In addition to the activities related to the World Meteorological Organization and the Global Earth Observing System of Systems described in the preceding paper, the near-term directions of the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) are strongly influenced by major activities of the international climate community, from the release of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report to the emerging adaptation agenda of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Release of the IPCC report in 2007 has altered much of the landscape in the dialogue on climate change. For GCOS, the effort of having many of the foremost climate scientists examining the climate record is a major opportunity to learn how the observing systems should evolve. For this reason, GCOS, together with the World Climate Research Programme and the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, are sponsoring a workshop in Sydney in October on learning from the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report. Results will be summarized. This workshop will assist GCOS providing a report to the UNFCCC in 2009 on progress with the GCOS Implementation Plan, which will take the form of a major reevaluation of adequacy and implementation of climate observing systems.

A major new emphasis on the UNFCCC is that of adaptation to climate change, as described in the 2006 Nairobi Programme of Work. Climate observations play a prominent role in this effort. At the present time, in many counties neither the quality nor quantity of observations needed by global and regional models is adequate to support and verify climate models so as to allow the reliable projections needed for adaptation purposes. In order to meet adaptation needs, observation networks will need to be strengthened and models will need to be improved, especially in vulnerable areas.

The GCOS community has been involved in defining more specifically the requirements for satellite-based climate products. This has provided an international context to the climate satellite debates going on in the US. The Satellite Supplement to the GCOS Implementation Plan provided input needed by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS). CEOS has lead the preparation of a coordinated response by Parties to the UNFCCC with Earth observation space agencies to the requirements of the GCOS Implementation Plan. Collaboration between GCOS and CEOS has continued in 2007

One of the priority actions from the GCOS Implementation Plan has been the establishment of a GCOS Reference Upper Air Network (GRUAN). This network is needed to provide long-term high quality climate records; constrain and calibrate data from more spatially-comprehensive global observing systems (including satellites and current radiosonde networks); and fully characterize the properties of the atmospheric column. Planning activities have been highlighted by the offer of Deutscher Wetterdienst to host a GRUAN Lead Center at the Meteorological Observatory Lindenberg – Richard-Aßmann-Observatory. A major international meeting is planned at Lindenberg in early 2008 as one of the first efforts of this Lead Center.

With these efforts, GCOS looks to provide stewardship of the multiple interdependent observing systems for climate and to ensure the controlled evolution of those systems to meet the needs of policymakers and the climate community.