Consultation among Annex I delegates

The Hague, November 11, 2000

Central and Eastern Countries, the EU and Member States, The United States, Switzerland and Japan

The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) and the World Resources Institute (WRI) organised an informal consultation during the 6th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 6). The Hague consultation was attended by representatives of the Secretariat, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia, Italy, and USA. Observers from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) were also present, along with delegations from Canada and New Zealand.

The consultation was a continuation of informal discussions initiated during the thirteenth sessions of the subsidiary bodies of the UNFCCC (SB-13) in Lyon, and focused on capacity needs of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries in Annex I to:

• Meet their obligations under Articles 5, 7, and 8, and
• Use the opportunities provided by Articles 6 and 12 of the Kyoto Protocol.

The discussions were supported by surveys on capacity needs conducted in 6 countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovenia) and a background paper summarising the surveys.

The main conclusions from the discussions are:

1. Though there is significant capacity already in place, more investment is needed in quality control, uncertainty management and keeping up to speed with IPCC methodology development.

2. Accession to the EU will help build capacity for implementation of Articles 5, 7 and 8 in CEE.

3. The surveys and the background paper are a first systematic look at capacity needs. More work is needed to prioritize needs by countries.

4. CEE countries should complement external assistance with their own investment in capacity building.

Participants do feel the importance of meeting together again for further exchanging views. In this view the REC should consider the possibility to host a future consultation at its headquarter in Szentendre.