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April 2007 BACKGROUND The United Nations Development Programme Enabling Activity Climate Change Project is designed to assist BELIZE to prepare its Second National Communication to the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. When completed, this report will update the progress that Belize has made in addressing climate change issues since the first such report was completed in 1999. Almost two hundred developing countries around the world are at various stages of preparing their National Communications, which are collectively, help to provide a global picture of the impacts of climate change or sustainable development. In order to facilitate this process, all participating countries are required to submit reports (National Communications) using similar formats and structures. The National Communications all report on certain thematic areas such as the current state of their National Circumstances; the results of their Inventories of Greenhouse Gases Emissions and Sinks; the Vulnerability Assessments conducted to determine the country’s vulnerability to climate change; the Measures that the country has introduced or plans to introduce to Mitigate the impacts of climate change; and the Measures that have been or will be utilized to Adapt to climate change. Countries are also encouraged to provide any other details of activities undertaken to implement the Convention; while they are also able to report on the Assessment of their Technical Needs that would enable them to address climate change more effectively. Additional background can be found in Belize’s First National Communication on the UNFCCC website at the following address:- http://unfccc.int/national_reports/non-annex_i_natcom/items/2979.php The National Greenhouse Gases Inventories (GHGI) estimate those greenhouse gases emitted within the Energy; Industrial Processes; Solvents; Agriculture; Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry; and the Waste Sectors. Belize has now completed the inventory and is in the process of reviewing and validating the reports. These draft reports are offered for national information. (Belize has not developed a report in the Solvent sector since the relatively low level of industrial activity did not emit any such gases during the reporting period.) The GHG Inventory reports therefore include notes and observations made by the consultants during the exercise, and the completed Excel workbooks/sheets that have been developed to estimate the amounts of the emissions. |