5. Publication of the TAR

There are two issues related to the dissemination and availability of the IPCC works: the publication of the documents in all UN languages', and the dissemination of the findings of the IPCC.

The translation of the TAR into all UN languages', as well as that of all "approved/accepted" documents related to TAR which will be produced by the IPCC, should be assured. The IPCC, the Convention and the countries should provide financial means for these translations. In particular, countries should be invited to provide translation services as contributions in kind for the TAR

The IPCC, the Convention and the countries should assure a broad diffusion of the TAR. The documents of the TAR should be made available to all stakeholders and the findings of the TAR should be disseminated through seminars, workshops and campaigns of information assuring a broad public awareness. The Secretariat of the IPCC should make all IPCC documents available on the Internet in a userfriendly way.

6. Timing of the TAR

Two aspects are important the time needed by the authors and reviewers (peer and governmental) to produce a high quality work, and the time needed by Governments to understand the TAR and start implementing its findings.

The key to the success of the TAR will be its quality. This quality will depend on the time left to authors and reviewers to complete their work. Therefore, the TAR should not be approved/accepted before 2001.

Concerning the time needed by Governments to understand and start implementing the findings of the TAR, what is important is the effort on the part of the IPCC and other bodies, such as the Information Unit on Convention from UNEP, to present and to disseminate the findings of the TAR in a userfriendly way.

7. IPCC Bureau, Secretariat and TSUS

The current composition of its Bureau has allowed the IPCC to achieve important goals such as the completion of the SAR. Switzerland considers that a certain continuity in the composition of the Bureau would assure the quality of the work of the IPCC.

The Technical Supports Units (TSUs) help the co-chairs of the Working Groups in accomplishing their task. There should be a good co-ordination between the IPCC Secretariat and the TSUs. The Secretariat plays an essential role, assuring the coherence of the IPCC process. The TSUs should not act separately from the Secretariat. In the division of labour, they should serve as ancillary units of secretarial and support nature the work of which should be embedded in the

Secretariat's line of work and not acting separately from it. Duplication of work between the Secretariat of the IPCC and the TSUS should be avoided.

Innovative ways of improving the efficiency of both the Secretariat and the TSUs should be investigated, as e.g. reinforcing the staff capacity of the Secretariat. We wonder if the latter could not perform part of the current work of the TSUs in a more efficient way. It could also be envisaged to share the costs of the TSUs between two or three Annex I countries. Staff from non-Annex I countries may be included in the TSUs for capacity building purposes. In any case the establishment and financing of the TSUS should not constitute a condition for a country to become eligible as member of the Bureau of the IPCC.

9. Financial means

Countries should secure financial means to help the scientific community to take part in the elaboration of the TAR. Individual investigators should be supported and their scientific independence should be safeguarded.

Finally, Switzerland would like to thank again the Chairman of the IPCC, Professor Bert Bolin, and all the scientists who have contributed during years to assessing the understanding of climate change. We consider the elaboration of the SAR a major success of the IPCC. We are confident that the Third Assessment Report will be, at the time of its completion, the most comprehensive and authoritative work in the field of climate change. We extend all our good wishes to the Chairman elect Robert Watson who will have the responsibility to conduct this challenging task.

8 April 1998

ENGLISH ONLY

UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

SUBSIDIARY BODY FOR SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVICE
Eighth session

Bonn, 2-12 June 1998

Item 3 of the provisional agenda

1.

COOPERATION WITH RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Structure and contents of the Third Assessment Report by the IPCC

Additional comments by Parties

Note by the secretariat

At its sixth session, the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), invited Parties to submit comments on the planned structure and content of the Third Assessment Report (TAR) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to the secretariat, by 20 January 1998, for compilation into a miscellaneous document (FCCC/SBSTA/1997/6, para. 44). The secretariat has previously made submissions from Parties available which were received by 30 May 1997. These were compiled into document FCCC/SBSTA/1997/MISC.4.

2.

The secretariat has received three such submissions.* In accordance with the procedures for miscellaneous documents, these submissions are attached and reproduced in the language in which they were received and without formal editing.

FCCC/SBSTA/1998/MISC.1

GE.98

In order to make these submissions available on electronic systems, including the World Wide Web, these contributions have been electronically scanned and/or retyped. The secretariat has made every effort to ensure

-3

PAPER NO. 1: ALLIANCE OF SMALL ISLANDS STATES (AOSIS)

AOSIS VIEWS ON THE WORK OF THE IPCC

AOSIS members wishes to express their sincere appreciation to the excellent work done to date by the IPCC and its Bureau. It noted with appreciation the information provided by the Chairman and the Chairman-elect at the present sessions of the Subsidiary Bodies to the UNFCCC, particularly regarding the Third Assessment Report (TAR). AOSIS gives its full support to the on-going and valuable work of the IPCC and re-iterates the need for the IPCC to continue to maintain its independent and non-political role in fulfilling its mandate.

On the financial contributions to the work of the IPCC, AOSIS wishes to thank parties that contributes to the IPCC Trust Fund which allowed experts from developing countries, including AOSIS experts, to participate in the work of the IPCC. AOSIS urges these Parties to continue to provide adequate funding to the Trust Fund to ensure the further involvement of experts from non-Annex Parties in the future work of the IPCC.

AOSIS requests that the IPCC, in carrying out its work, to cooperate closely with other international organizations such as the World Meteorological Program (WMO) involved in international research programs to advance our understanding of the climate system and its response to climate change. AOSIS gives its full support to the Climate Agenda program.

Regarding the TAR, AOSIS noted with satisfaction the regional emphasis on the report and the efforts by the IPCC to fully involved experts from non-Annex I country parties. AOSIS requests the IPCC to address the following issues in the TAR.

The IPCC to further narrow down the remaining uncertainties in the IPCC projections and scenarios.

The ranges used by the IPCC in past reports and papers are based on collective judgment of IPCC authors and reviewers of each chapters and papers. AOSIS sees the need for the IPCC to develop and draw formal methodologies to achieve more consistency in setting criteria for high and low range limits.

On computer modeling, AOSIS requests the IPCC to put more efforts to narrow down grid box scales to smaller scales in order for these models to be meaningful and applicable to AOSIS members.

Provision of accurate information and analysis on the effectiveness and implications of proposed PAMs to mitigate and adapt to climate change and sea level rise, in particular the socio-economic implications including losses incurred by implementing PAMs in Annex I