Climate reporting
National Communication (NC)
The comprehensive periodic report each UNFCCC Party submits on its emissions, climate actions, vulnerabilities and support.
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.
Review
Public comments appear only after editor acceptance. Draft comments stay in the review queue.
Reviewers choose the definition or an overview paragraph, leave a comment or replacement, and attach evidence or a source link.
Editors compare reviewer cards side by side. AI may help find agreement, conflicts, unsupported claims and possible source issues.
Only an editor-accepted synthesis changes the public page. Reviewer identities are shown only with consent and an editorial decision to attribute them.
Submitted reviews stay private until an editor decides whether to accept and attribute them.
Contribute to this entry
Help improve this definition
Your contribution is private while it is checked. Nothing changes on this page unless an editor accepts it.
Loading verified endorsements… Endorsements are not votes and never determine publication.
Endorse this definition
Endorse the exact version shown here. This is not a vote, and publication remains an editorial decision.
Review board
Comment on a specific line. Each reviewer stays separate until an editor accepts a merged draft.
Each person comments on the definition or overview in their own draft card, with role, evidence and suggested wording kept together.
AI can compare comments against the current text, flag conflicting claims, surface missing evidence and identify where reviewers agree.
An editor merges compatible suggestions into a draft change, checks sources, records disagreements and decides what can be published.