BUR Process Guidance Tool For the Biennial Update Report and International Consultation and Analysis process by developing countries

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Contents

Introducing the BUR Process Guidance Tool	4

What is this tool for?	4

A brief introduction to BURs, ICA and MRV systems	5

How to use this tool	9

Step 1: Getting started: Appointing the BUR coordination team	12

Step 2: Taking stock and MRV system set-up	15

Step 3: Making a plan: Prepare for the BUR compilation	21

Step 4: Implementation: Compilation of the BUR	25

Step 5: Get ready to learn from others: Preparing for the ICA	30

Step 6: Applying lessons learnt: Improvement over time	33

Glossary	37

Annex I – Printable versions of questions and predefined answers	40

Introducing the BUR Process Guidance Tool

What is this tool for?

This tool is designed for the person or team responsible for preparation and compilation of the national Biennial Update Report (BUR) and will help you prepare for the process of compiling a BUR and preparing for participation in the International Consultation and Analysis (ICA). In the tool, we refer to these activities by developing country Parties as the “BUR process”. This BUR Process Guidance Tool is an interactive instrument- the user is requested to input information for the tool to calculate estimated times for different steps in the BUR preparation and ICA process.

What is the Information Matters project? The project aims – as its primary goal – to strengthen the in-country capacities for enhanced climate reporting in selected partner countries. Special focus is given to the preparation of BURs and the development and implementation of sustainable systems for MRV. Actvities include tailor-made, in-country workshops and trainings and the development of knowledge products like tools and guidance documents. The project is funded by the German Ministry for the Environment (BMU) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI). This tool has been developed based on the experience gained and country-feedback received during the Information Matters (IM) project, which aims to strengthen capacities for enhanced climate change reporting by developing countries. More information on the project can be found in the green box on this page and from the introduction at the Information Matters website, found here. The tool focuses on the procedural aspects of compiling BURs and undergoing the ICA, to allow for smoother planning of the process. Specifically, the tool aims to help you understand the key steps, what to consider in implementing these steps and understanding the potential duration of these steps under your specific national circumstances. The tool does not aim to provide detailed guidance on the specific requirements related to BURs and ICA or technical support on the implementation of the key steps. For this purpose, it provides references directing you to other tools, guidance and publicly available information.

The tool is aimed at countries which have not compiled a BUR before or have, for the compilation of their first BUR, relied on external consultants and thus might have limited capacity, institutional structures and processes related to the necessary data collection, management, compilation and review for the BUR – generally referred to as measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) system. Therefore, the tool suggests that, before a country compiles its BUR, it also sets up its MRV systems, i.e. designs and implements the relevant institutional structures and processes and creates the relevant capacities. This would allow future BURs to be compiled more smoothly. Countries might of course choose to set up their BUR and MRV systems differently or simultaneoulsy. Furthermore, the tool can also be helpful for countries that have a MRV system already and are seeking to compile a BUR. For these countries the tool can help improve their MRV arrangements and structures.

Within countries, the tool targets staff responsible for the coordination and/or compilation of the BUR, e.g. in institutions such as the Ministry of Environment or an Environment Agency. Within these institutions the tool aims to support both managerial staff to gain an overview of key process steps and estimation of time required for each step, as well as operative staff who are supporting implementation of the steps. For this purpose, the tool presents actions to be taken under each step, lessons learned, as well as helpful guidance and tools for implementing each step.

It is recommended to start with a basic understanding of the BUR process and MRV before using this tool. To help with important background knowledge, the next section provides a short introduction to BURs, MRV and ICA as well as references to sources of information presenting these topics in more detail. Further key terminology used in this tool is explained in a glossary.

A brief introduction to BURs, ICA and MRV systems

BURs provide an update of the information presented in National Communications (NCs) of developing country Parties on national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories; mitigation actions; and on constraints and gaps, including climate change related support needed and received (finance, capacity building and technology transfer). They should be reported to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) every two years. BURs supplement and enhance the level of reporting in the NCs and provide transparency to the reporting of country-specific climate-relevant information. Specific information to be covered by BURs includes:

a description of national circumstances,

institutional arrangements related to MRV,

a summary of the national GHG inventory, with the latest year reported maximum four years earlier than the year in which the BUR is submitted,

mitigation policies and actions, including a description of actions, their objective, status of implementation, relevant assumptions, estimated GHG reductions and information on market mechanisms, and

information on financial, technology and capacity building needs and support received, including at least an overview of financial support received from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), bilateral sources, multilateral sources (including in due course the Green Climate Fund), including for the preparation of the current BUR.

For ongoing cycles of BUR compilation, the ICA is a very important resource for improving the quality of the presented information. It is a process conducted with respect for national sovereignty that aims to increase the transparency of mitigation actions and their effects through a technical analysis of a country’s BUR. It will help countries improve their BURs over time and obtain capacity building support for this purpose, where needed. The process consists of two steps: a technical analysis conducted by a team of technical experts (TTE) in consultation with the country concerned, and a facilitative sharing of views (FSV) session in the form of a workshop organised under the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) under the UNFCCC. Information sources detailing requirements as well as process steps can be found in Table 1 below.

MRV is a concept which in the context of BURs means that data and information related to the above listed BUR contents is collected and assessed (M), the results are transparently reported (R) and internal review by the teams compiling the BUR help ensure the quality of data and reporting (V). The external analysis as part of the ICA process also helps ensure the quality of data and reporting. An MRV system is the synthesis of all institutional structures, capacities and processes necessary for carrying out the MRV of various activities related to climate change. Depending on the data you collect, an MRV system can provide much more information than is required for just the BUR. Even though it should be possible to move ahead with your BUR in the absence of a well-established MRV system, such a system has a number of benefits, which will help you to sustain your reporting and reduce the level of efforts for subsequent BURs.

Regarding financial resources, developing countries can receive financial support for the preparation of BURs through the GEF, which can be requested as part of the NC process, or independently. The country needs to prepare a project proposal, select a national agency as the implementing agency for the BUR and indicate how the proposed activities will be implemented and at which expected costs. Countries may request such funding using a template from the GEF.

Table 1 below provides references to further information on BUR requirements, guidance on BUR compilation and on the provision of funding for the BUR compilation by the GEF.

Table 1.	Further tools and guidance for the topics addressed in this BUR Process Guidance Tool

You can find information about this …	…in this document or at this website…	…which is located
BUR
Guidelines for the preparation of BURs	UNFCCC website	Here – from page 39
Examples of BURs already submitted to the UNFCCC	UNFCCC website	Here
Preparing a BUR in line with the UNFCCC reporting guidelines	GIZ BUR Template	Here
GEF guidelines for financing BURs	GEF policy guidelines	Here
Technical and financial support for BURs	UNFCCC Technical & Financial support under the climate change convention leaflet	Here
ICA
Modalities and guidelines for international consultation and analysis	UNFCCC website	Here – from page 43
The ICA process	ICA preparation guidance prepared under the Information Matters project “Preparing for the ICA Process: Required efforts and capacities needed”	Here
The ICA process	UNFCCC website	Here
National Communications
Guidelines for the preparation of NCs by developing countries	UNFCCC website	Here – pages 2-12
MRV
MRV Handbook	UNFCCC website	Here
MRV – the key components of MRV and the three pillars of MRV	MRV tool: How to Set up National MRV Systems	Here
MRV framework for developing countries	UNFCCC website	Here
Prioritizing actions to develop MRV systems	GIZ Stock Taking Tool	Here
Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC)	MRV tool	Here – pages 87-88
Reporting of GHG inventories and mitigation actions
IPCC 2006 GHG inventory software	The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) website	Here
Policy and Action Standard	World Resources Institute (WRI) GHG Protocol Website	Here
Steps for setting up a national technical team for GHG inventories	Guidance for setting up and enhancing national technical teams for GHG inventories in developing countries	Here

How to use this tool

This tool will guide you through the main steps that are needed to set-up your MRV system, prepare and report the BURs, and prepare you for the ICA process which occurs after you have submitted the BUR. It will also help you improve your BUR and the related MRV system over time.

