Distr.

GENERAL

FCCC/CP/1995/5/Add.3

22 March 1995

Original: ENGLISH

CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIESFirst session

Berlin, 28 March - 7 April 1995

Item 5 (d) (v) of the provisional agenda

1. The purpose of this note is to report on the status of extrabudgetary funding requirements for the remainder of 1995, including such requirements for the activities of the interim secretariat until 31 December 1995 and for support for participation in the sessions of the subsidiary bodies envisaged for October and early November. The note updates the tables annexed to document A/AC.237/80, prepared for the eleventh session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a Framework Convention on Climate Change. Other elements of that document remain valid.

2. Annex I and annex III report, respectively, on the status of the trust fund for the negotiating process and the special voluntary fund for participation. Changes from the figures presented in document A/AC.237/80 reflect new pledges made and contributions received.

3. Annex II presents revised financial estimates for the interim secretariat, including a reduced provision for additional staff. Other changes from the figures in document A/AC.237/80 are methodological: the use of different standard cost figures for staff costs and a more realistic dollar:franc exchange rate. With these methodological changes, the figures are comparable to those used in the proposed budget for the Convention biennium 1996-1997 (see FCCC/CP/1995/5/Add.2).

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4. The revised forecast of funding required from the trust fund for the negotiating process (see annex IV) is approximately $1.3 million less than the previous estimate. On the basis of the money currently available, the contracts of interim secretariat staff financed from this fund have been extended until 30 June 1995.

5. Sufficient funding has been made available to enable the special voluntary fund to finance the participation of a second delegate from least developed and small island developing countries at the first session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 1). The estimates of funding required from the special voluntary fund for participation (annex IV) are based on an assumption that the sessions of the subsidiary bodies in October/November 1995 would last for three weeks. The third week has been reserved in the calendar of conferences (and included in this estimate) as a contingency in view of the uncertainties about the work load of the subsidiary bodies, in particular, requirements for any process to follow-up on the review of Article 4.2(a) and (b).

6. Annex IV summarizes the funding requirements for the balance of 1995 for both of the trust funds. The balances sought are:

$2,462,000 for the trust fund for the negotiating process; and

$466,000 for the special voluntary fund for participation.

7. The Conference of the Parties is invited to consider and, if possible, endorse these revised estimates and lend its support to the efforts of the Executive Secretary and of contributors in mobilizing the voluntary funding required.