To make best use of that time the INC agreed to continue meeting during the interim. By doing so, nations could prepare for the first COP, as well as debate any possible amendments or protocols to the Convention. Six such INC sessions took place during this period, either in Geneva or New York. At INC-7, the EC welcomed the US proposal for the new BTU tax on energy as an important contribution to climate change mitigation. During INC-8 there were also the first tentative, albeit informal, discussions around the adequacy of commitments contained in Articles 4.2 (a) and (b) of the UNFCCC. Between COP-1 in Berlin and COP-3 in Kyoto, eight meetings of the Ad hoc Group on the Berlin Mandate (AGBM) were held. The main function of the AGBM was to produce a draft protocol in time for COP-3 in Kyoto. The COP-2 made clear that the goal of future negotiations would be to promulgate a legally binding instrument.