In order to do so, the tool defines six steps for the above mentioned processes, shown in Figure 1. Since the BUR is a recurring requirement every two years, the steps in this tool present a cycle, with Step 6 feeding back to Step 1.

Figure 1. The six main steps

The steps have been defined based on experiences made under the Information Matters project. Requirements under the UNFCCC do not define specific steps to be taken for the compilation of the BUR. The definition of the steps is thus only a recommendation to facilitate structuring the process.

Capacity building is relevant throughout the process. As it is of cross-cutting nature, capacity building is not addressed as a separate step, but related information is provided within the description of each relevant step.

For each step, the tool provides information on the importance of the step for the BUR process and the main actions to be implemented as part of this step. Furthermore, it informs you about relevant issues to be considered before implementing the step.

Good practice and lessons learnt from the Information Matters project are highlighted in boxes throughout the steps. The boxes are particularly important as they will help you to concentrate on the key issues for improving the quality and transparency of your BUR.

Estimating the time required for the six steps of the BUR process

This tool further helps you estimate the duration for each single step as well as for the entire process for the BUR preparation. It contains several tables that request to input related information about your specific country circumstances, resulting in an estimated duration for the BUR process. This estimation of time is based on experiences under the Information Matters project, however, estimated times will vary based on your national circumstances - existing experiences related to the BUR process and MRV systems - as well as relevant institutional structures, capacities and processes in your country. The times should only be taken as indicative estimates.

Full functionality for the estimation of time required can only be guaranteed if you have MS Office 2013 installed on your computer. Thorough testing has only been conducted for this version. The time estimation might, however, potentially work with other MS Office versions as well.

The necessary information about your country is collected through questions throughout the tool. For each question, a drop-down menu with a list of possible answers is provided. To estimate the time duration please do the following:

Please answer the general questions in Table 2 below. Then press the button “Transfer answers” at the bottom of the table.

In each of the six steps presented in this tool you will find a table with questions specific to the step. Please answer these questions. After completing each table, press the “estimate the duration” button under the table. The estimated duration for the step will be calculated and displayed below the table.

Once you have calculated the duration for all six steps, you can create an overview of time duration for each step and calculate the overall time required. In the section ‘Overview of time required for the six steps’ please press the button “overall time required”. The time required for each step, as well as the total time required will be displayed in a table.

Where users prefer to work with a printed version of the document, they will not be able to use the interactive functionality of estimating the duration of time required for each step. They can, however, consider the questions and select the most appropriate answers, by using the tables in Annex I which presents all questions and predefined answers in a printable format.

Table 2. General questions on national circumstances relevant for the estimation of the time required for preparing the BUR

Question	Select your answer …
Have you compiled a BUR before and if so, have you compiled your previous BUR using consultants?	Choose an item.
Are the necessary financial resources for the BUR compilation in place?	Choose an item.
Has a coordinating institution for the overall BUR process been named?	Choose an item.
Is there strong political buy-in for the BUR and its MRV system?	Choose an item.
Do you have an established national greenhouse-gas inventory system?	Choose an item.
Do you have a system including processes and methods for tracking mitigation actions?	Choose an item.
Does the system for tracking mitigation actions also estimate their impacts (emission reductions, others)?	Choose an item.
Do you have a system including processes and methods for tracking support received?	Choose an item.
Do you have a system including processes and methods for identifying support required?	Choose an item.

Please note that the answers in this table will be used as an input for estimations of time required later on in this tool, therefore, no immediate result will be generated when you click on the button “Transfer answers”.

Step 1: Getting started: Appointing the BUR coordination team

What is this step?

This step will “initiate” the BUR process. It provides guidance for the appointment of an effective BUR coordination team. If you already have a coordination team, you should review the composition of the team to ensure it fulfils its role and has the necessary mandate to carry out its work effectively.

The coordination of the BUR is a key task. It is crucial to receive “buy in” for the BUR compilation from the relevant stakeholders at the very beginning of the BUR compilation process. The coordination team must understand all of the components of the BUR process, including the BUR requirements and the work needed to create the BUR, as well as ensure BUR quality, and submit it to the UNFCCC.

Why is this step important for the compilation of your BUR?

Good practice example of legal mandate for BUR compilation - Ghana In Ghana, the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) established the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1994 via its Act 490, giving the EPA the responsibility to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the government programs and action plans related to climate change.	The Climate Change Unit of the EPA is the coordinating office of the GHG inventory process.	Memoranda of Understanding with the lead GHG inventory entities, the five sectoral teams in line ministries, govern the preparation of sector estimates and individual chapter reports. Good practice example of legal mandate for BUR compilation - Moldova An example of good practice to define the mandate and responsabilities for BUR coordination is the case of the National Inventory Coordinator in Moldova. In Moldova, the National GHG Inventory Coordinator lies within the Ministry of the Environment, Climate Change Office. The Climate Change Office is officially responsible for the national GHG inventory according to its ministerial description and also by a government decision on the responsibilities in the energy statistical system of Moldova. Information requests to other government entities are supported by the Law on Access to Information. A strong coordination team with a recognized mandate and clear roles can help ensure that you will be able to create a BUR efficiently. This is of course most relevant for your first BUR (or if previous BURs have been compiled using external consultants). The team should be given the mandate and have real power and capacity to coordinate and to appoint technical experts or teams to deliver the content for the BUR and to cooperate with other relevant stakeholders (e.g. ministries as required for the BUR process). Make sure that at least one team member has been given the responsibility for overall quality control, and for developing a simple, effective quality plan.

Estimating the time needed to complete Step 1

Table 3 will help you to estimate approximately how long the completion of this step will take. Please answer the questions in the table by selecting the most appropriate answers from the drop-down menus. When you have answered all questions, please press the “Estimate time required now” button located below the table. The estimation will be displayed below the table and will be highlighted in grey.

The duration is calculated based on the assumption that, where a BUR coordination team is in place, has met recently and has the necessary knowledge on BUR requirements, less time will be required.

Table 3. Estimation of duration for Step 1

Question	Select your answer …
Do you have a BUR coordination team, including a designated BUR coordinator?	Choose an item.
If you have a BUR coordination team, when did they meet most recently?	Choose an item.
Does the existing or future coordination team have the necessary knowledge on BUR requirements?	Choose an item.

Recommended actions under this step:

Please note that the applicability of these actions depends on the activities you already have undertaken in the process.

Appoint the team, giving them a clear, legally-backed mandate allowing them to carry out the necessary tasks (e.g. data collection and publication of the data).

Provide the team with capacity building, where needed. For tools and guidance which can help you with capacity building please see the section below: “Which tools, guidance and sources of information help you with this step?”

What you should consider when taking this step

Try to make best use of the existing institutional arrangements and the entities within them (e.g. ministries, departments, and agencies) which are active in and experienced with environmental and climate-related topics and reporting. Can the new responsibilities for the BUR be assigned to a department within one of those entities? If possible, try to avoid creating new entities, specifically for the BUR, unless there are no other suitable structures in your government that could be adapted. Consider institutions which have been involved in the compilation of previous NCs and/or the national GHG inventory. The size of the coordination team and the capacity of its members should allow for the following tasks to be covered:

planning for and coordination of the team overseeing the creation of a BUR,

coordination and management of data collection and updating information,

stakeholder liaison,

appointing a lead for each of the chapters of the BUR,

quality control,

improvement over time of the BUR and all related processes, and

archiving and backup.

