5 October 1999

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UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

SUBSIDIARY BODY FOR IMPLEMENTATION

Eleventh session

Bonn, 25 October - 5 November 1999

Item 9 (a) and (b) of the provisional agenda

1. The Conference of the Parties, by its decision 12/CP.4, requested Parties to submit their views to the secretariat on the consideration of communications from non-Annex I Parties, as well as the timing of second national communications, taking into account Article 12.5 of the Convention, for consideration by the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (FCCC/CP/1998/16/Add.1, decision 12/CP.4, para. 6). Also, at its tenth session, the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) invited Parties to submit to the secretariat further views and comments, if any, on these matters by 15 July 1999 (FCCC/SBI/1999/8).

2. The Subsidiary Body for Implementation requested the secretariat to compile and make available such views and comments for its consideration at the eleventh session of the SBI.

3. Ten such submissions received earlier are contained in document FCCC/SBI/1999/MISC.4. Another submission, from Togo, was received later. In accordance with the procedure for miscellaneous documents, this submission⁽¹⁾ is attached and reproduced in the language in which it was received and without formal editing.

The national communications of NAI Parties must provide essential and reliable information to help inform both national and international responses to Climate Change. To help the completion, submission and consideration of the first national communications of NAI Parties, the first priority must be to establish a framework to deal with the issue. A Non-Annex Expert Group (NAIEG) as suggested could be this framework.

Tasks:

- Should provide advice and assistance to the secretariat and the Subsidiary Bodies;

- Should promote and facilitate the follow-up and implementation of the results and decisions of the workshops and meetings;

- Should help the UNFCCC secretariat and other implementing bodies (GEF, UNDP, UNEP, IPCC, the World Bank, etc...) to conduct capacity-building activities for the implementation of the Convention in accordance with the prioritized capacity-building needs for developing country Parties;

- identify gaps to facilitate the process of preparation, compilation and consideration of the communications, including the preparation of compilation and synthesis documentation;

- should provide a basis to identify the future priorities of NAI Parties;

- promote the exchange of experiences and information among NAI Parties, with the objective of enhancing support to preparations;

- identify barriers, gaps and problems encountered by NAI Parties in the preparation of their NCs;

- identify the difficulties encountered by developing countries in the use of available guidelines, so as to improve their NCs;

- should help the secretariat to identify the needs and programmes for capacity-building and technology transfer and the better way to implement them on a successful manner;

- should facilitate to identify other matters that would improve the scope and completeness of NAI NCs;

- should facilitate in coordination with the UNFCCC secretariat the preparation of a paper on regional priorities for the research and development of regionally appropriate emission factors and the improvement of activity data that can suit to agriculture and food security, industrial, water resources and energy,

land-use change and forestry, and waste management circumstances in NAI countries;

- facilitate the participation in systematic observation networks to reduce scientific uncertainties related to the causes, effects, magnitude and timing of climate change in accordance with Article 5 of the Convention;

- should help build capacity for facilitating their participation in the process of design and implementation of the Mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol at the National, Regional and Global levels, and to enhance, through the provision of access to strategic information and data, their ability to establish policies and measures conductive to create new investment partnerships under them between AI Parties and NAI Parties;

- should facilitate an analysis of countries' capacity to adapt IPCC methodologies to national circumstances when possible, effective, responsive and appropriate but specifically like their partners from Annex I Parties the preparation of guidelines for greenhouse gas inventories, models for mitigation, vulnerability and adaptation options for the second and subsequent national communications from NAI Parties in accordance with decision .../CP...;

- should identify national and regional innovative technologies based on traditional knowledge and cultural values;

- should facilitate and encourage the presentation of information in ways that are, to the extent possible, transparent, comparable, consistent, flexible, taking into account specific national/regional situations and requirements for support to improve the completeness and reliability of activity data, emission factors and estimates in accordance;

- should have regular meetings with GEF and IPCC different WGs mainly with the IPCC Inventory Task Force which should give high priority to the development of a work plan to prepare a comprehensive database on emission factors, by region and technology;

- Should collaborate with all AIEG involve in the process of the implementation of the Convention;

- Should assess the availability of financial resources and technical support;

- results of their meetings and recommendations from this group shall be taken into account by the subsidiary bodies in their deliberations, and any decisions to be taken by the Conference of the Parties on the NC of NAI Parties;

Composition:

We believe that to be effective the NAIEG must be seen as group involving and trying to solve the specific problems regarding their national communications. Therefore:

- the NAIEG is exclusively composed of experts from NAI country Parties nominated by Parties and selected from the roster of experts taking into account their international and regional experience. NAIEG should be composed of 18 members representing the different regions (Africa [4], America [4], Asia [4], OASIS [1]) and including experts from other international organizations [2], NGOs [1] and the private sector [2];

Meetings:

The NAIEG shall meet regularly and be provided with the necessary resources to do so:

two (2) closed meetings, each between two meetings of the subsidiary bodies,

two (2) joint meetings NAIEG with AIEG, each immediately prior to the meetings of the subsidiary bodies

with the view of finalizing revised or new guidelines for national communications of NAI country Parties for adoption by COP6.

1. In order to make this submission available on electronic systems, including the World Wide Web, this contribution has been electronically imported. The secretariat has made every effort to ensure the correct reproduction of the text as submitted.

FCCC/SBI/1999/MISC.4/Add.1

GE.99-