UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies SBI-10 and SBSTA-10
MARITIM HOTEL, BONN, GERMANY
31 May - 11 June 1999
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'COP-5 will be another 'technical' meeting' - Kante
With one day to go before the tenth session of the subsidiary bodies wrap up in Bonn, the SBSTA and SBI chairmen, Kow Kee Chow (Malaysia) and Bakary Kante (Senegal), have been giving their assessment. Kante identified "minor difficulties" with negotiations on national communications ('reports'), mechanisms and the UNFCCC budget for the new biennium. He reported that problems in the contact group on the budget were on their way to resolution. Kante said that COP-5, like the tenth sessions of the subsidiary bodies, would be a "technical session." The UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Michael Zammit Cutajar, said there had been considerable advances on technical work. He identified two types of development in Bonn. On those issues where consensus has been achieved the expert dialogue has proceeded. In areas where consensus does not exist deep negotiation has continued.

Chow reported that progress had been made in a number of areas including Convention Articles 4.8 and 4.9 on adverse impacts, technology transfer, the adoption of new guidelines on inventories of GHGs (an important basis for implementation of the Protocol), a decision on the review of the AIJ pilot phase, and consideration of the Kyoto Mechanisms.

Initial consideration of proposals for Kyoto Mechanisms concludes
The Joint Working Group on the flexibility mechanisms concluded its first consideration of the synthesis document containing proposals from the Parties on the modalities for the mechanisms. Informal meetings are now proceeding and a new synthesis of proposals is to be prepared.

Voluntary Commitments: A Third Way?
Voluntary commitments remains a "hot issue" in the negotiations, skewing debates on non-Annex I communications requirements and budgeting for the new biennium, according to some participants. On the margins of the process, however, the debate is said to be maturing and moving beyond the notion that a developing country commitment must be equated with an Annex I commitment. There is talk of a 'Third Way', possibly involving a separate Protocol for developing countries, using appropriate indicators such as carbon intensity rather than crude measures of GHG emissions. Argentina in particular is reported to be looking at such proposals with interest.