A close connection between the BUR coordinator and senior levels of government increases the likelihood of securing collaboration (e.g. inputs of information) for the BUR from stakeholder ministries.

Lessons learnt from the Information Matters project It is doable: A number of countries have managed to successfully prepare a BUR and have implemented MRV systems even when resources were limited.	There is ample guidance, as well as many tools and examples that can be of assistance.	A close connection of the BUR coordination team to senior government levels will increase the likelihood of securing resources for the BUR as well as collaboration with other institutions. Good Practice points Make best use of existing, institutional arrangements and entities like ministries, departments and agencies. Avoid creating new institutions if possible. Make sure one entity has overall responsibility for the BUR coordination team – and has the mandate for the role.

Which tools, guidance and sources of information help you with this step?

The Guidance for setting up and enhancing national technical teams for GHG inventories in developing countries, particularly the first three steps, provides a series of actions for inventory teams that also can be useful for identifying the appropriate entity to serve as a BUR coordination team and achieving a legal mandate for its role. You can find the guidance document here.

Step 2: Taking stock and MRV system set-up

What is this step?

This step will help you understand, which structures, capacities and processes relevant for the compilation of a BUR have already been implemented. These might not have been set-up with the BUR compilation in mind, but can nevertheless be used for it (e.g. collection of statistical data, which is relevant for the national GHG inventory). Under this step you will identify the existing structures, processes and capacities as well as the ones which remain to be set up, to enable you to compile a BUR, as well as identifying any gaps.

This step will also help you to design and plan the implementation of the institutional structures (including their formalisation), capacities and processes necessary for the MRV system. The components of a full MRV system would include all legal, procedural and institutional elements that are necessary to cover the MRV of emissions, the MRV of mitigation actions, and the MRV of support. The set-up of the MRV system ideally should occur before the compilation of the BUR, although the two processes can be carried out in parallel, which may most likely be the case of the first BUR. The MRV system contains the elements that will support the plan for compilation of your BUR.

Why is this step important for the compilation of your BUR?

It is very likely that some relevant data, potentially some relevant institutional arrangements and some understanding of the process of MRV already exist. This would be the situation if you had already completed a NC or if the sectoral lead government agencies had been preparing national sectoral reports, whether climate- or non-climate oriented, which gathered and synthesised climate-relevant data. An MRV system that builds upon existing processes, capacities and structures, will be sustainable and of course more cost-efficient as it will make best use of existing systems, data and resources. It is therefore very important to identify what is already in place upon which an MRV system for a BUR could be built. The GIZ Stock Taking Tool helps you identifying which arrangements, capacities and processes relevant to BURs and NCs are already in place at the national level. Conversely, it also helps you to identify any gaps and the remaining elements required for a national MRV system, as well as actions still needed for the set-up of the necessary arrangements and building of capacities. Note it is very important to formalise the institutional structures for your MRV system. Having a clear plan for the MRV system is the first step, but this plan needs to be translated into effective action.

Estimating the time needed to complete Step 2

Table 4 will help you to estimate approximately how long the completion of this step will take. Please answer the questions in the table by selecting the most appropriate answers from the drop-down menus. When you have answered all questions, please press the “Estimate the time required now” button located below the table. The estimation will be displayed below the table and will be highlighted in grey.

Time is estimated based on the assumption that, where stock has already been taken on existing arrangements, data, etc. and that, in cases where information for stocktaking still needs to be collected, good communication channels with relevant institutions exist, then less time will be required.

Table 4.	Estimation of duration for Step 2

(See notes under the table)

Question	Select your answer …
Have you taken stock and/or carried out a gap analysis for the MRV system?	Choose an item.
If stocktaking has not taken place, have you compiled a list of relevant stakeholders and contacts for conducting the stocktaking exercise?	Choose an item.
Are there information channels between ministries/relevant data providing institutions which allow them to exchange and obtain the necessary information and data easily?	Choose an item.
What is the status of the institutional arrangements of your overarching MRV system?	Choose an item.
What is the status of the knowledge & capacities of the institutions and individuals involved in your overarching MRV system?	Choose an item.
What is the status of the procedures of your overarching MRV system?	Choose an item.

Institutional arrangements:	Institutional arrangements are the policies, systems, and processes that organisations use to legislate, plan and manage their activities efficiently and to effectively coordinate with others in order to fulfil their mandate.

Capacities:	Capacities in this context means the ability by national personnel to deliver a functioning MRV system and inventory. It is an important element to plan and achieve.

Processes:	This includes all systems and tools that are used. Wide ranging - could include software systems, staff management systems, systems at line ministry, department and agency level.

Recommended actions under this step:

Please note that the applicability of these actions depends on the activities you already have undertaken in the process.

Download the GIZ Stock Taking Tool (see link at end of this step). Fill in the tool in conjunction with the relevant stakeholders, e.g. ministries, agencies, institutions.

After having filled in the GIZ Stock Taking Tool, discuss which existing institutional structures, capacities (relevant knowledge of your staff and numbers of such staff) and processes (e.g. exchanging data with institutions, calculating GHG emissions, drafting the BUR) can be used as a foundation for the MRV system. Also discuss which further elements of an MRV system remain to be set up. When you have decided which elements of an MRV system to establish, you will have to decide how to structure the system.

You might want to have an overarching MRV system that integrates the GHG inventory, tracking of mitigation actions, and tracking of support (needed and received). However, these would include independent MRV activities for each main component (e.g. GHG inventories, mitigation, support) with the aim to ensure overall coherence and consistency across the information and data provided. Many institutions indeed start with “independent MRV for each main component” but soon, interlinkages and cross-referencing would come into play. For example, mitigation actions affect the GHG inventory and the level of mitigation action is linked to the amount of support received, in the case of externally financed mitigation actions.

For more guidance on the details of MRV system implementation, see information in the MRV tool referenced in the section “Which tools, guidance and sources of information help you with this step?”.

While revising the MRV structure, you might consider some of these elements to be essential for the first BUR, while you might find others only necessary in the longer-term. In deciding which MRV elements you want to set-up for your first BUR and which might be set-up over the longer term, think about the various topics to be covered. Where you want to provide more information on a certain topic or you consider this information particularly valuable for other purposes than the BUR, consider implementing the relevant elements of the MRV system for your first BUR. Keep in mind that even when you want to set-up an MRV element for your first BUR, you can always do so in a basic way (e.g. receiving relevant data informally from ministries) in the beginning and refine it over time (e.g. by establishing memoranda of understanding on data exchange with these entities). In your BUR, you can indicate plans for improvements to the MRV system for the completion of subsequent BURs.

Figure 2. One of many options for the structure of the MRV system

Overarching MRV System Entity A GHG Inventory Entity B Mitigation actions MRV Entity C MRV of support Entity D MRV elements in separate entities

Figure 3 shows an example of the institutional set-up relevant for reporting in Chile, with the Department of Climate Change in the Ministry of Environment (MMA) being responsible for the overall coordination and compilation of national reports to the UNFCCC.

