Brazil’s First National Communication was elaborated in accordance with the guidelines found in Decision 10/CP.2, (document FCCC/CP/1996/15/Add.1) of 17 July 1996 – Communications from Parties not Included in Annex I: Guidelines, Facilitation and Process for Consideration. This decision was adopted during the Second Conference of Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Geneva, 8 to 19 July 1996.

In accordance with the guidelines in this Decision, the base year for elaborating the first inventory should be 1990 or 1994. However, an effort was made and Brazil's Initial Communication presented the series of anthropic greenhouse gas emissions for 1990 to 1994.

Brazil’s First National Communication was presented during the 10th Conference of Parties held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in December 2004. Its elaboration included collaboration from more than 150 institutions and more than 700 specialists from different sectors and regions of Brazil.

The Second National Communication is being elaborated in accordance with the guidelines contained in Decision 17/CP.8, (document FCCC/CP/2002/7/Add.2), adopted at the 8th Conference of Parties held in New Delhi, India, in 2003. This decision talks about the guidelines for elaborating national communications from the Parties not included in Annex I of the Convention.

According to these guidelines, the National Communication must contain a National Inventory of anthropic emissions by sources and anthropic removals by greenhouse gas sinks not controlled by the Montreal Protocol; a general description of measures taken or projected by the Party to implement the Convention; and any other information the Party deems pertinent to achieve the Convention’s objective.

In accordance with these Guidelines and the methodological guidelines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this Inventory is presented for base year 2000. Furthermore, the values that refer to the other years from 1990 to 2005 are also presented.  In relation to 1990 to 1994, this Inventory updates the information presented in the First Inventory.

Coverage of the Brazilian Inventory of Anthropic Emissions and Removals of Greenhouse Gases has been expanded in this second study, with special attention paid to sectors/gases that represent a significant portion of greenhouse gas emissions or that represent a high degree of uncertainty, or both. Reduced scale models of global circulation were made. Studies of vulnerability and adaptation to climate change were conducted, with an emphasis on the following sectors: health; energy; water resources, flooding and desertification; agriculture and livestock; management of coastal zones; and water biodiversity. An update was also made of the description of Brazil’s national circumstances as well as the measures adopted or projected to implement the Convention in the country.  Finally, the project promoted institutional empowerment to implement the Convention in Brazil, including activities related to environmental education on climate change and public awareness.

It is worth underscoring that the Government of Brazil considers preparation of the National Communication of great value and it has invested substantial resources and efforts to finalize it. This study represents an enormous challenge in terms of data collection due to Brazil’s continental size. Its elaboration saw the participation of a large number of institutions and specialists from diverse sectors and regions of the country and it also contributed towards training and construction of internal institutional capacity.

The proposed structure for each chapter of the National Communication is shown in this site. Each page of the structure is being developed by an institution/specialist and when available it identifies the technician who is coordinating the activity, presenting the date of the last update and, whenever possible, how to contact him/her.

The work for elaborating Brazil's Third National Communication will begin in 2011 and it shall follow the guidelines contained in the corresponding decisions.