The Conference of the Parties, by its decision 9/CP.15, invited the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) secretariat, under the guidance of the GCOS Steering Committee, to update, by the thirty-third session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), the Implementation Plan for the Global Observing System for Climate in Support of the UNFCCC (hereinafter referred to as the GCOS implementation plan), taking into account emerging needs in climate observation, in particular those relating to adaptation activities. At its thirtieth session, the SBSTA noted that an updated GCOS implementation plan that takes into account emerging priorities, such as the need for data for adaptation,
may assist in continuing progress with GCOS implementation. At the same sesssion, it invited the GCOS secretariat to include, in the updated GCOS implementation plan, a breakdown of costs involved, broken down by region, observing system and between developed and developing countries. A provisional updated implementation plan including a provisional estimation of costs was made available as document FCCC/SBSTA/2009/MISC.12, following an invitation extended to the GCOS by the SBSTA at its thirtieth session. In response to the invitations referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 above, the secretariat of the GCOS has submitted an update of the GCOS implementation plan. The executive summary of this plan is reproduced in this document. The complete version of the plan is available at . In accordance with the procedure for miscellaneous documents, this submission is contained in this document and reproduced in the language in which it was received and without formal editing