The key areas of work of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) include addressing impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change, promoting the development and transfer of environmentally-sound technologies and conducting technical work to improve the guidelines for preparing and reviewing greenhouse gas emissions inventories from Annex I Parties. The SBSTA carries out methodological work under the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, and promotes collaboration in the field of research and systematic observation of the climate system.
In addition, the SBSTA plays an important role as the link between the scientific information provided by expert sources such as the IPCC on the one hand, and the policy-oriented needs of the COP on the other. It works closely with the IPCC, sometimes requesting specific information or reports from it, and also collaborates with other international organizations that share the common objective of sustainable development. More information about SBSTA can be found here.
Tosi Mpanu Mpanu, Chair of the SBSTA
Tosi was elected as SBSTA Chair at COP 25 in Madrid in 2019. He has been actively engaged in the UNFCCC process for many years and has contributed to the successful delivery of key milestones, in particular the Paris Agreement.
Former Chair of various UNFCCC negotiation groups including the African Group, the Least Developed Countries and the Coalition for Rainforest Nations, he has also previously served as a member of the Board of the Green Climate Fund and the Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism. Tosi now sits on the Board of Directors of the African Risk Capacity Agency. He also holds an ambassador grade.
Main work of the SBSTA in 2021
As the COVID-19 crisis continues to demand the efforts of governments and other stakeholders to ensure people’s health and well-being, the urgency of addressing climate change remains.
Despite challenges and uncertainties in 2020, momentum in the UNFCCC process has been maintained: SBSTA and SBI Chair convened a series of informal events under the UNFCCC June Momentum and the UNFCCC Climate Dialogues in November-December 2020 to provide a space and platform for Parties to continue informal exchanges and dialogues on various matters under the subsidiary bodies in order to maximize progress and minimize delays in the their work.
In 2021, the SBSTA will continue acting as the interface with the scientific community to help improve understanding and knowledge of climate change in the broadest sense – not only its causes and impacts, but also how to respond to it. Advancing work under the SBSTA prior to the COP 26 in November 2021 in Glasgow is crucial to ensuring the successful delivery of all SBSTA mandates for 2020 and 2021, with all work conducted in a transparent, inclusive and balanced manner.
The current workload of the SBSTA and the importance of all aspects of its work cannot be overstated, as clear from the mandates for 2020-2021 agreed at previous sessions of the SBSTA and the governing bodies. The SBSTA Chair will consult with Parties on his proposed approach to organizing the work of the next session of the SBSTA as a matter of urgency particularly where negotiations on matters are mandated to be completed in Glasgow.
At its meeting on 25 February, the Bureau requested the presiding officers to make available a plan of upcoming activities in preparation for a successful COP 26 in November 2021. Thus, the SBSTA Chair is planing to convene, in virtual format, a series of activities, including informal consultations, technical expert meetings, submissions from Parties and admitted observer organizations, and other events, as presented below.
Please note that the list of planned activities and related schedule are tentative and in Central European Time (CET) or Central European Summer Time (CEST). Detailed information on how to register will be provided in due time.
A list of activities convened virtually by the SBSTA Chair during the first half of 2021 may be found here.
