This year features a joint session in conjunction with the Integrated Observing System conference dealing with the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). The session will feature the work of the 2nd GCOS Adequacy Report being done by done jointly by the GCOS Secretariat housed at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The adequacy report is a key to providing a roadmap for GCOS to follow in filling in gaps in climate observing in the atmospheric, oceanographic, and terrestrial domains for in-situ monitoring, as well as where remote sensing can aid in filling those gaps and enhancing existing observations. In addition the session will highlight GCOS national programs from the U.S., France, and Canada, and their relationship to the overall global GCOS effort.