(Agenda item 9)
Conclusions
At its 7th meeting, on 13 June, having considered a proposal by the Chair, the SBSTA adopted the following conclusions:
(a) The SBSTA took note of document FCCC/SBSTA/2002/MISC.13 containing submissions from Parties on the draft terms of reference of the workshop to develop a work programme on Article 6 of the Convention, and of the report of the pre-sessional workshop held on 2 and 3 June 2002 (FCCC/SBSTA/2002/INF.10);
(b) The SBSTA expressed appreciation to the Governments of Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United States of America for their financial support for the workshop and for the activities of the secretariat related to Article 6;
(c) The SBSTA took note of the oral reports by one of the co-chairs on the pre-sessional workshop and by the secretariat on this agenda item, and welcomed progress made in connection with the implementation of Article 6 of the Convention;
(d) The SBSTA noted with appreciation the report made by the Secretary of the IPCC on the status of the translation process for the Third Assessment Report and its synthesis report, and urged the IPCC to ensure timely translation of core documents in the future;
(e) The SBSTA noted that climate change could not be selected as the theme of World Environment Day in 2003, as another theme had already been selected; it invited the secretariat:
(i) To explore further with UNEP the extent to which this option could be taken up in a future year;
(ii) To conduct further consultations with relevant international organizations with a view to providing information to the SBSTA at its seventeenth session on the procedures and resource requirements for designating a climate change day;
(f) Recalling one of the conclusions it had adopted at its fifteenth session (FCCC/SBSTA/2001/8, para. 45 (d)), the SBSTA requested the secretariat to prepare, for consideration at its eighteenth session, a report on the possible structure and content of an information clearing house on Article 6, building on the technology information system (TT:CLEAR), and identifying institutions that could host and provide regular support for such a clearing house;
(g) The SBSTA reaffirmed the need for a work programme that would promote cooperation and facilitate the implementation of Article 6 by Parties and, taking into account national circumstances and the availability of financial resources, acknowledged the possible scope of activities of a work programme, which could include:
(i) Education, which occurs in formal and non-formal settings and aims at facilitating and orienting personal learning processes, imparting the knowledge needed to comprehend, inter alia, the interrelated nature of climate change issues, and influencing attitudes and behaviours within the overall context of sustainable development;
(ii) Training, which is directed towards selected target audiences and seeks to impart specific technical skills and knowledge that have a practical application. Examples include the ability to gather, model and interpret climate data, to conduct inventories of national emissions, and to formulate and implement national programmes;
(iii) Public awareness activities, which can be conducted through a variety of modalities and aim at creating interest and concern for certain issues that in turn translate into changes in attitude and behaviour;
(iv) Public participation in climate change issues, which can be defined as the involvement of all people, in particular stakeholders with a direct interest or concern, in understanding and addressing climate change;
(v) Public access to information, which can be enhanced, inter alia, by wider circulation and availability of relevant documentation and other materials, in appropriate languages, and by using a variety of mechanisms, such as the mass media and the Internet;
(vi) Subregional, regional and international cooperation in the above activities, which can enhance the collective ability of Parties to implement the Convention, as well as the efforts of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to contribute to its implementation. Such cooperation can enhance synergies between different conventions, and improve the effectiveness of all sustainable development efforts.
(h) In the light of the evolving work programme, and to facilitate reporting by Parties, the SBSTA took note of the need to consider reviewing, at a future session, the guidelines for national communications from Annex I Parties as they relate to Article 6 activities;
(i) The SBSTA invited the SBI to consider, at its seventeenth session, the issue of the financial and technical support in the implementation of a work programme on Article 6, taking into account decision 6/CP.7, paragraph 1 (h); 1
(j) The SBSTA noted the need for the secretariat to continue work in this area, subject to the availability of supplementary funding in the current biennium, and recalled the relevant conclusion adopted at its fifteenth session (FCCC/SBSTA/2001/8, para. 45 (a)). It invited Parties, particularly those included in Annex I to the Convention, to contribute generously for this purpose;
(k) The SBSTA took note of a draft decision on this subject (FCCC/SBSTA/2002/L.11/Add.1/Rev.1) for possible adoption by the COP at its eighth session, and agreed to consider this draft decision for further consideration at its seventeenth session;
(l) The SBSTA invited Parties to submit their views to the secretariat by 20 August 2002 on the draft decision for compilation into a miscellaneous document.
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1Decision 6/CP.7 paragraph 1 (h), states: "1. Decides that, in accordance with Articles 4.3, 4.5 and 11.1 of the Convention, the GEF, as an operating entity of the financial mechanism, should provide financial resources to developing country Parties, in particular the least developed and the small island developing States among them, for the following activities, including those identified in paragraph 7 of decision 5/CP.7: (h) Undertaking more in-depth public awareness and education activities and community involvement and participation in climate change issues".
