- Information on standard costs for staff and non-staff for the biennium 2022-2023 is contained in document FCCC/SBI/2021/4, annex I, section B.
- COP 24 requested the secretariat to prepare, regularly update and publish before each session of the subsidiary bodies brief reports on standard costs. The following reports are available on the UNFCCC website:
- FCCC/SBI/2020/INF.3 (contains information on the costing of official travel covered by the secretariat);
- FCCC/SBI/2019/INF.12 (contains information on the costing of UNFCCC documents);
- FCCC/SBI/2019/INF.4 (contains an example set of three standardized costs for workshops and includes an overview of standard costing practices in other parts of the United Nations system, as well as some options for different approaches to preparing and using standard costs for supporting decision-making in relation to new UNFCCC mandates under consideration by the governing or subsidiary bodies).
Standard costs are a predetermined estimated cost of producing or delivering a service, good or output, based on an analysis of historical data and other estimated inputs or drivers of costs, such as inflation. In the development of the budget for 2022–2023, the secretariat used standard costing for salaries (staff costs) and for workshops, travel of staff and participants, and internal service charges (non-staff costs).
Staff costs
The secretariat applies the United Nations rules governing salaries and employee benefits. The salary and common costs for staff on fixed-term contracts are calculated using standard rates for each grade. The UNFCCC rates are determined on the basis of a historical analysis of a set of staff cost parameters such as pay scales and employee benefits. As part of the 2022–2023 budget process, a comprehensive review was undertaken of all staff cost components, as well as the actual staff-related expenditures for 2020. This resulted in a change in standard salary staff rates for all levels. Increases result mainly from increases in the base salary scale, step increases and related higher salary costs such as pension and medical contributions. The standard staff costs used for calculation of the budgetary requirements for 2022-2023 are summarized in the table below:
| Level | 2022-2023 standard costs in EUR (at 98 %) |
|---|---|
| USG | 246,960 |
| ASG | 220,500 |
| D-2 | 190,120 |
| D-1 | 195,020 |
| P-5 | 170,520 |
| P-4 | 147,000 |
| P-3 | 126,420 |
| P-2 | 105,840 |
| P-1 | 58,800 |
Non-staff costs
Non-staff costs are estimated based on actual requirements and historical data, as follows:
- Costs for workshops, including for venues and catering, ranging from small (EUR 1,000) and medium (EUR 5,500) to large (EUR 11,000) workshops;
- Costs for travel of experts and participants, including tickets, daily subsistence allowance and travel costs, ranging from a three-day trip (EUR 3,000) to a five-day trip (EUR 4,000) or to a five-day trip to a remote location (EUR 5,500);
- Costs for staff missions, including tickets, daily subsistence allowance and travel costs (EUR 3,000);
- The AS and ICT subdivisions deliver a set of services and equipment to all secretariat personnel, including office furniture, laptops, Internet connections, standard software and general information technology support. The costs of such services and equipment for all core-funded staff are covered by the core budget under the AS/HR/ICT and secretariat-wide cost appropriation lines. For all other staff, the costs are covered by a cost recovery mechanism. For this purpose, a per capita amount of EUR 13,500 was included in all relevant budgets.