, in the compilation and communication of information required
in accordance with the provisions of the Convention (see especially
Articles 4.1 and 12.1), and to ensure the necessary coordination with
the secretariats of other relevant international bodies.
2. The Conference of the Parties (COP), at its first session, took
note of the following conclusion, which had been reached in Working
Group II of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee at its
eleventh session (see FCCC/CP/1995/7/Add.1, section III
(b)):
"Bearing in mind the views expressed by representatives, and
without prejudice to the guidance that the Conference of the Parties
may provide in the future, the interim secretariat was requested to
continue to facilitate the provision of technical and financial
support to Parties, in cooperation with its partners, and to
periodically report back to the Conference of the Parties on progress
achieved, so that further guidance could be provided."
GE.96-
3. In this context, the secretariat has prepared the present
progress report on the activities undertaken in the area of technical
and financial support for consideration by the Subsidiary Body for
Implementation (SBI). The SBI may wish to take note of and comment on
the information herein.
4. Activities regarding information exchange focus on supporting
the preparation by non-Annex I Parties of national communications, 26
of which are due as early as March 1997 (see annex I to this
document). In this context, the goal of the secretariat is to
strengthen the role of the Climate Convention information exchange
programme (CC:INFO) as a service both to developing country Parties
and to multilateral and bilateral organizations as a source of
information on various aspects of the implementation of the
Convention.
5. CC:INFO disseminates information that is divided into several
modules, including:
(a) Detailed profiles of approximately 60 multilateral and
bilateral organizations which are able to provide financial and
technical assistance to Parties in the implementation of the
Convention;
(b) Summary information, divided into country profiles, on
approximately 250 activities relating to climate change. Information
is given on enabling activities and response measures, with details
on where undertaken, and by whom. Taken together, these activities
are representative of the total of all climate change activities
implemented by Parties not included in Annex II;
(c) Information on the due dates of the national communications of
Parties;
(d) Information on climate change related events, such as meetings
of the COP and its subsidiary bodies, workshops and
seminars.
6. This modular approach will allow the secretariat to develop
additional CC:INFO modules for other relevant subjects as needed (for
example, the exchange of experiences on climate change projects, as
well as information on technology transfer and activities implemented
jointly).
7. A preliminary appraisal of Phase One of CC:INFO
(A/AC.237/90/Add.1), indicated that CC:INFO is responding to the
needs of Parties - particularly Parties not included in Annex II -
requiring information on available international assistance. CC:INFO
is also meeting the information needs of individuals and
organizations working on climate change issues including the Global
Environment Facility (GEF).
8. In cooperation with the staff of the GEF and its Implementing
Agencies, a new classification system for climate change activities,
in particular enabling activities, has recently been developed by the
secretariat. The introduction of this system facilitates the
identification of the issues involved in climate change projects, and
the objectives they seek to achieve, with related benefits in terms
of information exchange, comparability of data, and so
forth.
9. In January 1996, the March 1995 CC:INFO report was updated and
published. In all, more than 500 individuals and organizations now
receive printed material from CC:INFO. In an effort to reduce the
printing and shipping costs associated with the production of this
material, new dissemination strategies are being
developed.
10. These strategies include putting greater emphasis on
electronic dissemination of information. In this context, two updates
to the above-mentioned CC:INFO report were distributed by electronic
mail during the period June-October 1995. In November 1995, after a
two-month development period, information contained in CC:INFO was
published on the World Wide Web (WWW). The information posted is
updated weekly and reflects the information base published in the
CC:INFO printed material.
11. Facilitating assistance for training and capacity building has
always been central to the work of the interim secretariat on the
facilitation of technical and financial support. The main activity in
this area so far has been the GEF-funded United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) project CC:TRAIN (training programme to support the
implementation of the Convention), carried out by the United Nations
Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and jointly developed by
UNITAR and the Convention secretariat.
12. CC:TRAIN is about to start on its second phase and is
providing assistance to 18 country Parties in the implementation of
the Convention at national as well as regional levels. A progress
report on this project is attached as annex II to this
document.
