Climate reporting
National Communication (NC)
Definition
A national communication is the most comprehensive national report under the UNFCCC, required of all Parties under Articles 4 and 12. It covers national circumstances, a greenhouse gas inventory, mitigation actions and their effects, vulnerability and adaptation, finance and technology transfer, education and research. Annex I Parties submit every four years (with biennial reports between); non-Annex I Parties have reported less frequently, supplemented since 2010 by biennial update reports.
References
definition, content scope, Articles 4 and 12 basis, review processes
Overview
What it means
National communications are the historical backbone of Convention transparency: the place where a country's whole climate situation and policy response is presented in one document. Under the Paris Agreement's enhanced transparency framework, the biennial transparency report progressively assumes this role.
How it is used
Submitted to the UNFCCC secretariat and made public; Annex I communications undergo expert review; they inform the Global Stocktake and international analysis.
Why it matters
National communications built the shared factual foundation of the climate regime — the practice of countries accounting publicly for their emissions and actions. **Note:** In-batch merge: 1813 "National communication (NC)" (duplicate) → this entry.