GENERAL

FCCC/AGBM/1997/4

29 April 1997

Original: ENGLISH

AD HOC GROUP ON THE BERLIN MANDATE

Seventh session

Bonn, 31 July - 7 August 1997

Item 2 (a) of the provisional agenda

1. Arrangements have been made for the seventh session of the Ad Hoc Group on

the Berlin Mandate (AGBM) to be held at the Hotel Maritim, Bonn, from 31 July to

7 August 1997. The session will be opened by the Chairman at 10 a.m. on

Thursday, 31 July 1997.

2. The provisional agenda for the seventh session of the AGBM, proposed after consultation with the Chairman, is as follows:

1. Opening of the session.

2. Organizational matters:

(a) Adoption of the agenda;

(b) Organization of the work of the session;

(c) Organization of the work of the eighth session.

GE.97-

3. Negotiation of a protocol or another legal instrument.

4. Report on the session.

3. After consultation among the respective Chairmen, the AGBM will start one day earlier than originally planned and compensatory time will be allocated to the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) on Tuesday, 5 August 1997. The AGBM will meet in parallel with the SBI and the SBSTA on this date. The seventh session of the AGBM will be opened by the Chairman at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 31 July 1997.

4. In accordance with Articles 15.2 and 17.2 of the Convention, the secretariat is in the process of communicating to the Parties the text of the proposed amendment or protocol in order to meet the six months notification required by the above-mentioned provisions.

(a) Adoption of the agenda

5. The provisional agenda for the seventh session of the AGBM is presented for adoption (see paragraph 2 above). The issues of policies and measures and of quantified emission limitation and reduction objectives will be addressed separately under item 3.

(b) Organization of the work of the session

(i) Documentation

6. The provisional agenda has been drawn up taking account of the expected timely availability of documentation in the six official languages of the United Nations.

7. A list of documents relating to the provisional agenda, as well as other documents available at the session, is contained in annex I below.

8. In accordance with the conclusions of the AGBM at its sixth session,

(FCCC/AGBM/1997/3) the main document for the session will be the negotiating text by the Chairman (FCCC/AGBM/1997/3/Add.1). Proposals from Parties received between the sixth session of the AGBM and 1 April 1997 will be issued as document FCCC/AGBM/1997/MISC.1/Add.2. Any proposals received thereafter will be issued as addenda to this document.

(ii) Schedule

9. Arrangements have been made for parallel meetings during the session. During normal working hours, when services are available there will be two parallel meetings with interpretation from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. There will also be some facilities for informal meetings without interpretation. Delegations are urged to use these facilities fully by starting all meetings promptly at the scheduled time. A suggested approach to the organization of work is contained in annex II below.

(c) Organization of the work of the eighth session

10. It will be useful to look ahead to the programme and structure of the work of the next and final session of the AGBM in the light of the progress made at the seventh session. The Chairman will also make proposals concerning the organization of work at the eighth session of the AGBM. It is anticipated that the AGBM will complete its work at the eighth session and transmit the results to the Conference of the Parties (COP) for finalization and subsequent adoption.

11. The AGBM will have before it the negotiating text by the Chairman (FCCC/AGBM/1997/3/Add.1) and additional proposals from Parties referred to in paragraph 8 above. Under this comprehensive item, the Chairman will organize the discussion according to the headings of the negotiating text, subdividing or grouping these as appropriate to facilitate consideration by Parties. The Chairman will invite Parties to negotiate on the text of each section - or parts or groups thereof - and to refrain from general statements of position. As at the sixth session, he will also, as needed, refer elements of the text for detailed consideration in informal consultations. The aim of this process will be to reach agreement at the session on as much of the text as possible and, in the remainder of the text, to eliminate duplication, remove options that are not feasible in the time frame of the

Berlin Mandate and narrow the range of alternatives.

12. The main result of the session must be a further streamlined negotiating text of the protocol or another legal instrument. This text, to be adopted as an addendum to the report on the session, will provide the basis for negotiations to continue at the eighth session of the AGBM.

13. A draft report on the work of the session will not be prepared for consideration by the AGBM at the session. However, the AGBM may wish to adopt any additional conclusions, based on proposals from the Chairman, in accordance with established practice. The AGBM is invited to authorize the Rapporteur to complete the report after the session, under the guidance of the Chairman and with the assistance of the secretariat.

Annex I

FCCC/AGBM/1997/4 Provisional agenda and annotations

FCCC/AGBM/1997/3/Add.1 Negotiating text by the Chairman

FCCC/AGBM/1997/MISC.1/Add.2 Implementation of the Berlin Mandate:

(and addenda as necessary) Additional proposals from Parties

FCCC/AGBM/1997/3 Report of the Ad Hoc Group on the Berlin Mandate on the work of its sixth session,

Bonn 3-7 March 1997

FCCC/AGBM/1996/MISC.2 Implementation of the Berlin Mandate: Proposals

and Add.1-4 from Parties

FCCC/CP/1996/15 Report of the Conference of the Parties on its

and Add.1 second session, held at Geneva from

8 to 19 July 1996

FCCC/AGBM/1997/MISC.1 Implementation of the Berlin Mandate: Proposals

and Add.1 from Parties

FCCC/AGBM/1997/MISC.2 Implementation of the Berlin Mandate: Comments from Parties

All AGBM documents as well as the Report of the Conference of the Parties on its first session, the Second Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the second compilation and synthesis of national communications from Annex I Parties will be available for reference purposes.