10 March 2009: The UNFCCC Secretariat has released a document (FCCC/KP/AWG/2009/4) identifying possible elements of a text relating to issues outlined in paragraph 49 of the Report of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP) at its resumed sixth session held in Poznan, Poland, from 1-10 December 2008 (FCCC/KP/AWG/2008/8).

Paragraph 49, stipulates that the AWG-KP in 2009 will focus on agreeing on further commitments for Annex I parties under the Protocol and recognizes the need for work to be conducted on various issues including: improvements to emissions trading and the project-based mechanisms; definitions, modalities, rules and guidelines for the treatment of land use, land-use change and forestry, in the second commitment period; coverage of greenhouse gases, sectors and source categories; common metrics to calculate the carbon dioxide equivalence of emissions and removals by sinks; approaches to limit or reduce emissions from aviation and marine bunker fuels; 2006 IPCC Guidelines; possible approaches targeting sectoral emissions; and potential consequences including spillover effects, of tools, policies, measures and methodologies available to Annex I parties.
The newly released document outlines action that needs to be taken by the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, to adopt proposals relating to these issues and/or to request any follow-up work to implement such proposals. The document will serve as the basis for discussion at the seventh session of the AWG-KP, which will take place from 29 March-8 April 2009, in Bonn, Germany. [The Document]