Updated: Biennial Update Report (BUR) Template
The Biennial Update Report (BUR) Template is intended to support the preparation of BURs by non-Annex I Parties, thereby enabling these Parties to submit ambitious reports and to present information in a consistent, transparent, complete, and accurate manner (to the extent possible).
The template sets out a proposed report structure and provides guidance on the presentation of information in the BURs, including on the use of tables. It includes recommendations for drafting the individual chapters of the template (“drafting guidance”), minimum requirements, and best practices, all of which assist in the drafting and structuring of each BUR chapter. In recognition of the fact that individual chapters or subchapters might be compiled by different teams, the sections and/or tables within this template may be split into separate documents to be shared with different teams responsible for the compilation of the BUR.
This document is neither an official UNFCCC publication, nor is it endorsed by the UNFCCC. Therefore, the guidance contained herein is not mandatory, but rather aims to assist countries in their efforts to prepare comprehensive BURs. In particular, the guiding information included in this document reflects best practices of ambitious reporting. Parties may adapt this template for their own use depending on the different national circumstances.
This version of the BUR template has been developed under the Support Project for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement (SPA) and constitutes an update of the BUR templates published in 2014 and 2017. It takes into account experiences gained in its use through non-Annex I Parties as well as throughout the implementation of the Information Matters project in the respective partner countries. It further considers increased interest by many non-Annex I Parties in using the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.