Forty-seven countries and the European Commission adopted a framework document to develop a 10-year implementation plan for a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) .It was signed at a 25 April summit in Tokyo. The framework document envisions the GEOSS as a comprehensive, coordinated, and sustained system that will help to better understand Earth systems, including weather, climate, oceans, geology, and ecosystems. An improved understanding could help to enhance human and environmental well-being, improve the management of energy, water, and other natural resources, and mitigate the impacts of natural disasters and of climate variability and change, according to the document.