Distr.
GENERAL
FCCC/SBI/1997/11
4 June 1997
Original: ENGLISH
SUBSIDIARY BODY FOR IMPLEMENTATION
Sixth session
Bonn, 28 July - 5 August 1997
Item 8 of the provisional agenda
1. At its fifth session, the Subsidiary Body for Implementation
(SBI):
(a) Requested the Executive Secretary
to provide a note at its sixth session regarding arrangements for the
third Conference of the Parties (COP 3), the organization of work and
a list of possible elements for the provisional agenda for the
Conference, taking account of views expressed at that session
(FCCC/SBI/1997/6, para. 44 (b));
(b) Requested the secretariat to propose a calendar of meetings
for 1998-1999 (FCCC/SBI/1997/6, para. 47 (b));
(c) Decided that it would recommend, at its sixth session, the date and venue of COP 4 (FCCC/SBI/1997/6, para. 47 (a)).
2. The present note deals successively with these three
topics.
GE.97-
3. The SBI is invited to:
(a) Give guidance to the secretariat regarding arrangements for COP 3, in particular, on the organization of its work and on the ministerial segment
(see paragraphs 28-45);
(b) Confirm the calendar of meetings for 1998-1999, which is based
on the decision of the SBI at its fifth session (two meeting periods
per year of two weeks each);
(c) Make a recommendation regarding the date, and, if possible, the venue, of
COP 4.
4. There are compelling reasons why the SBI should complete its
consideration of all these points at its sixth session:
(a) The Executive Secretary should issue the provisional agenda for COP 3, including the annotations thereto and proposals for the organization of its work, at least
six weeks before the opening of COP 3, that is, before the seventh
session of the SBI;
(b) The number and duration of meeting periods is a key
determinant of the programme budget for 1998-1999, on which the SBI
is expected to make a firm recommendation at its sixth
session;
(c) No offer to host COP 4 has reached the secretariat (as of 30
May 1997); fixing the date of COP 4 should make it easier for such
offers to come forward in time for a decision to be taken by COP
3.
5. At its fifth session, the SBI "took note with satisfaction of the arrangements that were being made by the Government of Japan as the host Party of COP 3 and it looked forward to additional information concerning these arrangements, in particular on the conclusion of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Government of Japan and the secretariat of the UNFCCC related to the hosting of the session at Kyoto, Japan"
(FCCC/SBI/1997/6, para. 44 (a)).
6. Discussions with the Government of Japan on practical
arrangements and on an MOU have continued to advance. Advice on the
latter has been sought from the United Nations Office of Legal
Affairs. Any additional information on these matters will be provided
to the SBI at its sixth session.
7. At its fifth session, the SBI "requested the Executive
Secretary to provide a note at its sixth session, containing a list
of possible elements for the provisional agenda for COP 3 focused on
the completion of the work of the Berlin Mandate and its adoption and
taking account of views expressed at its current session"
(FCCC/SBI/1997/6, para. 44 (b)) and made recommendations on the
organization of the work of COP 3.
8. Rules 10 and 11 of the draft rules of procedure, as applied,
state that the provisional agenda for a session of the COP is to be
drawn up by the secretariat in agreement with the President and
circulated six weeks before the opening of the session
(FCCC/CP/1996/2). As requested by the SBI, a list of possible
elements for the provisional agenda of COP 3 is provided for its
consideration (see annex II of this document). The Executive
Secretary will take account of views expressed on this list at the
session of the SBI when preparing a provisional agenda for the
agreement of the President.
9. In the list of possible elements for the provisional agenda of
COP 3, the focus on the completion of the Berlin Mandate process is
provided by item 4.
10. Item 3, amendments to the Convention and its Annexes, is included in response to
proposals for such amendments received by the secretariat. These
are as follows:
(a) Kuwait has proposed to amend Article 4.3 by deleting the
second sentence thereof and substituting a new one. The proposed new
sentence would broaden the scope of funding under Article 4.3 and
omit both the concept of agreement in relation to the costs to be
funded and reference to Article 11.
(b) The Netherlands, on behalf of the European Community and its member States, has proposed the addition of a new paragraph under Article 17 (protocols), to be
Article 17.1(bis), concerning the adoption of a protocol by a
three-fourths majority of the Parties present and
voting.