13. Given the priority for the preparation of the initial national
communications by non-Annex I Parties (see due dates in annex I to
this document), the Convention secretariat has taken steps to
facilitate increased assistance to non-Annex I Parties, if they so
request. Preparatory work is being undertaken with countries to
better define the demand for such assistance, as well as with the GEF
and partner United Nations agencies and other international and
national organizations to ensure that such demands can be met in a
timely and cost-effective manner. An informal consultative forum
(CC:FORUM) has been particularly useful in this regard (see
paragraphs 15 and 16 below).
14. The work of the secretariat in this area also anticipates the
need for assistance for the preparation of national communications of
developing country Parties.
15. In this context, the secretariat has initiated an informal
consultative forum for the exchange of experience on climate change
project development, implementation and follow-up (CC:FORUM) pursuant
to the ideas that were presented to the Intergovernmental Negotiating
Committee at its eleventh session (see A/AC.237/90/Add.3). The
objective of the forum is to bring participants together to share
experiences, opinions and ideas on how to develop and implement
climate change cooperative activities using information from CC:INFO
as the basis for the exchange of information. Participants in the
forum include persons from developing countries and from countries
with economies in transition who are engaged in the formulation and
implementation of climate change activities, as well as agencies
involved in supporting the implementation of such activities,
including the GEF and a number of United Nations agencies and
bilateral support programmes.
16. The first regular meeting of the forum was held in New York
from 8 to 9 November 1995, and was hosted by UNDP. The meeting
addressed a number of issues, in particular the provision of support
for the preparation of national communications. It was noted that
these constitute a commitment of a recurrent nature, and that
consequently the need for enabling activities may continue beyond the
preparation of the first national communications. This implies that
current enabling activities should be reviewed and an assessment of
their results made, so that the needs of individual countries may be
re-examined after the initial communications. CC:FORUM will consider
ways and means of undertaking such a review and
identification.
17. In addition, the secretariat attends meetings of the GEF
Operations Committee (GEFOP) and gives its views on the consistency
of project proposals with the Convention as well as with the guidance
to the financial mechanism given by the COP. GEFOP also provides the
secretariat with an opportunity to comment on the role and objectives
of enabling activities in building the capacities of developing
country Parties to respond to commitments under the Convention,
including that of preparing national communications.
18. The secretariat is also working on the development of ideas to
facilitate inter- and intra-country information networking in the
context of the implementation of the Convention. With this aim in
mind, discussions have been initiated with UNDP to explore ways in
which the Sustainable Development Network (SDN) could be used to
provide country teams with inexpensive access to electronic
communication. The secretariat has also been working with the
CC:TRAIN team, as well as with other partners, to ensure that
activities related to the exchange of information are integrated into
all projects for capacity building and enabling
activities.
19. In conclusion, therefore, it can be seen that the Convention
secretariat, together with its partners in the United Nations, has
developed a number of activities that are available to Parties, upon
request, in order to assist them in the implementation of the
Convention. These programmes could be strengthened, and additional
activities could be added, on request, particularly for priority
areas, such as the preparation of the initial national communications
of Parties not listed in Annex I to the Convention.
20. According to decision 18/CP.1 (FCCC/CP/1995/7/Add.1), many of
the activities of the secretariat on the facilitation of financial
and technical assistance need to be covered from "other voluntary
funding". In particular, the activities outlined above for CC:INFO
can only take place if the required supplementary funds can be
raised. The secretariat has prepared a fund-raising proposal that
will be submitted to potential contributors. This proposal is for
US$2,101,000 which is consistent with decision 18/CP.1 on other
voluntary funding for the biennium 1996-1997.
