1. 25th Steering Committee – 26 – 29 September 2017 Hangzhou, China
Director`s Report
Agenda Item 3.1.
25th Steering Committee – 26 – 29 September 2017 Hangzhou, China
GCOS Secretariat, WMO

2. GCOS Reports and Plans 2015 2016 Status New Plan 19 / CP.22
(Decision 19,
UNFCCC
COP-22,
Marrakech,
Morocco)
In 2015, the GCOS programme has duly delivered a status report, on how well we are doing in global observing systems, and we have submitted it to SBSTA in 2015 in Paris. In 2016, GCOS has provided you with a new plan on how to enhance and improve our existing observing systems, which has been recognized in a COP decision in Marrakesh. This is the highest recognition the Parties of the UNFCCC can give to an Earth observation program.
New in the GCOS plan is that it looks into how to provide observations needed for adaptation and mitigation and it discusses what is needed to close the global cycles for water, energy and carbon. GCOS has added a few new ECVs and has put more emphasis on help for networks in developing countries, and we are working on a consolidated set of climate indicators, which will improve the communication on how climate is changing.

3. 2016 gcos.wmo.int GCOS Implementation Plan @gcos_un
You can download the English edited version!
Also available: French translation of Exec Summary
gcos.wmo.int
@gcos_un
2016
In Paris last year, the SBSTA asked us to come back to Marrakesh, to submit a new implementation plan which will also take the Paris Agreement into account and that is what we have done. You will find the plan to download from the UNFCCC site, or from the GCOS web site.
GCOS Implementation Plan

4. GCOS Programme Activities - Panels
Panel sessions in 2017:
OOPC 20th session, March 2017, WHOI, Cape Cod, USA
AOPC 22nd session, March 2017, Exeter, UKMO, UK
TOPC 19th session, 6-7 April 2017, University Vienna, Austria
GRUAN 9th ICM, 21 – 16 June 2017, Helsinki, Finland
AOPC Radar Task Team, 30 – 31 August 2017, FMI, Helsinki, Finland

5. GCOS Programme Activities - Panels
Panel sessions in 2018 and related meetings:
AOPC 23rd session, 6 – 9 March 2018, Darmstadt, EUMETSAT, Germany
OOPC 21st session, 13–16 March 2018, Argentina
TOPC 20th session, 20 – 22 March 2018,Geneva, WMO, Switzerland
1st Meeting on GCOS Surface Reference Network Task Team, November 2017, University of Maynooth, Ireland
AOPC GUAN Task Team, 4 – 6 December 2017,DWD Meteorological Observatory Lindenberg, Germany
GRUAN-ICM 10, 23 – 27 April 2018, Potsdam, Germany
AOPC Lightning Task Team, January 2018, place TBD
2nd Meeting on GCOS Surface Reference Network: End of 2018, place TBD

6. GCOS Programme Activities – Cross Panel Activities
Planned expert team meetings on cross-panel issues in 2018, on:
coastal zones cross-GOOS-TOPC: OOPC is establishing a boundary currents, shelf interactions task team which will bring attention in towards the coast; for the coastal aspects, OOPC will work through the GOOS biogeochemistry and biology Panels.
cross-validation of ECV products: better understanding adaptation needs .Discussing future activity with WCRP’s grand challenge on Sea Level Rise and Coastal Impacts, and GFCS on observations of sea level required to inform decision making.
complementing ECV product requirements

7. GCOS Programme Activities – Cross Panel Activities
Planned expert team meetings on cross-panel issues in 2018, on:
 In addition, plans are being developed inter-sessionally, led by OOPC on:
Review of the observing system required to track ocean heat and freshwater content
Development of the observing system to meet requirements for Ocean Heat Fluxes (with AOPC). Also contributing to improved tracking of climate cycles.
 Agenda Items 9, 10, 11

8. GCOS Programme Activities – observation community
Strengthening cooperation with ocean observation community:
A science officer, Katy Hill, dedicated to the Ocean Observations Panel for Climate is located at the GCOS Secretariat. The officer also works with the GOOS Secretariat, to manage the increasingly broad connections at the interface of the two programmes, in addition to working with the JCOMM Observations Coordination Group, the members of which are the main implementing in situ networks for the sustained ocean observing system for climate.

9. GCOS Programme Activities – observation community
Cooperation with Atmosphere Observation Community:
A science officer, Caterina Tassone, dedicated to the Atmospheric Observations Panel for Climate and a Junior Professional Officer, Valentin Aich, are located at the GCOS Secretariat. As part of their work, they support contribution to WMO Integrated Observing System (WIGOS) and various expert meetings of WMO Technical Commission for Basic Systems (CBS), Commission for Instruments and Methods of Observations (CIMO) and the Commission of Climatology (CCl), Commission for Hydrology (CHy).