(c) Pakistan, at the request of Turkey, has proposed action by COP
3 to delete the name of Turkey from Annexes I and II to the
Convention, by amendment of the annexes according to Articles 16 and
15 or through the review process envisaged in Article 4.2(f).
Azerbaijan has made a proposal with the same intent, referring to
Article 4.2(f).
11. The full text of these proposals for amendment will be
circulated in a document of the COP. The SBI may wish to consider
whether it would be useful for any or all of these proposals to be
considered by a subsidiary body before COP 3 and, if so, to indicate
which subsidiary body could undertake this task.
12. Item 5 in the list is derived from Article 7.2 of the Convention, which requires
the COP to keep the implementation of the Convention under regular
review. As drafted, this item is intended to cover consideration by
COP 3 of the reports of the four subsidiary bodies and any action
arising therefrom. It is expected that the reports of the subsidiary
bodies on their sessions in October 1997 will contain recommended
decisions for adoption by COP 3. The decision on the programme budget
for 1998-1999 should be recommended by the SBI at its sixth
session.
13. A separate sub-item under item 5 provides for the recurrent
item on the development and transfer of technologies that is required
by decision 13/CP.1, paragraph 4(a), and decision 7/CP.2, paragraph
5.
14. Item 5 could also serve as an umbrella for action on
substantive matters that are not specified elsewhere on the agenda
and have yet to be defined. For example, it could cover matters on
which the COP is to take action not later than 31 December 1998
(Article 4.2(d) and Article 4.2(f)), if it were agreed that these
matters should be dealt with at COP 3.
15. The SBI recommended that COP 3 be held from Monday, 1 to
Wednesday, 10 December 1997 (FCCC/SBI/1997/6, para. 44 (c)(i)). The
proposed organization of work is based on this
recommendation.
(a) Notification and attendance
16. Rule 5 of the draft rules of procedure, as applied, provides
that "the secretariat shall notify all Parties of the dates and venue
of a session at least two months before the session is held"
(FCCC/CP/1996/2). Formal notification of the third session will be
communicated in due course to all Parties through the National Focal
Points. For those Parties that have not yet identified National Focal
Points, the notification will be sent to the Diplomatic Missions in
Bonn, and to the Permanent Missions in New York or to the Ministries
of Foreign Affairs for those Parties not represented in Bonn. The
notification will be copied to Diplomatic Missions in Bonn and
Permanent Missions in Geneva.
17. The notification will request that the representatives of
Parties be provided with full powers to participate in the session by
their Governments . These powers include the possibilities to vote
and to serve as officers of the third session, of any sessional
bodies and of all subsidiary bodies of the Convention.
(b) Financial support for participation
18. It is important that contributions to the trust fund for
facilitating the participation of Parties in the UNFCCC process be
forthcoming in the next few months, to ensure adequate support for
participation in COP 3. It is hoped that it will be possible to fund
two delegates from each Party that is a least developed country or an
eligible small island developing country, and one delegate from each
other eligible Party. Should funds be available, it would be possible
to provide funding for two delegates from each eligible
Party.
(c) Credentials
19. In accordance with rule 19 of the draft rules of procedure, as
applied, the credentials of representatives of Parties, as well as
the names of alternate representatives and advisers, shall be
submitted to the secretariat no later than twenty-four hours after
the opening of the session. Any later change in the composition of
the delegation shall also be submitted to the secretariat. The
credentials shall be issued either by the Head of State or
Government or by the Minister of Foreign Affairs or, in the case of a
regional economic integration organization, by the competent
authority of that organization. The Bureau of COP 3 shall examine
the credentials and submit its report to the Conference in accordance
with rule 20 of the draft rules of procedure, as applied. As stated
in rule 21 of the draft rules of procedure, as applied,
representatives shall be entitled to participate provisionally in the
session, pending a decision by the COP to accept their credentials
(CP/1996/2).
20. At its second session, the Conference of the Parties did not
adopt its rules of procedure. Nevertheless, it decided to continue to
apply the draft rules of procedure to its work. The President
announced his intention to carry out further consultations during the
inter-sessional period with a view to enabling the Conference of the
Parties to adopt its rules of procedure at the outset of its third
session (FCCC/CP/1996/15, para. 13).
21. It is to be hoped that the issues underlying the different
positions on rule 42 ("Voting") will have been resolved by the start
of COP 3, so that the rules may be adopted at the start of the
session.