CONVENTION (AS AT 17 JANUARY 1996), WITH DUE DATES FOR
THEIR INITIAL COMMUNICATIONS
(listed in ascending order of due dates)
|
Country name |
Entry into force |
Due date |
1. |
Algeria |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
2. |
Antigua and Barbuda |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
3. |
Armenia |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
4. |
Cook Islands |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
5. |
Dominica |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
6. |
Ecuador |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
7. |
Fiji |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
8. |
India |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
9. |
Jordan |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
10. |
Marshall Islands |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
11. |
Mauritius |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
12. |
Mexico |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
13. |
Micronesia (Federated States of) |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
14. |
Mongolia |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
15. |
Nauru |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
16. |
Papua New Guinea |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
17. |
China |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
18. |
Peru |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
19. |
Republic of Korea |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
20. |
Saint Kitts and Nevis |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
21. |
Saint Lucia |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
22. |
Seychelles |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
23. |
Sri Lanka |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
24. |
Tunisia |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
25. |
Uzbekistan |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
26. |
Zimbabwe |
21-Mar-94 |
21-Mar-97 |
| |||
|
Country name |
Entry into force |
Due date |
|
|
|
|
27. |
Cuba |
05-Apr-94 |
05-Apr-97 |
28. |
Botswana |
27-Apr-94 |
27-Apr-97 |
29. |
Paraguay |
25-May-94 |
25-May-97 |
30. |
Brazil |
29-May-94 |
29-May-97 |
31. |
Argentina |
09-Jun-94 |
09-Jun-97 |
32. |
Malta |
15-Jun-94 |
15-Jun-97 |
33. |
Barbados |
21-Jun-94 |
21-Jun-97 |
34. |
Bahamas |
27-Jun-94 |
27-Jun-97 |
35. |
Pakistan |
30-Aug-94 |
30-Aug-97 |
36. |
Trinidad and Tobago |
22-Sep-94 |
22-Sep-97 |
37. |
Malaysia |
11-Oct-94 |
11-Oct-97 |
38. |
Georgia |
27-Oct-94 |
27-Oct-97 |
39. |
Philippines |
31-Oct-94 |
31-Oct-97 |
40. |
Grenada |
09-Nov-94 |
09-Nov-97 |
41. |
Uruguay |
16-Nov-94 |
16-Nov-97 |
42. |
Indonesia |
21-Nov-94 |
21-Nov-97 |
43. |
Costa Rica |
24-Nov-94 |
24-Nov-97 |
44. |
Guyana |
27-Nov-94 |
27-Nov-97 |
45. |
Nigeria |
27-Nov-94 |
27-Nov-97 |
46. |
Kenya |
28-Nov-94 |
28-Nov-97 |
47. |
Albania |
01-Jan-95 |
01-Jan-98 |
48. |
Bolivia |
01-Jan-95 |
01-Jan-98 |
49. |
Senegal |
15-Jan-95 |
15-Jan-98 |
50. |
Cameroon |
17-Jan-95 |
17-Jan-98 |
51. |
Belize |
29-Jan-95 |
29-Jan-98 |
52. |
Viet Nam |
14-Feb-95 |
14-Feb-98 |
53. |
Côte d'Ivoire |
27-Feb-95 |
27-Feb-98 |
54. |
Democratic People's Rep. of Korea |
05-Mar-95 |
05-Mar-98 |
| |||
|
Country name |
Entry into force |
Due date |
|
|
|
|
55. |
Egypt |
05-Mar-95 |
05-Mar-98 |
56. |
Lebanon |
15-Mar-95 |
15-Mar-98 |
57. |
Chile |
22-Mar-95 |
22-Mar-98 |
58. |
Bahrain |
28-Mar-95 |
28-Mar-98 |
59. |
Kuwait |
28-Mar-95 |
28-Mar-98 |
60. |
Saudi Arabia |
28-Mar-95 |
28-Mar-98 |
61. |
Thailand |
28-Mar-95 |
28-Mar-98 |
62. |
Venezuela |
28-Mar-95 |
28-Mar-98 |
63. |
Jamaica |
06-Apr-95 |
06-Apr-98 |
64. |
Oman |
09-May-95 |
09-May-98 |
65. |
Colombia |
20-Jun-95 |
20-Jun-98 |
66. |
Azerbaijan |
14-Aug-95 |
14-Aug-98 |
67. |
Namibia |
14-Aug-95 |
14-Aug-98 |
68. |
Kazakhstan |
15-Aug-95 |
15-Aug-98 |
69. |
Panama |
21-Aug-95 |
21-Aug-98 |
70. |
Turkmenistan |
03-Sep-95 |
03-Sep-98 |
71. |
Republic of Moldova |
07-Sep-95 |
07-Sep-98 |
72. |
Ghana |
05-Dec-95 |
05-Dec-98 |
73. |
Honduras |
18-Jan-96 |
18-Jan-99 |
74. |
Nicaragua |
30-Jan-96 |
30-Jan-99 |
75. |
Slovenia |
29-Feb-96 |
29-Feb-99 |
76. |
El Salvador |
03-Mar-96 |
03.Mar-99 |
77. |
Guatemala |
14-Mar-96 |
14-Mar-99 |
78. |
Morocco |
27-Mar-96 |
27-Mar-99 |
79. |
United Arab Emirates |
28-Mar-96 |
28-Mar-99 |
80. |
Syrian Arab Republic |
03-Apr-96 |
03-Apr-99 |
Annex II
CC:TRAIN PROGRESS REPORT
1. In 1993, the interim secretariat and the United Nations
Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) launched the pilot
programme of CC:TRAIN in Lithuania, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe to assist
these countries to implement the Convention through training,
capacity building and institution strengthening. The pilot programme
was funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
2. Building on the experience acquired in the pilot phase and
requests from numerous developing and transition countries, UNITAR,
in collaboration with the Convention secretariat and UNDP, has
developed a three-year second phase with a larger funding base from
the GEF and bilateral donors. Phase II is focused on assisting
non-Annex I country Parties to prepare their initial communications.
