The Group was established following the Earth Observation Summit, held in Washington, D.C., on 31 July 2003, with the purpose, of among other things, improving coordination of strategies and systems for observations of the Earth, identifying measures to minimize data gaps and preparing a 10-year implementation plan.
Ce Groupe a été créé à l'issue du Sommet sur l'observation de la Terre, qui s'est déroulé à Washington le 31 juillet 2003.