22. In accordance with rules 23 and 26 of the draft rules of
procedure, as applied, the President of the second session of the COP
will open and preside over the third session until it has elected a
President for the session. The hosting of a session of the COP away
from the headquarters of the secretariat traditionally confers the
Presidency upon the host Government. The delegation of Japan has
indicated its readiness to accept that responsibility, which is
consistent also with the principle of rotation among regional groups.
Further consultations will be required to determine the composition
of the Bureau of COP 3, as well as the officers of the subsidiary
bodies, as appropriate, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22
of the draft rules of procedure, as applied. The SBI may wish to
request the President of COP 2 to pursue informal consultations on
the election of officers of COP 3.
23. The elected President of the third session will invite the COP
to elect the remainder of its officers and the Chairmen of the
subsidiary bodies established by Articles 9 and 10 of the Convention.
Rule 27 of the draft rules of procedure, as applied, provides that
"each subsidiary body shall elect its own Vice-Chairman and
Rapporteur". It is proposed that, if there is agreement on the
nominations of these officers of subsidiary bodies, the provisions of
rule 27 should be waived to allow these officers to be elected
directly by the COP in plenary session.
24. The admission of intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations as observers is governed by paragraph 6 of Article 7 of
the Convention, which provides, inter alia, that "Any body
or agency, whether national or international, governmental or
non-governmental, which is qualified in matters covered by the
Convention, and which has informed the secretariat of its wish to be
represented at a session of the Conference of the Parties as an
observer, may be so admitted unless at least one third of the Parties
present object".
25. Following the practice of the UNFCCC, the secretariat will
invite those intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations
admitted to COP 1 and COP 2 to attend COP 3. Thus the procedure for
admission to the COP will apply to new applicants only.
26. The secretariat will prepare a list of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations that have expressed a wish to be invited to COP 3 for consideration by the Conference at the start of the session. In drawing up the list, the secretariat will take due account of the provisions of paragraph 6 of Article 7 of the Convention and of the established practice whereby non-governmental organizations are required to furnish proof of their
non-profit, tax-exempt status in a State Member of the United
Nations or of a specialized agency or of the International Atomic
Energy Agency. The list will include all organizations that have
requested and been accorded provisional admission to the work of the
subsidiary bodies since COP 2.
27. In accordance with past practice, the SBI may request the
Bureau of the COP to consider the list of applicants, prior to the
third session, with a view to establishing that the organizations
contained in the list do meet all requirements, and to authorize the
secretariat to advise those applicants of their "pre-admittance
status", on the understanding that the final authority for the
admission of observers rests with the COP.
(a) Opening of the session
28. At the opening plenary meeting on 1 December, statements will be made by the outgoing President of the second session of the COP, the newly-elected President of the third session and the Executive Secretary. In addition, there may be one or more addresses of welcome. It is proposed that these be the only statements at the opening of the session. In addition, the first plenary meeting will also take up a number of organizational matters:
sub-items 2 (a) to (f) of the possible elements of the provisional
agenda.
(b) Allocation of tasks
29. At its fifth session, the SBI recommended that "after dealing
with the opening and organizational matters, COP 3 would immediately
allocate the completion of decisions on the Berlin Mandate process to
a sessional committee of the whole, open to all delegations"
(FCCC/1997/SBI/6 para. 44 (c)(ii)). Thus, item 3 of the provisional
agenda would be allocated to the Committee of the Whole, which would
recommend action thereon for adoption by the COP. By the end of the
first week of the session, the Committee of the Whole should identify
issues that require the attention of ministers during the ministerial
segment.
30. The Committee of the Whole should also make arrangements for a
comprehensive editorial and linguistic review of the draft
instrument, to ensure consistency within the text and among the
languages.
31. Other matters, including the consideration and adoption of
decisions recommended by the subsidiary bodies, would be dealt with
directly in plenary meetings. The number of meetings taking place
simultaneously would be limited to two, to facilitate the work of
small delegations. The President may refer drafting tasks to informal
groups, as appropriate.
32. Taking into account the importance of the task entrusted to
the Committee of the Whole and the need to ensure a smooth transition
from the Ad Hoc Group on the Berlin Mandate (AGBM) to the Committee
of the Whole, the SBI may wish to invite the President of COP 2 to
start consultations, with a view to advising the newly-elected
President of COP 3 on the election of the Chairman of the Committee
of the Whole.
