20 July 2017
Transparency and Compliance Update: UNFCCC Releases 15 Reports Assessing Party Submissions
story highlights

The UNFCCC Secretariat released individual reviews of the annual submissions of Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Spain, and the US, submitted in 2015 and 2016.

Status reports of Cyprus, Malta and the Ukraine were published.

Reports on the review of the reports to facilitate the calculation of the assigned amount for the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (CP2) came out for Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Spain.

The Secretariat published its technical assessment of the Congo’s proposed forest reference emission level.

The Lusophone Cluster of the Partnership on Transparency in the Paris Agreement held their first workshop.

14 July 2017: The transparency framework under the UNFCCC is intended to increase the international understanding of mitigation, adaptation and other actions towards fulfilling commitments outlined in the Convention and related decisions or agreements. In the last month, the UNFCCC Secretariat released reports examining eight individual reviews of the annual submissions by developed country Parties to the Kyoto Protocol submitted in 2015 and 2016, three reports on the review of the reports to facilitate the calculation of the assigned amount for the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (CP2), as well as a report on the technical assessment of the proposed forest reference emission (FREL) level of the Congo submitted in 2016.

The transparency framework under the UNFCCC takes the form of national reporting through National Communications (NCs) from all Parties, Biennial Update Reports (BURs) from non-Annex I (developing country) Parties, as well as Biennial Reports (BRs) and annual greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory submissions from Annex I (developed country) Parties.

In contrast to the Kyoto Protocol, which differentiates the reporting and review requirements based on the Convention’s Annexes, the Paris Agreement entails a common transparency framework for all countries, with a process to provide enhanced data and tracking against their commitments on mitigation, adaptation and support. The enhanced transparency framework under the Paris Agreement applies to all Parties to the Agreement, although it allows flexibility according to Parties’ differing capacities.

Status Reports of Annual GHG Inventories of Cyprus, Malta and the Ukraine Published

Within three weeks of receiving a Party’s GHG inventory, the UNFCCC Secretariat prepares a draft status report as part of an initial assessment that aims to ensure each Annex I Party submits a consistent, complete and timely annual inventory in the correct format. The initial assessment is published on the UNFCCC website as a “status report.”

The 2017 inventories of Cyprus, Malta and the Ukraine have undergone these initial assessments and the Secretariat released status reports for each Party (FCCC/ASR/2017/CYP, FCCC/ASR/2017/MLT, and FCCC/ASR/2017/UKR). The final status report, along with the Party’s comments on both this report and the original draft, will be forwarded to the expert review team (ERT), which produces a final individual inventory review report. [Status reports of Cyprus, Malta and the Ukraine]

Secretariat Releases Eight Reports on Individual Review of Submissions of Kyoto Protocol Annex I Parties

Each Annex I Party must submit an annual greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory covering emissions and removals of GHG emissions for all years from the base year or period to two years before the inventory due date. Annex I Parties that are Parties to the Kyoto Protocol are also required to report supplementary information required under Article 7(1) of the Kyoto Protocol, with the inventory submission due under the Convention.

The Secretariat has issued reports on the individual review of the annual submissions of: Bulgaria, submitted in 2015 (FCCC/ARR/2015/BGR) and 2016 (FCCC/ARR/2016/BGR); the Netherlands, submitted in 2015 (FCCC/ARR/2015/NLD) and 2016 (FCCC/ARR/2016/NLD); Spain, submitted in 2015 (FCCC/ARR/2015/ESP) and 2016 (FCCC/ARR/2016/ESP); and the US, submitted in 2015 (FCCC/ARR/2015/USA) and 2016 (FCCC/ARR/2016/USA).

These reports present the results of the individual inventory review of the Parties’ annual submissions conducted by ERTs in accordance with the ‘Guidelines for review under Article 8 of the Kyoto Protocol.’ [Report of Individual Review of Annual Submission of Bulgaria 2015, Bulgaria 2016, Netherlands 2015, Netherlands 2016, Spain 2015, Spain 2016, US 2015, and US 2016]

Reports of Reviews of Reports to Facilitate Calculation of Assigned Amounts for CP2 Published

The Secretariat has published reports on the review of the reports to facilitate the calculation of the assigned amount for CP2 of Bulgaria (FCCC/IRR/2016/BGR), the Netherlands (FCCC/IRR/2016/NLD) and Spain (FCCC/IRR/2016/ESP).

Each Party with a quantified emission limitation or reduction commitment inscribed in the third column of Annex B to the Kyoto Protocol is required to submit to the Secretariat a report to facilitate the calculation of the assigned amount for CP2. The reports to facilitate the calculation of the assigned amounts are subject to a review carried out by ERTs in accordance with the ‘Guidelines for review under Article 8 of the Kyoto Protocol.’ [Reports on Review of Reports to Facilitate Calculation of Assigned Amount for the CP2 of Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Spain]

UNFCCC Publishes Technical Assessment of the Congo’s Proposed Forest Reference Emission Level

On 21 June 2017, the UNFCCC Secretariat published its report on the technical assessment of the proposed FREL for the Congo in 2016 (FCCC/TAR/2016/COG), in accordance with decision 13/CP.19. Noting that the FREL proposed by the Congo covers the activities “reducing emissions from deforestation” and “reducing emissions from forest degradation,” the report states that the data and information used are transparent, complete and in overall accordance with the guidelines contained in the annex to decision 12/CP.17, and “commends” the Congo for the consistency of its land area data. It cautions, however, that some important parts of the submission require improvements in terms of transparency, accuracy, consistency and completion, highlighting the need for a more accurate value for the biomass carbon pool after deforestation as “an urgent area for technical improvement.” [Report on the Technical Assessment of the Proposed FREL for the Congo in 2016]

First Workshop of the Lusophone Cluster of the Partnership on Transparency in the Paris Agreement

On 19-21 June 2017, the Lusophone Cluster of the Partnership on Transparency in the Paris Agreement held their first workshop, in Lisbon, Portugal. Organized by the UN Development Program (UNDP)/UN Environment (UNEP) Global Support Program (GSP), the Governments of Brazil, Belgium and Germany, and with additional support from the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) and the Portuguese Government, the workshop involved presentations from different country representatives and considered topics including: transparency and MRV under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement; institutional frameworks for transparency; GHG inventories and the IPCC guidelines; and the process of International Consultation and Analysis (ICA). The aim of the workshop was for country participants to share experiences and lessons learned, and to promote south-south and north-south collaboration and peer to peer support. [Workshop Website]

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