The Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), at its twenty-seventh session (FCCC/SBSTA/2007/16, para. 39), encouraged the secretariat of the Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS) and the sponsoring agencies of GTOS to finalize the assessment of the status of the development of standards for each of the essential climate variables in the terrestrial domain, and invited the GTOS secretariat to report to the SBSTA on progress at its twenty-ninth session. In response to this invitation, the GTOS secretariat has submitted the progress report contained in this document. Also at its twenty-seventh session (FCCC/SBSTA/2007/16, para. 40), the SBSTA encouraged the GTOS secretariat and the sponsoring agencies of GTOS to continue developing the framework for the preparation of guidance materials, standards and reporting guidelines for terrestrial observing systems for climate, in response to decision 11/CP.9, in the way they consider most appropriate, making use of existing institutional bodies and processes, where appropriate, and taking into account that such a framework should meet certain criteria (for the criteria identified by the SBSTA, see
FCCC/SBSTA/2007/16, para. 40 (a–e)). The progress report mentioned before also contains information on the development of this framework. In accordance with the procedure for miscellaneous documents, this submission is attached and reproduced in the language in which it was received and without formal editing