Upcoming activities (second half of 2021):
(These activities will be conducted in collaboration with the Presidencies)
Informal technical expert dialogues: To facilitate further informal discussion among Parties on unresolved issues, the SBSTA Chair will provide in advance an information note/notes with background information, agenda and guiding questions on the following 6 topics:
Dates and Times: Topic: Submission date:
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23 September 2021 23:00-02:00 (CEST) |
Reporting and review cycle per A.6.2 guidance. Guiding Questions - What further dates and details are needed in the 6.2 decision to ensure sequencing is clear? - By when do reporting formats and table and review guidance need to be ready? - What is the relationship with the ETF, including the structured summary, and how should the 6.2 decision reflect this? - How do these issues relate to the rest of the package (Article 6 / the wider Glasgow outcome) and how could resolving these issues contribute to reaching consensus? Presentation on reporting and review under 6.2
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1 week before the event |
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24 September 2021 14:00-17:00 (CEST) |
Clean development mechanism transition. Guiding Questions - What conditions are needed for transition? - What decisions are needed from the CMP? - How should 6.4SB work be prioritized? - How should CDM activity transition be funded? - How do these issues relate to the rest of the package (Article 6 / the wider Glasgow outcome) and how could resolving these issues contribute to reaching consensus? |
1 week before the event |
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7 October 2021 23:00-02:00 (CEST) |
Governance and timelines for the 6.8 framework. |
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8 October 2021 14:00-17:00 (CEST) |
Implementation of cooperative approaches using non-GHG metrics per 6.2 guidance. |
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14 October 2021 23:00-02:00 (CEST) |
Baselines and additionality for the 6.4 mechanism. |
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15 October 2021 14:00-17:00 (CEST) |
Overall mitigation in global emissions. |
Submissions: The SBSTA Chair would encourage Parties and admitted observer organizations to make voluntary submissions on the above upcoming topics of the informal technical expert dialogues.
Chair’s summaries: The SBSTA Chair will continue to make available informal summaries of the discussions that take place at each topic to facilitate further deliberations among Parties at the SBSTA session in Glasgow.
(These activities will be conducted in collaboration with the Presidencies)
Dates and Time: Topic:
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24 August 2021 12:00 to 14:00 (CEST) |
Information event on transparency under the SBSTA. Part I: Enhancing understanding on reporting of GHG inventories and transparency of action More information available here. |
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25 August 2021 21:00 - 23:00 (CEST) |
Information event on transparency under the SBSTA. Part II: Enhancing understanding of reporting on transparency of support, submitting national More information available here. |
Dates and Times: Events:
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5 October 2021 13:00 - 14:30 (CEST) |
.Informal meeting by the SBSTA Chair with the UNFCCC constituted bodies, Parties and partners Objective will be to share the progress made under the NWP and to solicit inputs on how work under the NWP can be strengthened in supporting constituted bodies in implementing their planned activities on adaptation related matters and in assisting Parties in the implementation of the Paris Agreement. |
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13 October 2021 14:00 - 15:30 (CEST) |
Informal event on innovative approaches to strengthen coastal and ocean adaptation - a collaborative work between the NWP expert group on oceans, Technology Executive Committee (TEC), IUCN and Friends of Ecosystem-based Adaptation (FEBA) Objective will be to respond to various gaps that have been identified through the oceans, coastal areas and ecosystems thematic work under the NWP and will be linked to the TEC “Technology Day”, a series of events organized in 2020 and 2021 for countries and stakeholders to showcase and discuss innovative approaches for climate adaptation technologies in various sectors. The event will provide an opportunity for experts to present and discuss innovative learning and examples from integrating technology and ecosystem-based adaptation in various policies and programmes in order to build the resilience of oceans and coastal ecosystems and communities. |
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14 October 2021 14:00 - 15:30 (CEST) |
Informal event on closing adaptation knowledge gaps through partnerships. The objective will be to showcase the progress made under the NWP in various initiatives that provide specific highlights, lessons learned and challenges, focusing on how the NWP is engaging Parties, UNFCCC national focal points, partners and experts in addressing adaptation and resilience needs in countries and regions. |
More details to be provided in due course.
| September/October 2021 (Date and time tbc) |
Technical expert meeting on practical approaches to economic diversification and transformation More details will be made available in due course. |
| September/October 2021 (Date and time tbc) |
Technical expert meeting on practical approaches to just transition of the workforce and creation of decent work and quality jobs More details will be made available in due course. |
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18 May 2021 13:30 - 15:30 (CEST) |
Informal Technical Expert Meeting on tools and methodologies for assessing the impacts of the implementation of response measures |