Figure 3. Example of the institutional set-up for reporting in Chile (Source: Ministerio de Medio Ambiente (MMA), as presented by experts from Chile in the context of the IM project, February 2016)

Figure 4. Example of the procedural steps in the MRV system of Ghana (Source: Ghana’s 1st BUR, 2015: p. 1)

Ghana’s approach to develop and operationalise its domestic MRV system focuses on integration into the existing national development monitoring and evaluation (M&E) superstructure. The domestic MRV system aims at making sure that the existing sector or national development M&E system is able to “monitor” (a) GHG emissions or reductions attributed to a particular mitigation action; (b) climate-related support provided by the Government of Ghana or received from donors or market in the form of finance, technology transfer and capacity building to enable implementation of a certain action or as a result of an action; (c) sustainable development benefits of mitigation actions.

What you should consider when taking this step

Consult stakeholders such as ministries (e.g. Ministries of Energy, Transport, Environment, Agriculture, and Industry), agencies and institutions (e.g. National Statistical Office, industry associations) relevant for the MRV system when you complete the Stock Taking Tool.

In addition, it is essential to take note of the following considerations:

agreement on use of common templates, tools and methodologies where appropriate,

agreed cycles for the completion of each sub-task and periodic coordination meetings,

allocation of BUR budget to/by each agency or office, e.g. for data collection, additional studies.

Experience shows that often useful data e.g. for the estimation of the national GHG inventory or on climate finance flows received, is already collected for other purposes, but not necessarily shared. It is therefore worthwhile assessing carefully with stakeholders what data might already be available.

Decisions regarding the design of your MRV system will have long term impacts; therefore you should plan the MRV system carefully. For example, where responsibilities are laid down in law, care should be taken that the institutions selected are prepared and able to take on their roles in the long term. Similarly, where electronic data management systems are developed, they should either allow coverage of all relevant data (even if not all of that data is at present covered by the MRV system) or have the flexibility to allow for an increase in the scope of data covered. The systems that other countries have implemented can provide examples which may be adapted to your own national circumstances if they are applicable, or they may simply be used as ideas.

It is hard to change a functioning MRV system, and costs might be incurred if changes to the MRV system become necessary, for example, in case of significant changes to institutional structures. System design as well as BUR contents should be informed and aligned with each country’s interests, goals, structures, capacities and circumstances. The MRV system might also be used to generate more detailed data, which is relevant for policy decisions at the national level, for example to guide mitigation actions.

Lessons learnt from the Information Matters project	Using and building upon existing institutions can help the MRV system and BUR preparation process; many of the existing national institutions were able to take on new roles and responsibilities related to MRV systems and the preparation of a BUR.	Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) systems for climate change often exist already which can be adapted and their roles extended to cover MRV functions.	Involve stakeholders in the design of the MRV system to ensure buy in and smooth implementation.	Good Practice points Engage all relevant stakeholders early in the stock taking process to ensure no information is missed. Carefully consider which MRV elements you need urgently for a BUR and which you need in the longer term.	Take time to plan the MRV system carefully – tailor the system to your country’s specific circumstances.

Which tools, guidance and sources of information help you with this step?

Stock Taking Tool: The Stock Taking Tool will help you identify how to prioritise actions to develop MRV systems for BURs and NCs. It will help you to identify your current capabilities and resources and help to create a plan to fill in any gaps identified. You can find this tool here.

MRV tool: The MRV tool will help you to understand the key components (or pillars) of MRV and the recommended actions you need to take to design and implement an MRV system. The tool provides examples of MRV systems that countries have implemented which could provide you with inspiration for your system (see pages 60, 61, 67, 127, 132, 139, 158, 195). The tool also explains the key functions that an MRV system must fulfill, and which your MRV system should deliver (see pages 18-22). You can find this tool here.

Step 3: Making a plan: Prepare for the BUR compilation

What is this step?

During this step you will plan the BUR compilation. In principle you can compile a BUR without setting up an MRV system; however, without an MRV system in place it is likely that the compilation of every NC or BUR would have to start from scratch every time, which will be much less cost-effective and deliver lower quality reports. Therefore, we recommend you undertake Step 2 prior to carrying out this Step 3.

Why is this step important for the compilation of your BUR?

In this step you will plan and make the key decisions about the content, level of detail and format of your BUR, to ensure a cost-effective and timely implementation. You will consider the existing institutional structures and the national MRV system set-up.

You will also decide about allocating roles and responsibilities within institutional structures, training staff to support the system and installing and adapting processes related to the BUR compilation. You will also decide which of these elements are to be implemented immediately and which can be implemented at a later stage - in the medium or long-term. These are key decisions you need to make to plan the compilation of a BUR.

Estimating the time needed to complete Step 3

Table 5 will help you to estimate approximately how long this step will take. Please answer the questions in the table by selecting the most appropriate answers from the drop-down menus. You will be asked to answer each question with regard to institutional arrangements, capacities and processes separately. Please make sure you have completed the GIZ Stock Taking Tool in Step 2 before you complete the questions. When you have answered all questions, please press the “Estimate time required now” button located below the table. The estimation will be displayed below the table and will be highlighted in grey.

Time is estimated on the assumption that, the more structures, capacities and processes are already in place, the less time you will need to do the planning for the compilation of the BUR.

Table 5.	Estimation of duration for Step 3

Question	Select your answer …
Institutional arrangements	Knowledge & capacities	Procedures
What are the conditions for compilation of your national GHG inventory with respect to…?	Choose an item.	Choose an item.	Choose an item.
What is the status of a system for tracking mitigation actions with respect to…?	Choose an item.	Choose an item.	Choose an item.
What is the status of a system for tracking support (needed and received) with respect to…?	Choose an item.	Choose an item.	Choose an item.

Recommended actions under this step:

Please note that the applicability of these actions depends on the activities you already have undertaken in the process.

You will first have to make a number of decisions related to the specific content to be presented in your BUR.

Information and level of detail presented in the BUR

The UNFCCC requirements, for most of the information to be covered, do not prescribe the level of detail to be delivered, providing certain flexibility to countries in this regard. To understand which information is to be provided in the BUR, consult the GIZ BUR-template. Decide what specific content, at what level of detail and how you want to present the information, and whether you want to include additional information. BURs submitted by other countries might provide ideas with regard to content and their presentation; see for example http://unfccc.int/national_reports/non-annex_i_natcom/reporting_on_climate_change/items/8722.php.

Implementation planning

For the compilation of the BUR identify the necessary tasks for implementation and agree on responsibilities and timelines. Consider where MRV system set-up and BUR compilation can run in parallel. This can ensure that e.g. data collection and evaluation processes are set up in a most pragmatic way as they are informed by experience.

The overall BUR coordinator would be responsible for compiling the BUR based on the outputs of the three main components and adding the supporting information such as national circumstances. Figure 2 shows an option of how this system may look like. Once you have structured the system(s), assign roles and responsibilities for the following tasks:

overall responsibility for implementation,

data collection,

data evaluation and calculation,

reporting,

quality assurance and quality control,

documentation and archiving.

Please refer to Steps 1 and 2 for further information about setting up the BUR coordination team and MRV structure.

Decisions related to roles and responsibilities are likely to include decisions related to budgeting and the allocation of staff. For each of the tasks identified in each area of MRV, agree on relevant processes and tools, for example how and when data is collected, evaluated, documented, etc. This should include the development of a detailed quality plan. In your quality plan describe in detail what has to be checked by whom, when, and with regard to which process. For example, after data collection related to climate finance flows is received, a staff member who was not involved in collecting this information checks whether information has been collected from all relevant sources and whether it is the information that was required, etc. Be prepared for data sets that conflict, and have a procedure for deciding which takes precedence. In case of multiple sources of data (which are sometimes mis-matching), the BUR team has to agree on which reference/source is deemed reliable and considered official.

