One of the three specialized bodies (CoP, SBI and SBSTA) of the UNFCCC serving as a link between information and assessments provided by expert sources (such as the IPCC) and the CoP, which focuses on setting policy.
The two permanent subsidiary bodies (SBI and SBSTA) giving advice to the CoP, meet in parallel at least twice a year, and jointly tackle subjects common to both areas of expertise.
SBSTA's two main missions consist of elaborating guidelines for national communication and emission inventories, and promoting the development and transfer of environmentally-friendly technologies.
It also plays a role as an interface between scientific expert sources (e.g. IPCC reports) and the policy-oriented needs of the CoP.
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