GCOS Implementation Plan - WMO

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Implementation Plan for the Global Observing System for Climate in Support of the UNFCCC (2010 Update) Background on GCOS and the IP-04 Appendix 3 Origin and purpose of GCOS The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) was established, in 1992, in parallel with the negotiation of the UNFCCC, as a joint initiative of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commissions (IOC) of UNESCO, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Council for Science (ICSU). Its purpose and concept of operation are set down in the 1998 revision of the original February 1992 WMO/IOC/UNEP/ICSU Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on GCOS. The stated purpose of GCOS is to meet the total national and international needs for comprehensive, continuous, reliable climate and climate related data and information in support of: • Climate system monitoring; • Climate change detection and attribution; • Operational climate prediction on seasonal-to-interannual time scales; • Research to improve understanding, modelling and prediction of the climate system; • Applications and services for sustainable economic development; • Assessment of the impacts of, and vulnerability and adaptation to, climate variability and humaninduced climate change; • Formulation and implementation of global, regional, national and local policy response to climate change. In particular, at the international level, GCOS is designed to support: • The specific observational needs of the World Climate Programme and related earth system science and service programs; • The climate change assessment role of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); and • The requirements of the UNFCCC and other international conventions and agreements. The concept of GCOS The concept of GCOS is defined in terms of: • Its goal; • Its objectives; • The component observing systems on which it is built; and • The systems and programs through which its objectives should be met. The goal of GCOS is to provide comprehensive information on the total climate system, involving a multidisciplinary range of physical, chemical and biological properties, and atmospheric, oceanic, hydrologic, cryospheric and terrestrial processes. The overall objective of GCOS is to support all aspects of the World Climate Programme and relevant aspects of other climate related global programmes. Its specific objectives are to provide the observations required to meet the needs for: • Climate system monitoring and climate change detection; • Research toward improving understanding, modelling and prediction of the climate system; • Assessment of the impacts of climate variability and change; • Climate information and prediction services and applications for sustainable economic development; and • Climate change policy development and implementation. 136
Implementation Plan for the Global Observing System for Climate in Support of the UNFCCC (2010 Update) GCOS is a system of observing systems built on the climate-relevant components of the established global observing systems for the atmosphere, ocean, land and surface water. The main component observing systems on which it is based are: • WMO Integrated Global Observing System (WIGOS); o WWW Global Observing System (GOS) for atmospheric physical and dynamical properties; o Global Atmospheric Watch for atmospheric constituent and chemical properties; and o other WMO climate related observing systems; • IOC/WMO/UNEP/ICSU Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) for physical, chemical and biological properties of the ocean; • FAO/UNEP/UNESCO/WMO/ICSU Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS) for land surface ecosystem, hydrosphere, and cryosphere measurements; and • IGBP and WCRP and other research observing networks. The international climate programs and mechanisms which it supports, and through which it meets its objectives, include: • The World Climate Programme (WCP); • The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and related earth system research programmes including the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), the International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP) and DIVERSITAS; • The WMO/UNEP Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); and • The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and other international environmental conventions and agreements. Planning and implementation The planning, implementation and further development of GCOS are carried out by the sponsoring and participating organisations with scientific and technical advice and guidance from the joint WMO/IOC/UNEP/ICSU Steering Committee for GCOS. The Steering Committee carries out much of its work through three co-sponsored domain-based Panels, the Atmospheric Observation Panel for Climate (AOPC), the Ocean Observations Panel for Climate (OOPC) and the Terrestrial Observation Panel for Climate (TOPC). The interface with the WMO/IOC/ICSU World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) is co-ordinated through the jointly-sponsored WCRP/GCOS Observations and Assimilation Panel (WOAP). The Steering Committee is supported by the GCOS Secretariat located at WMO Headquarters in Geneva. The initial plan for GCOS (GCOS-14), which was issued in 1995, set down the overall strategy and implementation framework. A series of Regional Action Plans for ten developing country regions provided guidance for key regional needs and a GCOS Co-operation Mechanism (GCM) was put in place to provide for a co-ordinated multi-government approach to funding the key implementation activities in developing countries. The Implementation Plan for the Global Observing System for Climate In Support of the UNFCCC (IP-04) Through its Articles 4 and 5, the UNFCCC commits Parties to support international efforts to strengthen systematic observation capacities and capabilities, particularly in developing countries, and to promote access to, and the exchange of, data and analysis from areas beyond national jurisdictions. In 1997, the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) called for an assessment of the adequacy of global observations to meet the needs of the Convention. This lead to the First (1998) and Second (2003) Adequacy Reports with the Second Adequacy Report (GCOS-82) identifying a set of “Essential Climate Variables” (ECVs) “that are both currently feasible for global implementation and have a high impact on UNFCCC requirements.” Through its Decision 11, the Ninth (2003) Session of the COP requested the “development of a phased 5- to 10-year implementation plan for the integrated 137
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GCOS Implementation Plan - WMO

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