Tutorial on Guidelines for Reporting to the UNFCCC on the

NOTES ON GUIDELINES FOR REPORTING TO THE UNFCCC ONTHE STATUS OF GLOBAL CLIMATE OBSERVING SYSTEMSThese notes are intended to provide some basic background information on thepurpose underlying the “UNFCCC Reporting Guidelines on Global Climate ChangeObserving Systems” and some supplementary information that could be useful in compilingthe requested information. They should be read in parallel with these Guidelines.I. Background1. What are the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ReportingGuidelines on Global Climate Observing Systems (“the Guidelines”)?The Guidelines are a set of general instructions that outline the preferred approach forreporting to the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the UNFCCC on the national status ofmeteorological and atmospheric, oceanographic, and terrestrial observing systems. ThethGuidelines were adopted in Decision 5 at the 5 COP in November 1999. They can be foundon the Internet at the GCOS Web site, http://www.wmo.ch/web/gcos/, and then by clickingon “GCOS and UNFCCC.”2. Why has the COP requested that countries report on the status of their climate observingsystems?The COP recognized the importance of systematic observation to further theunderstanding of climate change in Article 5 of the UNFCCC. Article 5 states, in part, thatParties shall support international and intergovernmental efforts to strengthen systematicobservation and that Parties should take into account the particular concerns and ...