(c) Schedule of meetings
33. It is planned that services will be available for two parallel
meetings with interpretation. A schedule of meetings constructed on
this basis will be proposed in due course.
34. The SBI agreed to recommend that "In order to finalize the political negotiations on the outcome of the Berlin Mandate, a ministerial segment would take place from
Monday, 8 December to Wednesday, 10 December when the final text
of a protocol or another legal instrument would be adopted"
(FCCC/1997/SBI/6 para. 44 (c)(iii)). It also requested the
secretariat "to propose at its sixth session a cost effective and
innovative way of organizing the ministerial segment, and providing
ministers with adequate opportunities to exchange views on policy
matters" (FCCC/1997/SBI/6, para. 44 (d)).
35. In considering this request, the secretariat has felt that
ministers wishing to exchange views with their peers are not best
served by an opportunity to make one of many statements for the
record in a general debate. Such a traditional general debate is
often poorly attended after the start and its duration does not
encourage ministers to listen to the views of all their counterparts.
Ministers may prefer a programme that enables them to engage in an
informal, though structured, dialogue on policy matters and to
contribute to political negotiations, while preserving opportunities
to communicate statements for the record and address the media. This
thinking underpins the proposals that follow for the organization of
the ministerial segment.
36. Should there be interest in these proposals, the secretariat
would develop them further, in consultation with the Bureau of the
COP and the host Government of COP 3, as appropriate. By September,
the arrangements for the ministerial segment would need to be firm
and could be set out in the annotations to the provisional agenda and
in the notification of COP 3. Participants could then organize their
schedules in consequence.
(a) Opening addresses
37. It may be appropriate to launch the ministerial segment with
addresses on behalf of the Government of Japan and the
Secretary-General of the United Nations.
(b) Ministerial Round Table
38. The main opportunity for ministers to exchange views with each
other could be provided by a ministerial round table, chaired by the
President of the Conference. Building on the experience of the round
table held at COP 2, the round table at COP 3 could break into two or
three dialogue groups on broad policy issues related to the
Convention. These groups would be chaired by ministers, who would
each report the main lines of discussion in their group back to the
round table. The President of the COP would sum up the proceedings of
the round table in a statement to the COP, that would be recorded in
the report of the session. This exercise could take up the first day
of the ministerial segment, 8 December, with the President reporting
to the COP at the start of the next day.
39. In order to encourage dialogue, the round table and its groups
would be informal and off-the-record. Participation would be limited,
essentially to ministers. However, heads of selected partner
organizations and representatives of the main non-governmental
constituencies could be invited to participate in the dialogue
groups.
(c) General statements
40. Instead of the traditional general debate in plenary,
ministers would be invited to make available written general
statements which would be distributed to participants in COP 3, noted
in its report and included in the Conference Web site. Facilities
would also be available for ministers to address the
media.
(d) Arrangements for participation by observer organizations
41. At its fifth session, the SBI requested the secretariat "to
propose arrangements for the communication of views by heads of
United Nations programmes and agencies, IGOs and NGOs"
(FCCC/1997/SBI/6, para. 44 (e)).
42. At past sessions of the COP, observer organizations have been able to make general statements in plenary meetings. Heads of selected partner agencies, mainly of the
United Nations system, have been invited to do so at the opening
of the session. However, observer organizations have not been invited
to contribute to the general debate during the ministerial
segment.
43. In line with the foregoing organizational proposals for COP 3, it is proposed that observer organizations be accorded some access to the ministerial segment, through limited participation in the proposed dialogue groups of the ministerial round table
(see paragraphs 38 and 39 above). It is further proposed that
there be no oral statements in plenary by observer organizations, at
the opening or otherwise. Such organizations would be invited to make
available written statements for circulation which would be noted in
the report of COP 3 and included in the Conference Web
site.
(e) Political negotiations
44. The President of the COP will, as usual, consult ministers and
other heads of delegations in finalizing the negotiations on the
protocol or another legal instrument.
45. The final text of the protocol or another legal instrument
would be submitted to the Plenary for adoption, in accordance with
paragraph 6 of decision 1/CP.1 (FCCC/CP/1995/7/Add.1).
