SBSTA was unable to adopt any substantive conclusions on the issue of "good practices" in policies and measures, and decided to continue its consideration of this topic at its next session. Delegates were unable to enter into concrete discussion as there was divergence over several issues, notably the reluctance by several developing countries to consider the voluntary information exchange on non-Annex I P&Ms, as well as the insistence by Saudi Arabia that focus should not only be on the emission reduction aspects of P&Ms, but also on their adverse economic effects.

SECOND REVIEW OF ADEQUACY OF ARTICLE 4.2 (A) AND (B)

COP-8

The issue of the second review of the adequacy of Article 4.2 (a) and (b) of the Convention was again held in abeyance at COP-8. Despite this agenda item not being formally discussed, there were other agenda items which have an indirect bearing on this item including:

• Scientific and Methodological Aspects of the Brazilian Proposal;
• Ministerial Roundtables; and
• Delhi Declaration

The Brazilian Proposal

The Brazilian Proposal evolved out of a proposal put forward by the Brazilian delegation during the negotiations of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. The Brazilians proposed distributing the burden of emissions reductions among Annex I Parties proportional to their relative share of responsibility for climate change. The relative share is based on the relative contribution to the increase in global average surface temperature over a certain period of time, and is based on a climate model for estimating the temperature increase resulting from emissions from different countries. Various changes have been made to the original model to factor in such aspects as the inclusion of ozone-depleting gases; changes to the assumptions concerning the relationship between temperature increase and time; and more up-to-date data.

SB 17

The SBSTA took note of an expert meeting held on the Brazilian Proposal and agreed that work on the Brazilian proposal should be continued by the scientific community, and to explore the uncertainty and sensitivity of the results to different assumptions. It also asked the scientific community to report on the progress of their work at the twentieth session of SBSTA.

Ministerial Roundtables

During COP-8, three Ministerial roundtable sessions were held under the themes: “taking stock,” “climate change and sustainable development” and “wrap up.” During these sessions, some countries and regional groups drew attention to the need to take further action to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Some suggested that all countries should be involved in mitigation activities, while others noted that Annex I Parties are not fulfilling their commitments and emissions are on the rise.

The Delhi Declaration

During discussions on the Declaration, several Parties suggested that it should be forward-looking and that it should broaden and deepen the commitments globally in preparation for the second commitment period and beyond. Other Parties opposed any process that would result in new developing country commitments. (For a more detailed discussion, see the section on the Delhi Declaration).