(Agenda item 4 (f))

Conclusions

At its 7th meeting, on 29 October, having considered a proposal by the Chair, the SBSTA adopted the following conclusions:

(a) The SBSTA took note of the report of the expert meeting contained in document FCCC/SBSTA/2002/INF.14;

(b) The SBSTA recalled that, at its fourteenth session, it requested the secretariat to continue to coordinate the review of the proposal by Brazil, to facilitate the dissemination of scientific and methodological information on this proposal, to broaden participation and to build scientific understanding of this subject. It noted that a number of scientific and methodological issues remained and acknowledged with appreciation the work that had been done;

(c) The SBSTA agreed that work on the scientific and methodological aspects of the proposal by Brazil should be continued by the scientific community, in particular to improve the robustness of the preliminary results and to explore the uncertainty and sensitivity of the results to different assumptions;

(d) The SBSTA agreed that such work should be of a standard consistent with the practices of peer-reviewed published science. The process should be inclusive, open and transparent;

(e) The SBSTA noted that, for the purpose of validating the models against observed climate, the analysis should also include factors influencing global climate other than the greenhouse gases covered by the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol;

(f) The SBSTA recognized the relevance of this work and the opportunity of this process to build capacity in climate change science. Hence, the SBSTA strongly encouraged Parties and institutions in a position to do so to facilitate such capacity-building in developing countries, including by hosting scientists from developing countries. It also encouraged both Annex I Parties and non-Annex I Parties to develop, if necessary, cooperative agreements to facilitate such capacity-building;

(g) The SBSTA invited the scientific community, including scientific and assessment programmes, such as the International Geosphere–Biosphere Programme, the World Climate Research Programme, the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change and the IPCC, to provide information to Parties, and each other, on their interests in the work;

(h) The SBSTA invited research institutions and scientists involved in the review of the scientific and methodological aspects of the proposal by Brazil, and those interested in becoming involved in future work, to provide information to Parties, inter alia, on the following:

(i) Their approach to assessing and continuing the preliminary analysis undertaken to date, including comparing the preliminary results and assessing their uncertainty;

(ii) The process by which such contributions could lead to peer-reviewed published results;

(iii) An approach to efficient coordination of the work and how to ensure transparency;

(iv) Their resources available for facilitating active participation, particularly that of developing country experts;

(i) The SBSTA encouraged research institutions and scientists involved to undertake further work on scientific and methodological aspects of the proposal by Brazil, to make the results of their work publicly available and to report the progress of their work at the twentieth session of the SBSTA. The SBSTA requested the secretariat to organize a side event on this issue at the same session;

(j) The SBSTA decided to review the progress of the work on the scientific and methodological aspects of the proposal by Brazil at its twenty-third session.