The global community is concerned about climate change and in order to address the cause, the United Nations Framework Conventions on Climate Change (UNFCCC) came into being as early as in 1992. The objective of this convention is to stabilize the GHG concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. The Convention further says that such a level should be achieved within a time frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, ensuring food security and sustainable economic development. The UNFCCC recognizes that the Parties should protect the climate system on an equitable basis, in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

The Convention enjoins every Party to report its implementation, on a continuous basis, in accordance with the provisions therein. India being a Party to the Convention is required to furnish information in accordance with the Provisions of the Article 12 of the Convention and according to the guidelines for non-Annex 1 countries, devised by the supreme body of the convention that is the Conference of Parties (COP). The following information is to be provided:

• A national inventory of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removal by sinks of all GHGs not controlled by the Montreal protocol, to the extent its capacities permit, using comparable methodologies to be promoted and agreed upon by COP
• A general description of steps taken or envisaged by the Party to implement the Convention
• Any other information relevant to the achievement of the objective of the Convention and suitable for inclusion in its communication, including, if feasible, material relevant for calculation of global emission trends

Toward the fulfillment of its obligation to the UNFCCC, India submitted its the Initial National Communication (NATCOM) to the Convention June 2004. The project was executed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests through a broad-based participatory approach involving 110 institutions including different universities, government departments, research institutions, autonomous institutions, and non-governmental organizations engaged in multi-disciplinary activities all over the country.

The reporting of the National Communication to the UNFCCC is a continuous activity. As a consequence, the process for formulating the project for the 2nd National Communication began in April 2005 through the support of the PDF-Phase B mechanism of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The project for the second communication has been approved by GEF and the full-fledged activities for preparing the same are likely to be launched by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in the near future.