1. The Global Observing System for Climate:
Implementation Needs
GCOS Secretariat, WMO

2. Vision Statement for GCOS:
A comprehensive climate observing system supporting climate services and improved understanding of the climate system.
(GCOS Programme Review, GCOS-181, 2014)

3. Where are we in 2040:
All “Actions” in the new GCOS Implementation Plan have been addressed.
All data needs are organized around the ECV concept .
Observing Networks are all functional on a global scale .

4. GCOS Implementation Plans
2004 IP
2010
SBSTA 33
update
2016
new
Decision at COP 10 (5/CP.10), in 2004 (Buenos Aires)
and a Conclusion by SBSTA33 in 2010 (Cancun).

5. 1998 2003 2015 1st 2nd Status Reports on Adequacy SBSTA 43
Decision at COP 4 (14/CP.4) in 1998 (Buenos Aires)
Decision at COP 9 (11/CP.9) in 2003 (Milano)
Conclusion SBSTA 43, COP 21 in 2015 (Paris)
SBSTA 43, 2015 FCCC/SBSTA/2015/5
SBSTA Conclusions:
Noted with appreciation the [Status] report by GCOS
Encouraged GCOS to consider the outcomes of the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties when preparing the GCOS IP 2016
Invited GCOS to collaborate with relevant partners to continue enhancing access to, and understanding and interpretation of, data products and information to support decision-making on adaptation and mitigation at national, regional and global scales

6. 1998
2003
2015
2004
2010
request by the UNFCCC COP 3 in 1997 addressed to SBSTA, for a report produced in consultation with the IPCC
Second Adequacy Report in 2003
‒ under the endorsement by SBSTA of its preparation ‒ addressed to the Parties to the UNFCCC ‒ introducing the “Essential Climate Variables” (ECVs)
5/CP5. Invites the secretariat of the Global Climate Observing System to continue to assist and facilitate the establishment of an appropriate intergovernmental process to identify the priorities for action to improve global observing systems for climate and options for their financial support
11/cp9 Essential Climate Variables as concept... Requests the Global Climate Observing System secretariat, under the guidance of the Global Climate Observing System steering committee, taking into account international and intergovernmental mechanisms, to coordinate the development of a phased 5- to 10-year implementation plan also asks for co-ordination with GEO.
5/CP10 Encourages Parties to enhance their work and collaboration on observation of the essential climate variables and on development of climate products to support the needs of the Convention, including through participation in the Global Climate Observing System cooperation mechanism; Invites Parties that support space agencies involved in global observations to request these agencies to provide a coordinated response to the needs expressed in the implementation plan;
SBSTA 25 CP12The SBSTA encouraged Parties to further promote their national activities related to GCOS and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems, and to note the close relationship among those activities
11/CP13 Parties should describe the status of their programmes for contributing observations of the essential climate variables (ECVs)
9/CP15 Invites the Global Climate Observing System secretariat, under the guidance of the Global Climate Observing System Steering Committee, to update, by the thirty-third session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice, the Global Climate Observing System implementation plan, taking into account emerging needs in climate observation, in particular those relating to adaptation activities

7. WMO
2015
Cg-17
Resolution 39 (Cg-17): Requests Technical Commissions / Regional Associations / WMO SG (with regard to GCOS).…to lead the development and implementation / foster implementation / support the further planning and implementation …

8. WMO
Address priorities and gaps identified in the GCOS Status Report (4.6/1)
Endorses GCOS Status Report as basis for the new GCOS Implementation Plan.
EC-68
EC-68
2016

9. + List of Actions & Appendices: Contributors, Glossary
IP 2016
Exec Summary
14 pages
Part I
40 pages
Part II
172 pages
+ List of Actions & Appendices: Contributors, Glossary
Annexes ECV PRODUCT REQUIREMENTS
Basic Terminology for Data Records Related to Climate

10. Part I: Meeting the needs
Introduction
Implementation
Observations for adaptation, mitigation and climate indicators
The broader relevance of climate observations
Consistent observations across the earth system cycles
Capacity development, regional and national support
40 pages

11. Global Risks Landscape 2016
Failure of climate-change mitigation and adaptation
Source World Economic Forum Global Risks Report 2016
Copyright World Economic Forum 2016
Part I – 1. Introduction
A global risk is an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, can cause significant negative impact for several countries or industries within the next 10 years.
In the face of considerable ‘competition’, failure of climate-change mitigation and adaptation is flagged as the #1 risk*
greater than weapons of mass destruction (2nd), water crises (3rd), large-scale involuntary migration (4th) and severe energy price shock (5th).

12. Changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration and world human population since GCOS was established
Agenda 21 set at the Earth Summit 1992
The Future We Want set at the Rio +20 June 2012
Agenda 2030 and the SDGs agreed at the Sustainable Development Summit September 2015
UNFCCC
Paris Agreement December 2015
Part I – 1. Introduction
Changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration and world human population since GCOS was established.
World’s human population increases by
148 people per minute

13. Paris Agreement Articles 7 (7c) Systematic Observations
COP-21: Paris Agreement Article 7 (7c)
Strengthening scientific knowledge on climate, including research, systematic observation of the climate
system and early warning systems, in a manner that informs climate services and supports decision- making
Developing the Transparency Framework (the need to promote transparency, accuracy, completeness, consistency, and comparability, and environmental integrity)
Short Keys:
Art. 4. Nationally Determined Contribution
Art. 5. Mitigation (REDD+)
Art. 7. Adaptation & Early Warning Systems. Systematic Observations, Adaption planning
Art. 8. Loss and damage: Early warning systems, emergency preparedness, slow onset events etc.
Art. 9 Provide finance Art. 10 Technology Transfer
Art. 11 Capacity Development
Art. 12. Improve Public Communications
Art. 13: para. 7 & 8. Reporting and transparency framework Art. 14 Global Stocktake
Art 7 (7c)

14. Part I – 2. Implementation Aims
Part I - 2. Implementation will
Ensure that the climate system continues to be monitored
Improve global, regional and local long-term climate forecasts by; Filling gaps in network coverage; Refining ECV Requirements; Improving techniques; Addressing Global Cycles
Support adaptation
Improve the provision of useful information to users
Observe additional parameters
Improve the communication of the state of the climate
Improve collaboration
Art 7
Art 14
Art 7
Art 14
Art 7

15. Implementation drives progress
Table 12
Table 14
Section 3.2.1
ECVs in 2016, unchanged BUT 6 additional ones have been added (1 for Atmosphere, 3 for Oceans, 2 for Land)
+Lightning, Ocean surface stress, Ocean surface heat flux, Marine habitat properties, Land surface temperature, GHG Fluxes

16. GCOS ECVs grouped by measurement domain and area covered.
The groups show how observations across all the measurement domains are needed to capture specific phenomena or issues.
Atmosphere
Terrestrial
Ocean
Energy & Temperature
Surface Radiation Budget, Earth Radiation Budget, Surface Temperature, Upper Air Temperature, Surface and Upper Air Wind Speed
Albedo, Latent and Sensible Heat fluxes, Land Surface Temperature
Ocean Surface Heat Flux, Sea Surface Temperature, Subsurface Temperature
Other Physical Properties
Surface Wind, Upper Air Wind, Pressure, Lightning, Aerosol Properties
Surface Currents, Subsurface Currents, Ocean Surface Stress, Sea State, Transient Traces
Carbon Cycle and other GHGs
Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Other long-lived GHG, Ozone, Precursors for Aerosol and Ozone
Soil Carbon, Above-ground Biomass
Inorganic Carbon, Nitrous Oxide
Hydrosphere
Precipitation, Cloud Properties, Water Vapour (Surface), Water Vapour (Upper Air), Surface Temperature,
Soil Moisture, River Discharge, Lakes, Groundwater,
Sea Surface Salinity, Subsurface Salinity, Sea Level, Sea Surface Temperature
Snow & Ice
Glaciers, Ice Sheets and ice shelves, Permafrost, Snow
Sea Ice
Biosphere
Land Cover, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR), Fire
Plankton, Oxygen, Nutrients, Ocean Colour, Marine Habitat Properties
Human Use of Natural Resources
Water Use, Greenhouse Gases (GHG) Fluxes
Marine Habitat Properties

17. 3. Observations for adaptation, mitigation and climate indicators
Requirements for adaptation:
local observations;
high-resolution global data sets and data produced from modelling, downscaling and reanalysis.

18. 3. Observations for adaptation, mitigation and climate indicators
Two areas of particular interest for adaptation are:
Regional workshop and plans;
Communication Plan.
Two particular areas of planned GCOS activities that have a considerable overlap with adaptation needs are :
• Regional workshops and plans. GCOS organised a Regional Workshop programme from 2000 to 2005, and has been invited again by UNFCCC SBSTA to collaborate with relevant partners to continue enhancing access to, and understanding and interpretation of, data products and information to support decision-making on adaptation and mitigation at national, regional and global scales. The regional work programme envisaged would be an ideal forum to discuss adaption needs, promote guidance and best practice and design projects to improve observational networks.
• Communication Plan. The GCOS Steering Committee has asked for a communications plan.
Topics of particular relevance to supporting adaption will be:
Promoting the importance of observations, the guidance and best practice, the role of GCOS, the needs of countries and working with other partners;
Communicating and encouraging the use of standardised metadata; and
The need of open access to data is an import role for GCOS.

19. 3. Observations for adaptation, mitigation and climate indicators
Mitigation of climate change is a human intervention to reduce the sources or enhance the sinks of greenhouse gases.
Monitoring of GHG concentrations, and ocean and land sources and sinks all lead to informing mitigation strategy and implementation.
Thus, observations of the atmospheric composition ECVs (carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and other long-lived GHGs) and of ECVs monitoring other parts of the carbon cycle are also needed, such as: the ocean carbonate system, land -use and land -cover, and fires.
The estimates of national emissions and removals used by parties to the UNFCCC in designing and monitoring mitigation actions are produced using the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories and its supplements.