Also, ensure that each stakeholder has a clear mandate for its responsibilities - for example, data collection and in this case the types of data that it must collect. Quality checks should be performed for every step where data and information are handled. For your MRV system, decide which quality processes are most relevant for your first BUR and which ones can be added and/or refined over time. These quality processes should apply to the BUR document itself too. There is a section on “Which tools, guidance and sources of information help you with this step?” at the end of this section where you can find references to more information about QA/QC. A very important factor in any of the dimensions of the BUR compilation, like the institutional arragements, staff capacities and procedures, is the quality and not simply the presence or absence. Each element could be fully set up, but if it is of low quality or does not have a comprehensive scope, there is a risk to have inefficiencies in the BUR compilation.

What you should consider when taking this step

A key point is to start in a simple way and then refine both the MRV system and BUR over time. This will also allow “learning by doing” and will allow the MRV system to be configured in a way which is most appropriate to your country.

The structure of the BUR, its level of detail, as well as additional information can easily be varied over time. Good planning will facilitate easier implementation. Creating a detailed plan for the compilation of your BUR will make it easier to allocate responsibilities and assess the potential duration of a task and its costs. It will also allow tasks to be identified which depend on each other and thus have to be carried out one after the other, and tasks which can be implemented in parallel.

Involving relevant stakeholders in the decisions on the level of detail of the BUR is key. It will ensure buy-in from the stakeholders and allow you to build a viable system. The timing of the involvement of the stakeholders is important, and the approach should be adjusted to suit the circumstances of your country. You might choose to start with a core group of experts/lead agencies first, and then progress to a bigger group of stakeholders later.

Which tools, guidance and sources of information help you with this step?

GIZ BUR Template: This template will help you to create a BUR in line with the UNFCCC reporting guidelines. You can find this tool here.

BURs submitted to the UNFCCC: BURs reported under the UNFCCC will contain good examples of MRV systems and institutional arrangements, as well as on the information and the level of detail reported. These can provide ideas for your own BUR and MRV system, and contain details of how countries have overcome institutional barriers. You can find the BURs submitted to the UNFCCC here.

ICA outcomes for submitted BURs: The summary reports of the Technical Analysis undertaken for submitted BURs contain information about methods for reporting that are transparent. These can provide ideas for how to structure the contents of your own BUR. You can find the TA Summary Reports here.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA / QC). You can find more information here.

Step 4: Implementation: Compilation of the BUR

What is this step?

While the previous step covered design and preparation, this step addresses the creation of the BUR.

Why is this step important for the compilation of your BUR?

This step builds on the planning that has been done in Step 3. This step is actually “doing it” – putting into action the plan for compiling the BUR. It is very important before starting Step 4 to make sure that Step 3 has been done thoroughly.

Estimating the time needed to complete Step 4

Table 6 will help you to estimate approximately how long this step will take. Please answer the questions in the table by selecting the most appropriate answers from the drop-down menus. When you have answered all questions, please click the “Estimate time required now” button located below the table. The estimation will be displayed below the table and will be highlighted in grey. In calculating the duration, answers you provided under step 3 as well as the general questions will be considered, so please make sure you have answered these as well.

The time required is calculated based on the assumption that if you have more full-time staff members for the work to be done (as established from answers to the questions under Step 3) and you have a quality plan, less time will be required. However, the mere number of staff members is not necessarily the most relevant indicator for the quality and timeliness of the results. For example, a larger team might need more time for communicating and coordinating and might therefore be less efficient than a smaller team. Of course, where a team is very small, e.g. 1-2 staff members, it will take longer for the BUR compilation. In the list of potential answers the maximum number of staff is limited to 10. The estimation approach is based on the assumption that you will not take more than 2 years to develop your BUR, as the BUR should be submitted biennially. Should the estimated time required for the compilation of the BUR and set-up of the MRV system be more than 2 years based on the answers to Step 3 and Step 4, you will nevertheless be given an estimation of 23-24 months. In practice this would mean that for your first BUR, you might provide a less detailed report with a very simple GHG inventory and only partly implement the planned MRV system within the given time.

Table 6.	Estimation of duration for Step 4

Question	Select your answer …
How many staff members will be able to work full time on the BUR compilation and set-up of the MRV system?	Choose an item.
Is there a plan for quality assurance and quality control of the relevant data for the BUR and the BUR itself in place?	Choose an item.

Notes:

“Is there a plan for quality assurance and quality control of the relevant data for the BUR and the BUR itself in place?” When you are answering this question, think of the whole BUR process – not just the GHG inventory.

The size of the human resources involved in the BUR compilation probably is proportional to the size of the country.

Recommended actions under this step:

Please note that the applicability of these actions depends on the activities you already have undertaken in the process.

Review your planning regularly and adjust as necessary. During the compilation of the BUR be sure to also implement your quality plan. Document all lessons learnt relevant for the forthcoming BUR compilation, for example how long certain tasks took, where a different approach than the one taken might be more effective, and which data was not available or incomplete.

Make sure you have a simple system to track the setup of the domestic MRV system and the compilation of the BUR. Remember it is important not just to have people and time allocated to tasks, in other words to have many activities, but to ensure all these activities translate into outcomes, i.e. a functioning MRV system and a BUR in line with the UNFCCC BUR guidelines.

Figure 5. Example sequence and deliverables of BUR compilation (Source: Adapted from Mitsubishi UPJ Research and Consulting)

What you should consider when taking this step

Consider who should lead the BUR preparation, and who should form the BUR coordination team. Consider who should write and review the BUR, and lead the preparation and participation in the ICA process. Many countries suggest that the lead for the BUR and ICA, and the associated co-ordination teams, should be the same. Step 5 explains how to prepare for the ICA process.

An important step is to allocate lead author(s) for each of the chapters in your BUR. One author might lead many or even all the chapters in some countries. You should also allocate a person to be in charge of the overall BUR compilation. The authors of the BUR may come from one or many ministries, departments or agencies, or might even be from one or more consultancies. Remember to ensure the stakeholders and authors have been given mandates for their roles, and to ensure suitable access and backup of all the information used to create the BUR. You should also ensure a person is given the responsibility for consolidating all the chapters, arranging for their review, and for updating the BUR based on the comments of the reviewers. Allow time for this review and update process – it may take a few months. The circumstances of countries vary greatly, and so this process guidance does not suggest who should write each chapter of the BUR. In many cases, the ministry of the environment or equivalent will lead the chapter on information on national circumstances and institutional arrangements relevant to the reporting on a continuous basis, and the coordinator of the GHG inventory will lead the chapter on the national GHG inventories. The ministry of finance or equivalent should have a role in the chapter on constraints and gaps related to financial, technical and capacity needs and support, and the level of support received.

If you are compiling a new or revising an existing GHG inventory, you could consider using the IPCC 2006 GHG inventory software. Using this software will allow you to output UNFCCC compliant tables to report your GHG emissions and removals.

Make plans to report on the progress and impact of mitigation actions. You can use the Policy and Action Standard and Mitigation Goal Standard to help guide you. These standards are referenced in the section “Which tools, guidance and sources of information help you with this step?”.

If you are compiling a BUR for the first time, accurately estimating the time required to compile relevant data or write chapters can be difficult as there might be delays with the delivery of data and information, hence, some flexibility will be needed. You might not be able to achieve everything you planned for the BUR, e.g. providing a certain level of detail consistently; however, you may then consider these elements as improvement for the next BUR, as long as you provide the key contents required by the UNFCCC.

Report in the BUR what kind of a national MRV system you have at the time you write the BUR, and set out any plans to fully implement your system in the future.