10. GCOS Programme Activities – observation community
Cooperation with Terrestrial Observation Communities:
A science officer, Simon Eggleston, dedicated to the Terrestrial Observations Panel for Climate is located at the GCOS Secretariat, supporting coordination between related groups that are independently observing parts of the climate system. A Junior Professional Officer, Valentin Aich, is also supporting the work of this panel and providing an interface to the AOPC.

11. GCOS Programme Activities – UNFCCC
Supporting Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC):
SBSTA 45, COP 22, 7–12 November 2016, Marrakech, Morocco
SBSTA 47, COP23, 6-11 November 2017, Bonn, Germany
 Agenda Item 13

12. GCOS Programme Activities – Group on Earth Observations (GEO)
Contributing to the GEO Data Portal in providing information on available ECVs.
Ensuring representation at the GEO Plenaries.
No attendance at latest work plan symposiums, partly due to resource constraints, partly due to the lacking working relationships to appropriate GEO activities.
 Agenda Item 17 «Partnerships»

13. GCOS Programme Activities – Global Framework for Climate Services
There have been a couple of WMO internal meetings on GFCS contributions, which have been attended by the Director of the GCOS Secretariat.
Annex to the GFCS Implementation Plan on Observations will need revision.
 Agenda Item 17 «Partnerships»

14. GCOS Programme Activities – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
First Lead Author Meeting for the Elaboration of the 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, 7 Jun - 14 Jun 2017, Bilbao, Spain
Second Lead Author Meeting for the Elaboration of the 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories,25 Sep - 28 Sep 2017, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Lead Author: Simon Eggleston (GCOS Secretariat)

15. GCOS Programme Activities - space agencies
CEOS Plenary, 31 October - 2 November 2016, Brisbane, Australia
CEOS Strategic Implementation Team meeting, April 2017, ESA, Paris, France
CGMS Plenary, 46th session,12-16 June 2017, Jeju, South Korea
CEOS SIT, Technical Workshop, September 2017, Frascati, ESRIN, Italy
WG Climate is leading the Space Agencies response to the GCOS Implementation Plan. A draft will be delivered to the COP this year, and a final report will be made available early in 2018.
GCOS staff is involved in the ESA “Climate Change Initiative +” and in its tender evaluation process.
Planned attendance:
CEOS 31st Plenary, October 2017, Rapid City, South Dakota, USA

16. GCOS Programme Activities – partner programmes
World Climate Research Programme, Joint Steering Committee, 4–6 April 2017, Paris, France
WCRP Data Advisory Council, 6th session, March 2017, Frascati, ESRIN, ESA, Italy
European Commission Project, GAIA-CLIM General Assembly, 6-7 February 2017, ECMWF, Reading, UK
Planned attendance:
WCRP/Copernicus ICR5 International Conference on Re-Analysis, November 2017, Rome, Italy
C3S expert panel meeting, 6-7 December 2017, Reading, UK
 Agenda Item 17 «Partnerships»

17. GCOS Programme Activities - Regional Activities
The GCOS Implementation Manager, Tim Oakley, is working on the GCOS System Improvement Programme with focus on Africa (a subcontractor is working on technical solutions in selected African countries).
Projects completed in the period September 2016 to August 2017
 Agenda Item 16, Wednesday 27 September 2017
Planned workshop:
GCOS/WIGOS Workshop on regional implementation, 9-12 October 2017, Nadi, Fiji
Meetings for the uptake of the Regional Workshop Programme 2018 had been actually scheduled for 2017, but have to be postponed to 2018:
Task team on the design of the workshop programme (1st Quarter 2018)
Task Team on the implementation of the workshops (2nd Quarter 2018)
 Agenda Item 15 «Regional Workshops»

18. GCOS Programme Activities – Executive Bodies
Receiving advice and guidance from the sponsoring organisations:
WMO meeting of all Presidents of the Regional Associations and of the Technical Commissions, January 2017, WMO, Geneva Switzerland
Executive Council, 69th session, May 2017, WMO
IOC Assembly, June 2017, Paris, France
Planned attendance:
WMO meeting of all Presidents of the Regional Associations and of the Technical Commissions, January 2018, WMO, Geneva Switzerland
WMO Executive Council, 70th session, 20 – 29 June 2018, WMO
IOC EC , summer 2018, Paris, France
No attendance is planned for the ICSU general Assemble October 2017, Taipei, Taiwan, China, due to time constraints.
The GCOS Secretariat will also need to develop a strategic plan, which should be the basis for the annual work plan.
 Agenda Item 18 «Strategy»
The GCOS program review from 2014 also recommended to call in an engagement committee composed out of high-level representatives of the sponsoring organizations.  Agenda Item 4 “Memorandum of Understanding”

