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REPORT OF THE AD HOC GROUP ON THE BERLIN MANDATE: 21 - 25 AUGUST 1995

The first Conference of the Parties (COP 1), held in Berlin from 28 March to 7 April 1995, established an open-ended "Ad Hoc Group on the Berlin Mandate" (AGBM) through its decision FCCC/CP/1995/7/Add.1/Decision 1/CP.1, also referred to as the "Berlin Mandate." In the Berlin Mandate (BM), the COP 1 agreed to begin a process to enable it to take appropriate action for the period beyond 2000, including the strengthening of commitments of Annex I Parties in Article 4.2(a) and (b) of the Convention, through the adoption of a protocol or another legal instrument. The priority aim of the BM is the strengthening of commitments in Article 4.2(a) and (b) of the Convention for Annex I Parties, both to elaborate policies and measures, and to set quantified limitation and reduction objectives within specified time frames such as 2005, 2010 and 2020 for anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol.

The Berlin Mandate process will not introduce any new commitments for Parties not included in Annex I. The process provides for both the exchange of experiences on national activities, particularly those identified in the review and synthesis of available national communications, and for a review mechanism. The process will also consider the protocol proposal submitted by the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), along with other proposals and pertinent documents. Recognizing that the process should begin without delay, COP 1 requested that the status of the AGBM be reported to COP 2 and that the AGBM complete its work as early as possible in 1997 with a view to adopting its results at COP 3.