Good Practice points Identify and use existing data – “use usable data”. Make sure you have a simple and effective mechanism to track the progress and effectiveness of the BUR compilation. Keep backups of documents and electronic files. Make sure that suitable access is available for all the documents and information that was used to create the BUR. Lessons learnt from the Information Matters project	Getting the main stakeholders on board: possible concerns by stakeholders may be reduced by clearly explaining the benefits of a BUR at the national level.	Stakeholder consultations can support mutual understanding of the needs of the various stakeholders.	Training of the teams involved in the BUR is important. Identify training needs and create and monitor the effectiveness of a training programme.

Which tools, guidance and sources of information help you with this step?

MRV tool: The MRV tool will help you to understand the key components (or pillars) of MRV and the recommended actions you need to take to design and implement an MRV system (see pages 21-46). You can find this tool here.

MRV framework for developing countries: The existing framework for MRV under the Convention for developing country Parties consists of several elements, which have been gradually implemented through a set of decisions by the Conference of the Parties (COP) over the period 2004–2015. Some of these elements are implemented at the international level and others at the national level. You can find information on this here.

The IPCC 2006 GHG inventory software: This software allows preparation of a fully UNFCCC compliant GHG inventory for all sectors. The software stores activity data and has IPCC default emission factors built in. It can create the UNFCCC reporting tables suitable for use in NCs and BURs. You can find this tool and the instruction manual here.

Policy and Action Standard for calculating the GHG impact of mitigation actions: The Policy and Action Standard provides a standardized approach for estimating the greenhouse gas effect of policies and actions. You can find this tool here.

Mitigation Goal Standard: The Mitigation Goal Standard provides a standardized approach for assessing progress toward national and subnational greenhouse gas reduction goals. You can find this tool here.

Step 5: Get ready to learn from others: Preparing for the ICA

What is this step?

The ICA process of BURs has several aims. The primary aim of the ICA is to increase the transparency of mitigation actions and their effects. In addition, it allows Parties to get feedback from international experts on their BUR. This will in turn also contribute to improvements in the reporting of their BURs over time, and towards identifying capacity development needs and the building of those capacities.

Why is this step important for the compilation of your BUR?

The process allows you to gain from the experience of the international experts of the team of technical experts (TTE) and that of other countries. Where needed and relevant, the ICA process can also lead to the identification of capacity building needs on BUR related topics. Good preparation for the participation in the process will enable you to maximise the benefit from the participation. It is designed as a facilitative process that helps identify capacity building needs, share experiences and views and improve the quality of BURs.

Estimating the time needed to complete Step 5

Table 7 will help you to estimate approximately how long this step will take. Please answer the questions in the table by selecting the most appropriate answers from the drop-down menus. When you have answered all questions, please press the “Estimate time required now” button located below the table. The estimation will be displayed below the table and will be highlighted in grey.

Please note that the time estimate is for the preparation of the ICA, not for going through the ICA process itself. The timings and proceedings of the ICA processes are defined by the UNFCCC in the relevant COP decisions.

The estimation of time required is based on the assumption that having participated in the ICA process previously and having accredited experts for the reviews of GHG inventories and/or NCs of developed countries in the team will allow for a faster preparation due to a good understanding of the ICA process and/or UNFCCC review processes - even if these are differnet when they relate to developed countries.

Table 7.	Estimation of duration for Step 5

Question	Select your answer …
Have you already undergone an ICA process?	Choose an item.
Does the BUR coordination team include any staff that have experience as GHG inventory reviewers (for developed countries) and/or TTE members for the analysis of developing countries’ BURs or are there any at country-level which could be involved in the preparation?	Choose an item.

Recommended actions under this step:

Please note that the applicability of these actions depends on the activities you already have undertaken in the process.

Consult the UNFCCC modalities and guidelines for the ICA to understand the aims and activities of the ICA process.

Confirm the ICA coordination team and its team lead. Ideally these should be the same as for the BUR. Ensure the roles and responsibilities of each expert and institution in relation to the ICA process are clear. Familiarise the team with the ICA guidelines and ensure the team fully understands the aim and activities of the ICA process. For the technical analysis, the first step under the ICA, make sure the relevant experts who have contributed to the BUR are available during the analysis week by the TTE.

Be sure you have all relevant source material at hand to allow them to answer questions quickly. This will to some extent also be important during the session on FSV, i.e. the second step under the ICA.

Prepare further by comparing the content of your country’s BUR with the UNFCCC BUR guidelines and anticipating questions that the technical experts might ask - what might be unclear to them? You may also look into the published Summary Reports of those Parties that already underwent the technical analysis, available here.

The ICA process is also there to help you with BUR related issues you may be experiencing. Prepare questions you want to ask the TTE - these can be technical questions, questions about their experiences on certain BUR related issues, etc. If you think that you might need capacity building on BUR related issues, you may discuss this with the TTE, e.g. on the topics on which capacity-building would be needed. After the technical analysis, document lessons learnt for the next time.

For the FSV consider the feedback you received during and after the technical analysis as well as the summary report resulting from the analysis by the TTE. Based on the TTE feedback, consider which BUR contents you want to focus on in your presentation at the FSV workshop and how you want to present them. Choose the staff members to participate in the process - you should strongly consider having a team consisting of a managerial staff member, the BUR lead, and technical staff who were involved in the BUR compilation. In preparing your presentation, you may consider a consultation process with other developing countries under the FSV and view webcasts of FSV sessions, available here; familiarising yourself with these discussions will give you a good idea of what to expect.

If you are a least developed country (LDC) or a small island developing state (SIDS) you might consider undergoing the process as a group of countries.

What you should consider when taking this step

The most important point to note is that this process is not designed to judge the appropriateness of the countries’ actions, but to help improve BUR reporting over time. It is a great opportunity to share experiences with other experts working on BUR, to showcase efforts that countries are undertaking to implement the Convention and also share challenges and support needed to overcome those challenges. When preparing, always ask yourself how you can maximise the benefits of your participation. Do not be concerned about asking the TTE to consider including needs for capacity building support on specific topics in the summary report, where this can help you to improve forthcoming BUR submissions.

The ICA team members who are to participate in the FSV have to be registered as a member of the national delegation to the respective UNFCCC session during which the FSV is held.

Good Practice points	Be well prepared.	Use the ICA process as an input to create a better BUR, e.g. note questions you want to ask during the process.	The technical analysis is a technical process step.	The FSV mainly serves the sharing of information. Although Party delegations do not necessarily coincide with the experts who have compiled the BUR, it is helpful for your team to include a technical expert who participated in BUR compilation. Work closely with the UNFCCC secretariat once the BUR is submitted to clearly understand the processes involved. Lessons learnt from the Information Matters project	The ICA process has helped countries to improve their BURs and strengthened their national institutional structures.	Exchange among countries that participated in the ICA process has helped reducing concerns significantly and understanding the benefits of such process.

Which tools, guidance and sources of information help you with this step?

UNFCCC ICA booklet: This handy guide prepared by the UNFCCC secretariat contains useful information about the ICA process. You can find this booklet here.

The guidance document ‘Preparing for the ICA Process: Required efforts and capacities needed’ developed under the Information Matters project provides a detailed step by step guidance on how to prepare for the ICA process. You can find the guidance here.
Summary reports of other countries: Here.

Step 6: Applying lessons learnt: Improvement over time

What is this step?

Under this step you will consider the lessons learnt as you have created and reported your BUR, and you will use them to improve the quality of your BUR submissions and MRV systems in the future.

Why is this step important for the compilation of your first BUR?

During the BUR compilation, operation of the MRV system and the participation in the ICA process, you will have collected many lessons learnt and identified potential for improvement. Regularly collecting this information and developing it into an improvement plan will allow you to refine your BUR over time and increase cost-effectiveness, efficiency and the quality of information collected and reported.