20. 3. Observations for adaptation, mitigation and climate indicators

21. 4. The broader relevance of climate observations
UNFCCC
CBD
Sendai
UNCCD
Ramsar Convention: framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources
In the spirit of the Paris Agreement this stage of GCOS’ implementation aims to strengthen systematic observation of the climate system in a manner that informs climate services and supports decision-making across a broad spectrum of users including those working in related areas of the three Rio Conventions, Agenda 2030, Ramsar and the Sendai Framework. Global scale systematic observations are undoubtedly a feature of other Multilateral Environmental Agreements and International actions (e.g. the Washington Convention (CITES), the Antarctic Treaty, Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage and the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer), and coordination with a broader constituency of partners will be addressed in the future.

22. The Sustainable Development Goals linked to the climate observations.

23. 5. Consistent observations across the Earth System Cycles
Current climate change is driven by the interaction of the gaseous phases of the carbon and nitrogen cycles and radiative properties of the atmosphere.
While the original ECVs were designed largely on the basis of individual usefulness, and maturity, in recent years many people have started to use the climate records based on ECVs to close budgets of energy, carbon and water, and to study changes in growth rates of atmospheric composition or interaction between land and atmosphere in a more integrated way. Closing the Earth's energy balance and the carbon and water cycles through observations remain outstanding scientific issues that requires high quality climate records of key ECVs.

24. 6. Capacity development and regional and national support

25. Part II: Detailed implementation
Introduction
Over-arching & cross-cutting actions
Atmospheric climate observing system
Oceanic climate observing system
Terrestrial climate observing system
List of actions
APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1: CONTRIBUTORS
APPENDIX 2: GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMNS
172 pages

26. 172 pages Part II: Detailed implementation Introduction
Overarching and cross-cutting actions
Requirements for Climate Observations
Planning, Review and Oversight
Data management, stewardship and access
Production of Integrated ECV Products
Ancillary and additional observations
172 pages

27. ECV Products Requirements Table
Annex A –
ECV Products Requirements Table
The ECV Products requirements in this Annex should be considered Target Requirements, i.e. requirements that data providers should aim to achieve in timescale of the next 10 years.
This Annex presents requirements for the ECV Products for all ECVs in this Implementation Plan. As these requirements are for products they are independent of the observational method, whether mainly satellite or in situ. GCOS recognizes that these requirements have not been always well described, especially for in situ based observations and observations needed for adaptation, and there are actions in this Implementation Plan to refine this list before the end of 2017 and then to maintain it as needs and observational capacities change.

28. ECV Products Requirements Table
Annex A –
ECV Products Requirements Table
As these requirements are for products they are independent of the observational method, whether mainly satellite or in situ.
The ECV Products requirements in this Annex should be considered Target Requirements, i.e. requirements that data providers should aim to achieve in timescale of the next 10 years.
The ECV Products requirements in this Annex should be considered Target Requirements, i.e. requirements that data providers should aim to achieve in timescale of the next 10 years.
This Annex presents requirements for the ECV Products for all ECVs in this Implementation Plan. As these requirements are for products they are independent of the observational method, whether mainly satellite or in situ. GCOS recognizes that these requirements have not been always well described, especially for in situ based observations and observations needed for adaptation, and there are actions in this Implementation Plan to refine this list before the end of 2017 and then to maintain it as needs and observational capacities change.

29. What might be the impacts in 2040:
Continuity, evolution and progress
Information needs have been addressed for adaptation and mitigation
Information needs of Transparency Framework and other elements of the Paris Agreement have been addressed
Greater efficiency in systematic observations
Improved capacity building (Cooperation Mechanism) and outreach (Regional Implementation and Communication)
Improved information exchange between conventions
Focused demand on core ‘providers’
Focused products for core ‘users’

30. To do for WMO until 2019: 2012 EC-64 EC-69 2017 Cg-17 Cg-18 2015 2019
Requests TCs, and RAs to incorporate relevant actions of the GCOS IP-2016 into respective work plans and operational plans, especially in WIGOS.
EC-69
2017
Cg-17
Cg-18
Resolution 15 (EC-64)
Urgently calling Members to assist international and national organizations in the implementation of global observing systems for climate
Requests the presidents of the technical commissions and regional associations to ensure that the relevant actions identified in the Implementation Plan are incorporated, as appropriate, in the work plan of the commissions and in the operational plans of the associations, especially on the implementation of the WMO Integrated Global Observing System.
Requests the Secretary-General to incorporate the relevant actions within the Implementation Plan into the WMO Programmes and coordinate with the presidents of technical commissions on their workplan.
2015
2019