UNFCCC Conference of Parties (5th Session)
Statement by Dr. Alan R. Thomas - Director, GCOS Secretariat
to the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (11th session)
(During COP 5, contact at room 150 Maritim Hotel)

Mr. Chairman, as the newly appointed Director of the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Secretariat, I am pleased to address this Body on behalf of the global observing systems for climate.

Developing a global observing system that will meet the needs of the Convention will be a most challenging task. We appreciate the support that we have received so far and ask for your continuing support to make progress in the future. Today Mr. Chairman, I would like to:

  • Present a brief report on recent developments in the observing systems,

  • Indicate progress since the milestone decisions from the 4th session of the Conference of Parties (COP) on research and systematic observations,

  • Indicate some possible next steps in developing the necessary institutional, financial and scientific infrastructure needed by a global climate observing system to meet the needs of the Convention.

Developments in the Observing Systems

  • In the meteorological area, we continue to implement the GCOS Surface Network (GSN) of nearly 1000 stations and GCOS Upper Air Network (GUAN) of 150 stations. I particularly want to mention the contributions of the Deutscher Wetterdeinst and the Japan Meteorological Agency in monitoring the real-time GSN data stream and that of the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) in monitoring the performance of GUAN. The US National Climatic Data Center is performing quality control and data management for both networks. Based on the current stations of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), these networks have significant deficiencies in some regions of the world, as reported in document FCCC/SBSTA/1999/10.

  • The Global Atmosphere Watch has established several new global observatories including a recent one at Mount Kenya. These resulted in part from funding by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF).

  • Significant progress has been made in implementing the climate component of the Global Ocean Observing System, which is the ocean component of GCOS.

  • First, the establishment of the Joint Commission on Oceanography and Marine Meteorology by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and WMO will provide an integrated management function for operational ocean measurements.

  • Also I would like to report that a major conference (OceanObs99) was held last week in St. Raphael, France. At this conference it became clear that the ocean community is prepared to implement an integrated global ocean observing system for climate and that the new Argo* floats initiative of GOOS is an essential element to provide insitu ocean observations, especially in data sparse regions. (* Argo is the Array for R/T Geostrophic Oceanography.)

  • The terrestrial climate component has initiated 2 networks, jointly with the Global Terrestrial Observing System. The Global Terrestrial Network (GTN) for Glaciers and GTN for Permafrost should provide sensitive indicators of climate change. A third network of terrestrial carbon flux measurements will be central to efforts on the terrestrial carbon cycle.

  • In addition, the Global Observing Systems are working closely with the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) to assess the capabilities of integrated satellite and ground based measurements to improve climate measurements, as a part of the Integrated Global Observing Strategy (IGOS).

Mr. Chairman, I would like to briefly describe the progress since the 4th session of the Conference of Parties. We have interacted with the governing bodies of WMO, IOC and the International Council for Science (ICSU) on these issues and worked closely with the UNFCCC Secretariat to provide input to two documents.

Guidance for Reporting on Global Climate Observing Systems (FCCC/SBSTA/1999/ 13/Add.2)

On behalf of the global observing systems for climate, GCOS has prepared draft guidance for the preparation of national communications on systematic observations by Annex I Parties and where appropriate for non-Annex I Parties. To date, Party reports on systematic observations have used different formats, provided diverse inputs, and been of limited value. This guidance, if adopted, should provide for more uniform and comprehensive information and enable a more useful analysis of the global observing systems for climate, being implemented by the Parties. Moreover use of the guidance by non Annex I Parties could provide a basis for ascertaining both their technical and financial needs.

GCOS Issues related to the Global Climate Observing Systems (FCCC/SBSTA/1999/10)

We have begun the process to respond to the other issues contained in Decision 14, including identification of deficiencies, implementation of regional workshops, and consideration of an Intergovernmental process to address priorities and funding.

  • Mr. Chairman, while I earlier discussed recent positive developments in global observing systems; there are significant deficiencies in the current observing systems. Analyses from WMO, ECMWF and Meteo France respectively indicate shortcomings in the GCOS Surface Network (GSN) and GCOS Upper Air Network and in the coverage of the present surface ocean systems. The problem areas for all systems are regional in nature. The GSN and GUAN include "silent stations" (those that do not report any data) and those that report less than 50% of the time. These problems result from inadequate equipment, need for training of personnel and a shortage of operating funds for personnel, supplies and maintenance.

  • Decision 14 invited agencies participating in the Climate Agenda to initiate an Intergovernmental Process to address priorities for action on global observing systems. This was explored at the third session of the Inter-Agency Committee for the Climate Agenda, at the 13th session of the WMO Congress and through informal consultations at other international meetings. As you are aware Mr. Chairman, due to the breadth of the climate agenda, no organization or mechanism encompasses all aspects of a global observing system for climate. But making changes is a complex matter given the number of official bodies involved. The GCOS Secretariat therefore is working with a number of interested nations and organizations to better document a process that would serve in an efficient and effective manner. In this regard we would note that Canada has proposed an informal consultation in earlier February next year to address options for an Intergovernmental Mechanism.

