Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice

The Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) is one of two permanent subsidiary bodies established under Article 9 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was adopted in 1992 and entered into force in 1994. Its counterpart is the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI). Together they are often called the "twin subsidiary bodies."

SBSTA's mandate is to provide the Conference of the Parties (COP), and where relevant the Kyoto Protocol's CMP and the Paris Agreement's CMA, with timely information and advice on scientific and technological questions relating to the Convention. Its work typically covers:

• Methodologies for national greenhouse gas inventories, including guidance built on IPCC products.
• Research and systematic observation of the climate system.
• Technology development and transfer, in coordination with the Technology Executive Committee and the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN).
• Agriculture, land use, and forestry, including REDD+ methodological guidance.
• Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, where SBSTA leads work on cooperative approaches, the centralized crediting mechanism, and non-market approaches.
• Cross-cutting issues such as response measures (jointly with SBI) and the Enhanced Transparency Framework.

SBSTA serves as the principal interface between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the UNFCCC negotiation process, regularly considering IPCC assessment reports and special reports. It meets at least twice a year: once in conjunction with the COP, and once in a mid-year session typically held in Bonn, Germany, where the UNFCCC Secretariat is based. Sessions are chaired by an elected Chair who serves a two-year term, with regional rotation. Like other UNFCCC bodies, SBSTA operates by consensus, and its conclusions and draft decisions are forwarded to the COP, CMP, or CMA for formal adoption.