It is expected to start in the first quarter of 1996 in the following
18 countries:
Africa: Benin, Chad, Nigeria, Senegal
Latin America and the Caribbean: Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Paraguay,
Peru
Pacific: Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru,
Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Samoa
3. Phase II will assist the participating countries to prepare a
greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, determine the best options for
reducing GHG emissions, undertake studies on the possible impacts of
climate change, and identify options on how best to adapt to those
impacts. In addition, the policy implications of these studies will
be considered and integrated, as far as possible, in the countries'
current development plans as part of a broader climate change
response strategy.
4. As these tasks would need to bring together many actors from
different sectors over a long period of time, the programme has
adopted a country team approach. This approach involves inviting the
national Government to designate a host agency, which would host a
team of sectoral representatives and national institutions and
experts who could facilitate both the technical studies component and
the policy-making process. During the three-year programme, the
country team will be trained, supported financially and technically,
and made responsible for:
- overseeing the technical studies
- drafting national implementation strategies and/or national
communications
- implementing national workshops and conferences
- organizing consultative meetings and public education and
awareness activities
5. The team will also be responsible for consulting and involving
as many stakeholders as possible in the process of conducting
technical studies, preparing the national communications, and
developing possible follow-on projects.
6. In order to provide timely and region-specific technical
assistance, the programme employs a network of regional partner
institutions. The regional partners will spearhead the implementation
of CC:TRAIN in the participating countries. They will also be
responsible for arranging training workshops and providing technical
assistance to the countries in their respective regions.
7. At the regional level, the technical training workshops to be organized by the regional partners will start in 1996 and will deal with:
- preparing national GHG inventories
- mitigation analysis
- vulnerability and adaptation assessment
8. These workshops will be intended primarily for designated
experts from the participating countries but will also be open to
participants sponsored by other projects or programmes. The workshops
will build on materials developed by other organizations such as the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, United Nations Environment
Programme and the United States Country Studies Programme. A regional
calendar of training events will be announced early in
1996.
9. The regional partners will also organize regional workshops to
facilitate the sharing of technical studies and national
implementation strategies. These workshops will bring together
country teams in the regions to identify and propose possible
regional action in the implementation of the Framework Convention on
Climate Change. The workshops are expected to take place in late 1997
and early 1998.
10. During Phase II, English, Spanish and French language versions
of all CC:TRAIN materials will be produced. The United Nations
training development methodology (TRAIN-X) will be employed in the
development of all training resources to ensure that they can be
shared with other programmes and projects.
11. Information about the programme and its progress will be made
available in the future through regular articles in the quarterly
Climate Change Bulletin, regional newsletters, and through
the World Wide Web on the Internet.
1. * The list does not include Parties that are least developed countries (which may make their initial communication at their discretion) or Liechtenstein and Monaco.
2. * The list does not include Parties that are least developed countries (which may make their initial communication at their discretion) or Liechtenstein and Monaco.
3. * The list does not include Parties that are least developed countries (which may make their initial communication at their discretion) or Liechtenstein and Monaco.