  • Mr. Chairman, due to the shortage of resources, we have only recently begun to address implementation through regional workshops. We have just developed a prospectus on regional workshops which is an attachment to this statement and are seeking comments and advice on this approach from the Parties to this meeting. The purpose of the workshops would be to initiate a process that would lead to the preparation of proposals to overcome observational deficiencies on a regional basis. The workshop would to provide information to help Parties identify regional needs (such as training and development), priorities and approaches to addressing these needs. With this information in hand, Parties would be able to prepare a regional proposal for funding by multilateral agreements or international funding agencies such as the GEF. This information would also serve a secondary purpose of being core elements for national plans and communications on systematic observations. We believe, Mr. Chairman, that such a regional approach to addressing the deficiencies in observing systems could be an effective way for implementing GCOS and would seek the support of the Parties for this approach. We believe that the GCOS Secretariat has the capacity to initiate these workshops if we can get the participation and financial support of the Parties.

  • Finally, Mr. Chairman, funding for systematic observations continues to be a concern for almost all nations and international agencies. The recent WMO Congress "agreed that the COP/SBSTA should be informed that significant new funds are required both for the Secretariat to discharge its work load and the Members (of Congress) to be able to implement the atmospheric and hydrological components of the GCOS plan, and that a similar situation existed within the oceanographic and terrestrial domains." In our report, Mr. Chairman, we have discussed the deficiencies in current systems that are primarily in developing countries and lack of financial resource is the underlying problem. In this regard although many of the deficiencies may be addressed by using existing financial mechanism or multilateral agreements, long term funding for ongoing operations is an aspect that must be addressed to have a creditable global observing system for climate. With respect to the international co-ordination of observing systems, there also are severe financial problems. The GCOS Secretariat is faced with severe financial constraints and is finding it very difficult to respond adequately to the decisions of the Conference of Parties, while continuing the scientific planning and the implementation of a global observing system for climate.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, we are prepared, in partnership with interested Parties, to implement the next steps in developing a process to integrate and analyze national reports on systematic observations and to prepare specific actions to address deficiencies in the climate observing systems, including the organization of regional meeting. In these actions, we seek the continued support from SBSTA. I thank you for this opportunity to present some of the issues facing the Parties and agencies involved with the global observing systems for climate.

Attachment

A Preliminary Prospectus for Regional Workshops on
Improving Global Climate Observing Systems

Objective To initiate a process to improve the capacity of developing countries to participate in global observing systems for climate.

Background A reliable climate observing system is essential to document climate change, evaluate its impact, assess mitigation and adaptation strategies, and realise the promise of climate predictions and their application on seasonal to interannual time scales. Developing countries, in particular, have problems in responding to the need for climate related observations. The problems may vary from station to station and country to country but are generally known. They include inadequate equipment for measurement, data handling or communications; lack of adequate training; and the inability to sustain long-term observations. All these ultimately stem in part from inadequate funding. Regions such as Africa, the southwest Pacific, and South America have observational deficiencies that are especially serious, but observational network in other regions also need to be strengthened.

Approach The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Secretariat proposes to organize regional workshops in areas of the world where observational networks are inadequate for global climate-related purposes. The purpose of the workshops would be to initiate a process that would lead to the preparation of proposals to overcome observational deficiencies on a regional basis. The workshops would to provide information to assist developing country Parties identify regional needs (such as training and development), priorities among these needs and approaches to addressing these needs. With this information in hand, these Parties would be able to prepare regional proposals to "build capacity for participation in systematic observational networks" for funding by multilateral agreements or international funding agencies, such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF). This information would serve a secondary purpose of providing a core element for national plans and communications on systematic observations. It is important to provide a global framework for regional plans to balance national and international perspectives.

Regional workshops could address specific problems related to meteorological networks, where the deficiencies are better known, with subsequent workshops addressing oceanographic and terrestrial networks. Alternatively, they could address the broader issues of terrestrial and oceanographic, as well as meteorological and atmospheric, observing system needs.

An initial decision would be to select one or more organizations in each region with which to work. Choosing the right partner(s) is important because a regional partner could provide the coordination of individual needs and proposals from Parties. For example, WMO and a number of Parties have worked on a range of regional climate issues with the African Center for Meteorological Applications and Development (ACMAD). We would welcome your assistance in helping us identify appropriate regions and regional partners.

Funding from Parties or multilateral organizations is not guaranteed, but the interest of the UNFCCC makes it probable that well-conceived proposals will receive serious consideration. The workshops we propose are an important first step toward developing successful proposals for making major improvements in observing systems in regions where observations are currently inadequate. The GCOS Secretariat has no preference on where to begin, but suggests it may be wise to hold the first workshop in a region in which local expertise can be most easily mobilized. Future workshops might then benefit from experience gained during the first workshop.

The GCOS Secretariat seeks comments on this proposal by 17 December 1999.

The GCOS Secretariat is ready to initiate a planning process, if it can get the participation and financial support of the Parties. Funding may be available for an initial workshop, but future workshops will require funding from individual Parties, bilateral agreements or international financial organizations, such as the GEF. A single workshop per region may only be the starting point for building the necessary capacity within any one region and that funding for regional activities may be required over several years to develop adequate proposal for the upgrading of observing networks in developing countries.