46. The SBI took note of the calendar of meetings for 1997 and requested the secretariat to propose at its sixth session a calendar of meetings for 1998-1999 based on holding
two blocks of sessions of the Convention bodies each year, each
block comprising two weeks of meetings (FCCC/SBI/1997/5, para.
22).
47. A schedule of meetings for the October 1997 sessions of the
Convention bodies is presented in annex I of this document. It will
be reviewed by the Bureau of the COP when it meets on 8 August
1997.
48. Based on the availability of commercial conference facilities in Bonn and
United Nations conference services, the secretariat has elaborated
a tentative calendar of sessions for 1998-1999. Bodies of the
Convention, including ad hoc groups established by the COP, could
hold their sessions as follows:
(a) First sessional period in 1998: from 2 to 12 June;
(b) Second sessional period in 1998: from 16 to 27 November;
(c) First sessional period in 1999: Two weeks in March -
April;
(d) Second sessional period in 1999: Two weeks in October -
November.
49. A firm calendar is needed to enable the secretariat to make
cost-effective arrangements for future meetings in Bonn. The link
between the calendar, the secretariat's work load and the programme
budget is a further reason for reaching a firm conclusion on the
calendar at the sixth session of the SBI. At the same time, the
precise dates of sessional periods in 1999 remain to be determined,
within the ranges indicated. Accordingly, the SBI is invited to
confirm the calendar proposed above and to request the secretariat to
propose dates for the sessional periods in 1999, after consulting the
Bureau of the COP.
50. The SBI called on Parties to submit offers to host COP 4 by
its sixth session. In accordance with the provisions of the
Convention, the SBI will consider any potential offers and recommend
the date and venue of COP 4 at its sixth session.
51. It may be recalled that the Bureau has recommended that, given
the timing of COP 3 late in 1997, COP 4 could be held early in 1999
(FCCC/1996/INF.4). The Group of 77 and China have expressed concern
over this recommendation, considering that COP 4 should be held in
1998 (FCCC/SBI/1997/Misc.2). Different points of view on this
question continued to be expressed at the fifth session of
SBI.
52. The SBI may wish to recommend to COP 3 a date for COP 4. In
the absence of any offer from a Party to host COP 4, the SBI may wish
to call for such offers to be made well in advance of its seventh
session in October 1997. Should there be no offer at that time, the
SBI may recommend to COP 3 that COP 4 be held in Bonn, the seat of
the secretariat, in accordance with draft rule 3 of the draft rules
of procedure, as applied.
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1. Opening of the session:
(a) Statement by the President of the second session of the
COP;
[(b) Address[es] of welcome;]
(c) Election of the President of the Conference at its third
session;
(d) Statement by the President;
(e) Statement by the Executive Secretary.
2. Organizational
matters:(1)
(a) Status of ratification of the Convention;
(b) Adoption of the rules of procedure;
(c) Adoption of the agenda;
(d) Election of officers other than the President;
(e) Admission of organizations as observers;
(f) Organization of work, including the establishment of a sessional
Committee of the Whole;
(g) Calendar of meetings of Convention bodies
1998-1999;
(h) Date and venue of the fourth Conference of the
Parties;
(i) Adoption of the report on credentials.
3. Amendments to the Convention and its Annexes:
(a) Proposal to amend Article 4.3;
(b) Proposal to amend Article 17;
(c) Proposal to amend Annexes I and II.
4. Adoption of a protocol or another legal instrument: fulfilment
of the Berlin Mandate.
5. Review of the implementation of the Convention.
(a) Reports of the subsidiary bodies and matters
arising:
(i) Report of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice;
(ii) Report of the Subsidiary Body for
Implementation;
(iii) Report of the Ad hoc Group on the Berlin Mandate;
(iv) Report of the Ad Hoc Group on Article 13.
(b) Development and transfer of technologies (Articles 4.1(c) and
4.5).
6. Ministerial segment:
[(a) Opening addresses;
(b) Ministerial round table: oral report by the
President.]
7. Other matters.
8. Conclusion of the session:
(a) Adoption of the report of the Conference of the Parties on its
third session;
(b) Closure of the session.
1. Sub-items (a) to (f) will be taken up at the opening plenary meeting. Sub-items (g) and (h) will be taken up later in the session. Sub-item (i) will, as usual, be dealt with at the closing meeting.