Estimating the time needed to complete Step 6

Table 8 will help you to estimate approximately how long it will take you to plan for the improvements over time. Please answer the questions in the table by selecting the most appropriate answers from the drop-down menus. When you have answered all questions, please press the “Estimate time required now” button located below the table. The estimation will be displayed below the table and will be highlighted in grey.

The estimation of time required is based on the assumption that, where improvement plans already exist, they can be updated with limited time effort.

Table 8.	Estimation of duration for Step 6

Question	Select your answer …
Do you have a BUR improvement plan?	Choose an item.
Do you have an MRV system improvement plan?	Choose an item.

Recommended actions under this step:

Please note that the applicability of these actions depends on the activities you already have undertaken in the process.

During the compilation of the BUR, the setup and operation of the MRV system and the ICA process, document all potential areas for improvement and lessons learnt in one document. Ideally start collecting information starting already in step 2 when the stocktaking is underway, as at this point it may already become clear what the future areas for improvements might be. Appoint a guardian of this information and the document, and keep it at a central location. This can be done in the form of a simple table indicating the issue, what it relates to (e.g. mitigation actions), and how it could be improved. You can also organise a post-BUR submission evaluation meeting to further collect experiences and ideas from the team while the steps are fresh in their minds.

Once the technical analysis and the Summary Report from the ICA is available, revisit the BUR and MRV system improvement document to make updates and changes based on the feedback received from the ICA.

Based on the identified areas for improvement, formulate plans for improving the BUR and MRV system, including assignment of roles, timelines and monitoring.

Regularly, at least once every two years, assess the issues collected with the BUR coordination team and rank them according to relevance. Assess, which of the most relevant issues can be covered by the existing budget and agree what needs to be done, who is responsible and by when they should do it.

You might want to seek additional budget if the existing budget does not cover all of the items you consider to be addressed in the short term. With the issues that do need attention in the short term, create a plan to implement in the short- to medium- to long-term.

Remember to review your quality plan. Consider what aspects have worked well, and which aspects have not worked well. Consider consulting with stakeholders and improve aspects of the plan that have not worked well.

What you should consider when taking this step

This step can easily be forgotten once you have successfully submitted your BUR and undergone the ICA process. However, it allows you to increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of your systems and improve quality, and ease efforts for subsequent BURs. Therefore make sure this process is carried out so that you can gain from these benefits.

Lessons learnt from the Information Matters project	Documenting potentials for improvement during the BUR compilation allows creating a detailed BUR improvement plan once a BUR has been submitted. Good Practice points	Ensure you have a clear prioritised improvement plan. Record all actions, even small ones.	Improvements can relate to all areas of the BUR process and the MRV system, including the QA/QC plans.	Do not try to implement all the improvements at once. Take a phased approach.	Examine improvements that other countries are making. Consider if these are relevant to your country.

Which tools, guidance and sources of information help you with this step?

ICA summary reports from the technical analysis could provide some useful insight into frequently occurring issues and how countries have addressed them: http://unfccc.int/8722.php

The National Inventory Improvement Plan developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency helps to identify opportunities for improvement, record these and prioritise them. You can find this guidance here: http://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/Downloads/EPAactivities/Template-6-National-Inventory_Improvement-Plan.docx

Overview of time required for the six steps

In order to estimate the overall time required to compile your BUR (steps 1-4) and for an overview of time required for all six steps, please press the ‘provide summary’ button below. This will then populate Table 9 with estimated time durations, intend to support your planning for the BUR compilation, ICA preparation and future improvements in subsequent rounds of developing your BUR.

Please make sure that you have estimated the duration of steps 1-6 in the sections above before you press the ‘provide summary’ button below - otherwise you will receive an error message.

Table 9. Overview on time required for the BUR process steps

Step	Time required
Step 1 Appointment of BUR coordination team
Step 2 Taking stock and MRV system set-up
Step 3 Prepare for the BUR compilation
Step 4 BUR compilation
Step 5 ICA preparation
Step 6 Improvement over time
Overall time required to compile your BUR (sum of steps 1-4)

The above estimated time durations should help you with planning your BUR. Your first BUR is likely to take more time than subsequent BURs. As the MRV system becomes more established, it will help reduce the time needed to develop subsequent BURs. Ultimately you need to be aiming for a two year maximum duration in order to be able to deliver the BURs on time. While developing your BUR, it would help to take note of how long each step has actually taken and to assess if it can be done quicker next time. This will help in your planning for the next BUR.

Glossary

Biennial Update Reports (BURs): Biennial update reports provide an update to the most recently submitted national communication in the following areas: Information on national circumstances and institutional arrangements relevant to the preparation of the national communications on a continuous basis; the national inventory of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removal by sinks of all greenhouse gases (GHGs) not controlled by the Montreal Protocol, including a national inventory report; information on mitigation actions and their effects, including associated methodologies and assumptions; Constraints and gaps, and related financial, technical and capacity needs, including a description of support needed and received; information on the level of support received to enable the preparation and submission of biennial update reports; information on domestic measurement reporting and verification; and any other information that the developing country considers relevant to the achievement of the objective of the Convention and suitable for inclusion in its biennial update report.

Facilitative Sharing of Views (FSV): The FSV is the second step in the ICA process. It will be conducted in the form of a workshop under the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI), convened at regular intervals and open to all Parties. The FSV will consist of a 1–3 hour session for each Party or group of up to five Parties. It will include a brief presentation by the Party or Parties concerned on its/ their BUR(s), followed by a question and answer session.

Institutional arrangements: Institutional arrangements are the policies, systems, and processes that organisations use to legislate, plan and manage their activities efficiently and to effectively coordinate with others in order to fulfil their mandate.

Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs): Post-2020 climate actions countries publicly declared they intend to take under the so-called Paris Agreement.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): The IPCC surveys world-wide scientific and technical literature and publishes assessment reports that are widely recognised as the most credible existing sources of information on climate change. The IPCC also provides guidelines and methodologies, in particular for the preparation of national greenhouse-gas inventories.

International Consultation and Analysis (ICA): International consultation and analysis is a process adopted at the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties as part of the measurement, reporting and verification arrangements under the Cancun Agreements. It applies to BURs, which are prepared by Parties not included in Annex I to the Convention (developing countries).

International Assessment and Review: The Conference of Parties (COP), by Decision 1/CP.16, decided that developed country Parties should enhance reporting in national communications (NC) and submit biennial reports (BR) which outline progress in achieving emission reductions and the provision of financial, technology and capacity-building support to developing countries, building on existing reporting and review guidelines, processes and experiences.

It also established a new process, international assessment and review (IAR), under the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) for developed country Parties that aims to promote the comparability of efforts among all developed country Parties with regard to their quantified economy-wide emission limitation and reduction targets.

Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV): A process/concept that potentially supports greater transparency in the climate change regime.

Multilateral Assessment: The multilateral assessment (MA) process is part of the international assessment and review (IAR) process for developed country Parties. It entails three stages: entails three stages: the preparation for the MA before the SBI working group session - encompassing a three-month "questions and answers" period; the international assessment during the SBI working group session; and the completion of the Party record after the SBI working group session.

National Communication (NC): A report submitted in accordance with the Convention (and the Protocol) by which a Party informs of its activities undertaken to address climate change. Most developed countries have now submitted their fifth national communications; most developing countries have completed their first national communication and are in the process of preparing their second or third.

National GHG Inventory: In the context of the UNFCCC, it is a comprehensive listing, by source, of annual GHG emissions and removals resulting directly from human activities from a country. An inventory may estimate emissions and removals for one year or a number of years.

Nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs): The Cancun Agreements (COP 16 in 2010), in paragraph 48, refer to NAMAs as follows: “Agrees that developing country Parties will take nationally appropriate mitigation actions in the context of sustainable development, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, aimed at achieving a deviation in emissions relative to ‘business as usual’ emissions in 2020”.

Stock Taking: Assessment of a current situation, progress, etc., to identify and understand what is needed and prioritise such needs.

Team of Technical Experts: The technical analysis of the BURs is conducted by a team of technical experts (TTE). The composition, modalities and procedures of the TTE under the ICA are laid down in decision 20/CP.19.

Technical Analysis: The technical analysis is the first step of the ICA and starts within six months of the submission of BURs from developing countries. The technical analysis is guided by the modalities and guidelines for international consultation and analysis in annex IV of decision 2/CP.17 and by the composition, modalities and procedures of the TTE contained in the annex to decision 20/CP.19.

Transparency: means that the assumptions and methodologies are clearly explained to facilitate replication and assessment by users of the reported information.

Annex I – Printable versions of questions and predefined answers

General questions (table 2)

Question	Select your answer …
Have you compiled a BUR before and if so, have you compiled your previous BUR using consultants?	This is our first BUR Fully or mainly using consultants Roughly half of the work done by consultants Only for selected small elements or not using consultants
Are the necessary financial resources for the BUR compilation in place?	Yes Process ongoing No
Has a coordinating institution for the overall BUR process been named?	Yes Process ongoing No
Is there strong political buy-in for the BUR and its MRV system?	Yes Partly No
Do you have an established national greenhouse-gas inventory system?	Yes Partly No
Do you have a system including processes and methods for tracking mitigation actions?	Yes Partly No
Does the system for tracking mitigation actions also estimate their impacts (emission reductions, others)?	Yes Partly No
Do you have a system including processes and methods for tracking support received?	Yes Partly No
Do you have a system including processes and methods for identifying support required?	Yes Partly No

Questions related to Step 1 (table 3)

Question	Select your answer …
Do you have a BUR coordination team, including a designated BUR coordinator?	Yes No Designation ongoing
If you have a BUR coordination team, when did they meet most recently?	Less than six months ago Six months ago or longer Not applicable
Does the existing or future coordination team have the necessary knowledge on BUR requirements?	Yes Partly No

Questions related to Step 2 (table 4)

Question	Select your answer …
Have you taken stock and/or carried out a gap analysis for the BUR / MRV system?	Yes Partly No
If stocktaking has not taken place, have you compiled a list of relevant stakeholders and contacts for conducting the stocktaking exercise?	Yes Partly No
Are there information channels between ministries/relevant data providing institutions which allow them to exchange and obtain the necessary information and data easily?	For all or most Only for some No
What is the status of the institutional arrangements of your overarching MRV system?	Fully set up Partly set up Not set up or set up to a limited extent
What is the status of the knowledge & capacities of the institutions and individuals involved in your overarching MRV system?	Fully set up Partly set up Not set up or set up to a limited extent
What is the status of the procedures of your overarching MRV system?	Fully set up Partly set up Not set up or set up to a limited extent

Questions related to Step 3 (table 5)

Question	Select your answer …
Institutional arrangements	Capacities	Processes
What are the conditions for compilation of your national GHG inventory with respect to…?	Fully set up Partly set up Not set up or set up to a limited extent	Fully set up Partly set up Not set up or set up to a limited extent	Fully set up Partly set up Not set up or set up to a limited extent
What is the status of a system for tracking mitigation actions with respect to…?	Fully set up Partly set up Not set up or set up to a limited extent	Fully set up Partly set up Not set up or set up to a limited extent	Fully set up Partly set up Not set up or set up to a limited extent
What is the status of a system for tracking support (needed and received) with respect to…?	Fully set up Partly set up Not set up or set up to a limited extent	Fully set up Partly set up Not set up or set up to a limited extent	Fully set up Partly set up Not set up or set up to a limited extent

Questions related to Step 4 (table 6)

Question	Select your answer …
How many staff members will be able to work full time on the BUR compilation and set-up of the MRV system?	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Is there a plan for quality assurance and quality control of the relevant data for the BUR and the BUR itself in place?	Yes or under development No

Questions related to Step 5 (table 7)

Question	Select your answer …
Have you already undergone an ICA process?	Yes No
Does the BUR coordination team include any staff that have experience as GHG inventory reviewers (for developed countries) and/or TTE members for the analysis of developing countries’ BURs or are there any at country-level which could be involved in the preparation?	Yes No

Questions related to Step 6 (table 8)

Question	Select your answer …
Do you have a BUR improvement plan?	Yes or under development No
Do you have an MRV system improvement plan?	Yes or under development No

Deutsche Gesellschaft für

Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

Sitz der Gesellschaft

Bonn und Eschborn

Dag-Hammarskjöld-Weg 1-5

65760 Eschborn, Germany

T +49 61 96 79-0

F +49 61 96 79-11 15

E info@giz.de

I www.giz.de

See: https://www.thegef.org/sites/default/files/documents/GEF_Policy_Guidelines__for_the_financing_of__Biennial_update_reports_for_Non-Annex_1_Parties.pdf

Potentially located in three different entities or departments, as appropriate.

The definitions of quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) differ depending on context, and also the understanding of these concepts varies. For the purposes of this process guidance tool, these concepts are simplified to a general consideration of quality. The key point is that quality is explicitly considered as part of the BUR and MRV processes, and you have simple and effective approaches to ensuring quality. The following definitions are modifications of the IPCC definitions:
Quality Assurance: a planned system of review procedures conducted by personnel not directly involved in the process.
Quality Control: a system of routine technical activities to assess and maintain the quality of the BUR and MRV as it is being compiled.

Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting. Supporting Materials for preparing GHG Inventories, Biennial Update Reports, and National Communications Version 2.1. Ministry of the Environment, Japan “Feasibility Studies on Joint Crediting Mechanism Projects towards Environmentally Sustainable Cities in Asia", 2014; Osaka, Japan.

http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2011/cop17/eng/09a01.pdf#page=39

http://unfccc.int/files/national_reports/non-annex_i_parties/ica/application/pdf/ica_booklet.pdf

http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/Poverty%20Reduction/Inclusive%20development/Towards%20Human%20Resilience/Towards_SustainingMDGProgress_Ch8.pdf?download

http://unfccc.int/essential_background/glossary/items/3666.php

http://unfccc.int/files/national_reports/non-annex_i_parties/ica/application/pdf/ica_booklet.pdf

http://unfccc.int/focus/mitigation/the_multilateral_assessment_process_under_the_iar/items/7549.php

http://unfccc.int/essential_background/glossary/items/3666.php and http://unfccc.int/files/national_reports/annex_i_natcom_/application/pdf/non-annex_i_mrv_handbook.pdf

http://unfccc.int/focus/mitigation/the_multilateral_assessment_process_under_the_iar/items/8451.php

http://unfccc.int/essential_background/glossary/items/3666.php

http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/publications/09_resource_guide3.pdf

http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2010/cop16/eng/07a01.pdf#page=2

https://www.transparency-partnership.net/documents-tools/stock-taking-tool

http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2013/cop19/eng/10a02r01.pdf#page=12; see also http://unfccc.int/files/national_reports/non-annex_i_parties/ica/application/pdf/ica_booklet.pdf

http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2011/cop17/eng/09a01.pdf#page=4

http://unfccc.int/files/national_reports/non-annex_i_parties/ica/application/pdf/ica_booklet.pdf

http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/publications/09_resource_guide3.pdf