19. GCOS Programme Activities – Results in 2017
Progress made in implementing a GCOS:
new GCOS Implementation Plan provides requirements and recommendations for a functional and robust global observing system for climate.
now including water and greenhouse-gas fluxes
supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and implementation of the Paris Agreement.
WMO Technical Commissions for Basic Systems, Marine Meteorology and Hydrology, have met on 2017 and decided to take relevant actions of the GCOS Implementation Plan into account.
Provision of advice asked for by space agencies and by European climate services entities:
The group of meteorological satellite operators (CGMS) and the group of research satellite operators (CEOS) jointly established a working group on climate have further progressed in developing an inventory for Essential Climate Variables.
The joint working group of climate is coordinating the response of the space agencies to the new GCOS implementation plan. The draft report will be made available in November 2017 and submitted to the UNFCCC.

20. GCOS Programme Activities – Tangible Impacts I
Scientific and technical influence:
GCOS panels strengthened in providing robust guidance and advice on climate observing systems and requirements. Space agencies are using this guidance to plan for their climate monitoring missions.
GCOS Status Report as reference document valid for the next 10 years.
The approved outline of IPCC Working Group can be mapped with the mains sections of the implementation plan, which demonstrates that the science behind drafting the GCOS plan is based on a robust understanding about what is required with regard to observational needs.
Provision of expertise:
GCOS has maintained close relationship with the research community, through the joint sponsorship of its panels with WCRP and attendance of GCOS experts and staff to WCRP events. GCOS staff is invited as experts to various panels (examples: Copernicus, IPCC, WMO EGOS and WMO WIGOS and other WMO task teams on climate issues).

21. GCOS Programme Activities – Tangible Impacts II  
Strengthened partnerships with IOC, UNEP and ICSU:
The relationship to IOC has been strengthened due to the fact that in 2013 the technical secretariat for the OOPC had been moved from the IOC offices in Paris to the GCOS Secretariat in Geneva.
The UNEP-GRID programme had been the focal point for GCOS in the past few years, but will pass this responsibility on to another division (Science).
ICSU’s past and its current Executive Directors had been and are interested and engaged in the GCOS programme. ICSU is supporting the link between World Data System programme and had been very much engaged in the activities related to drafting the next implementation plan.
Formal recognition as a successful programme:
The GCOS programme is considered as a well-working and organised programme, which is appreciated and accepted by partners. This was confirmed by a review process led by GCOS sponsoring organizations, which resulted in an affirmation of the programme and an updated Memorandum of Understanding. The synthesis report of the review is publicly available since March 2014.

22. GCOS Programme Activities – Challenges
Challenges encountered
Complex coordination, need to follow guidance of various sponsors and with a different set of priorities: The GCOS programme needs to cooperate with many partner UN organisations, but also non–UN programmes to successfully coordinate the diversity of climate observation networks.
The WMO Executive Council in 2016 and 2017 has been asking all co-sponsored programmes to link their programme activities closer to WMO priorities, in particular to strengthen the collaboration with GFCS and WIGOS.
High dependency on voluntary contributions: Resources, cash contributions and staff, need to be managed with foresight. The programme activities can only be agreed in one year steps, as the majority of the funding needs is re- negotiated on an annual basis. The Director of the GCOS Secretariat is seeking for possibilities to apply for grants, secondments and cost sharing models.
The likely loss of the US contribution in 2018 to the program caused by change of the US management will damage the GCOS program considerably. (Loss of 40% of the total budget).

23. GCOS Programme Activities – Key Activities in 2018
Key activities in 2018 will be to:
Develop a GCOS Strategic plan, engaging all sponsors in form of a committee;
Take-up the regional workshop programme to identify needs to improve climate observing systems on a regional and local scale; engaging corresponding activities in WMO and IOC, starting 2018 ff;
Discuss programmatic strategic priorities and alignment with GOOS (also developing a forward strategy); particularly with regard to overseeing increasingly broad synergies at the interface of the two programmes;
Provide expertise with respect to cross-panel activities and cross-calibration issues, complement ECV product requirements, detailed adaptation needs and to agree on climate indicators to improve communication.

24. Current Planning
Green line (bottomt). Continuous review of adequacy of ECV monitoring, coupled with review of ECV requrements.
Review processes are linked to expert panel meetings and regional workshops.