20 June 2017: Over the past few weeks, the UNFCCC Secretariat released nine reports on the individual review of the annual submissions by developed country Parties to the Kyoto Protocol submitted in 2015 and/or 2016, as well as two 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). In addition, the Secretariat issued 33 status reports of the annual inventories for 2017.
A transparency and compliance regime is vital for building international trust and confidence that action to address climate change is taking place, as well as for assessing how to facilitate further action. Progress achieved under the UNFCCC and the subsequent decisions and agreements adopted by Parties is also relevant to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 (climate action).
The transparency framework developed 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. The transparency framework 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.
It should be noted that the Paris Agreement, in contrast to differentiating the reporting and review requirements based on the Convention’s Annexes, establishes 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 to take into account Parties’ different capacities.
Secretariat Releases Nine Reports on Individual Review of Submissions by Kyoto Protocol 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: Austria submitted in 2015 (FCCC/ARR/2015/AUT) and 2016 (FCCC/ARR/2016/AUT); Belgium submitted in 2016 (FCCC/ARR/2016/BEL); Canada submitted in 2016 (FCCC/ARR/2016/CAN); Italy submitted in 2015 (FCCC/ARR/2015/ITA) and 2016 (FCCC/ARR/2016/ITA); Poland submitted in 2015 (FCCC/ARR/2015/POL) and 2016 (FCCC/ARR/2016/POL); and the Russian Federation submitted in 2015 (FCCC/ARR/2015/RUS).
These reports present the results of the individual inventory review of the Parties’ annual submissions conducted by expert review teams (ERTs) in accordance with the ‘Guidelines for review under Article 8 of the Kyoto Protocol.’ [Report of Individual Review of Annual Submission of Austria 2015, Austria 2016, Belgium 2016, Canada 2016, Italy 2015, Italy 2016, Poland 2015, Poland 2016 and Russian Federation 2015]
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 Belgium (FCCC/IRR/2016/BEL) and Poland (FCCC/IRR/2016/POL).
Each Party with a quantified emission limitation or reduction commitment inscribed in the third column of Annex B to the Kyoto Protocol is required 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 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 Belgium and Poland]
GHG Inventory Status Reports Released
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 33 developed country Parties underwent this initial assessment, and, in the past month, the status reports were published on the Secretariat’s website for: Austria (FCCC/ASR/2017/AUT); Belgium (FCCC/ASR/2017/BEL); Bulgaria (FCCC/ASR/2017/BGR); Canada (FCCC/ASR/2017/CAN); Croatia (FCCC/ASR/2017/HRV); the Czech Republic (FCCC/ASR/2017/CZE); Denmark (FCCC/ASR/2017/DNK); Estonia (FCCC/ASR/2017/EST); the European Union (EU) (FCCC/ASR/2017/EU); Finland (FCCC/ASR/2017/FIN); France (FCCC/ASR/2017/FRA); Germany (FCCC/ASR/2017/DEU); Greece (FCCC/ASR/2017/GRC); Hungary (FCCC/ASR/2017/HUN); Iceland (FCCC/ASR/2017/ISL); Ireland (FCCC/ASR/2017/IRL); Italy (FCCC/ASR/2017/ITA); Japan (FCCC/ASR/2017/JPN); Kazakhstan (FCCC/ASR/2017/KAZ); Latvia (FCCC/ASR/2017/LVA); Liechtenstein (FCCC/ASR/2017/LIE); Lithuania (FCCC/ASR/2017/LTU); Luxembourg (FCCC/ASR/2017/LUX); Monaco (FCCC/ASR/2017/MCO); the Netherlands (FCCC/ASR/2017/NLD); Poland (FCCC/ASR/2017/POL); Portugal (FCCC/ASR/2017/PRT); Romania (FCCC/ASR/2017/ROU); Spain (FCCC/ASR/2017/ESP); Switzerland (FCCC/ASR/2017/CHE); Turkey (FCCC/ASR/2017/TUR); the UK (FCCC/ASR/2017/GBR); and the US (FCCC/ASR/2017/USA).
The final status reports, along with the Parties’ comments on both the original draft and the status report, will be forwarded to the ERTs, which produce the final individual inventory review reports. [Status Report of the Annual Inventory of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, EU, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, UK and US]