UN/INTOSAI meeting "ClimateScanner - global call: engaging supreme audit institutions in assessing national climate actions"
At the invitation of Juwang Zhu, Director, UNDESA and Bruno Dantas, President of the Federal Court of Accounts of Brazil and Chairman of INTOSAI, Ivan Klešić, Auditor General of the Republic of Croatia participated with his associates in a meeting on the topic "ClimateScanner - global call: Engaging Supreme Audit Institutions in the Evaluation of National Climate Actions". The meeting was organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the Federal Court of Accounts of Brazil (TCU). It was held on March 25 and 26, 2024 at the headquarters of the United Nations.
ClimateScanner is a global initiative led by the Federal Court of Accounts of Brazil (TCU) in collaboration with INTOSAI's Working Group on Environmental Auditing (WGEA), with the aim of evaluating national actions related to climate change. Several Supreme Audit Institutions will carry out the assessment, which will be based on the ClimateScanner framework, simultaneously in 2024 in order to strengthen accountability for climate actions around the world.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss ways of strengthening the contribution and influence of SAIs on improving climate change management, its financing and related public policies. It was also intended to encourage the involvement of SAIs and other stakeholders in the application of ClimateScanner, which would contribute to the resolving of climate crises, both at the national and international levels.
The meeting was attended by heads and representatives of 70 SAIs from around the world, members of the INTOSAI community, its bodies and regions, as well as representatives of international organizations, the academic community and civil society, experts of various profiles and other stakeholders related to the topic.
On the first day of the meeting, current INTOSAI initiatives related to climate change were presented, with special emphasis on their differences and similarities and how they can jointly contribute to the positioning of SAIs and the INTOSAI community in international and national discussions on climate change in the context of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.
After that, the ClimateScanner framework and web tool was presented as the latest initiative in the field of climate change. Its goals, processes for the development of the evaluation framework, evaluation methodology and its application, as well as ways in which evaluations carried out with the help of the framework can be connected with traditional audits of climate activities are presented.
In the second part of the first day of the meeting, special emphasis was placed on the importance of climate management, along with the presentation of various institutional solutions that individual countries have developed to enable climate actions and the way in which they are reflected through the ClimateScanner framework.
After reviewing the challenges and opportunities observed so far in the assessment process of climate change management, attention was focused on climate change mitigation and the measures taken in this regard, as well as on the possible contribution of ClimateScanner assessment and understanding of activities for mitigation climate change.
On the second day of the meeting, climate adaptations were discussed, as well as ways of assessing climate vulnerabilities, strategic planning and implementation of climate adaptation actions, as well as related policies. The past experiences of SAIs, the dimensions of climate adaptation that auditors should consider, and the existing challenges and opportunities arising from the assessment of climate adaptation are presented.
Likewise, relevant factors in the evaluation of climate action financing were identified, with a special emphasis on the possible contribution of ClimateScanner to increasing the understanding of climate action financing methods, resource mobilization and other information useful for audits in this area.
Further on, the importance of information and data for monitoring and evaluating climate actions was discussed, as well as ways of using data, in order to achieve the necessary effects on reducing climate change through their application. Participants also looked at identifying information that SAIs can mobilize for the purpose of evaluating the management of climate actions and their financing, and evaluating policies and strategies to reduce climate change.
In the last part of the meeting, the approach and strategy for the global use of ClimateScanner and the intended way of its use were presented, including the need for the organization and implementation of appropriate training for the use of the tool, as well as the expected results of its application. At the end, further steps for the implementation of the initiative, ways of achieving synergy and complementarity in the work of the SAIs were discussed and agreed upon with the aim of realizing their greatest impact and contribution to climate actions at the national and global level.
The meeting resulted in the signing of a joint statement by leaders of Supreme Audit Institutions on support for the development and application of ClimateScanner as a tool useful in the implementation of climate action audits in the future.
ClimateScanner is a global initiative led by the Federal Court of Accounts of Brazil (TCU) in collaboration with INTOSAI's Working Group on Environmental Auditing (WGEA), with the aim of evaluating national actions related to climate change. Several Supreme Audit Institutions will carry out the assessment, which will be based on the ClimateScanner framework, simultaneously in 2024 in order to strengthen accountability for climate actions around the world.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss ways of strengthening the contribution and influence of SAIs on improving climate change management, its financing and related public policies. It was also intended to encourage the involvement of SAIs and other stakeholders in the application of ClimateScanner, which would contribute to the resolving of climate crises, both at the national and international levels.
The meeting was attended by heads and representatives of 70 SAIs from around the world, members of the INTOSAI community, its bodies and regions, as well as representatives of international organizations, the academic community and civil society, experts of various profiles and other stakeholders related to the topic.
On the first day of the meeting, current INTOSAI initiatives related to climate change were presented, with special emphasis on their differences and similarities and how they can jointly contribute to the positioning of SAIs and the INTOSAI community in international and national discussions on climate change in the context of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.
After that, the ClimateScanner framework and web tool was presented as the latest initiative in the field of climate change. Its goals, processes for the development of the evaluation framework, evaluation methodology and its application, as well as ways in which evaluations carried out with the help of the framework can be connected with traditional audits of climate activities are presented.
In the second part of the first day of the meeting, special emphasis was placed on the importance of climate management, along with the presentation of various institutional solutions that individual countries have developed to enable climate actions and the way in which they are reflected through the ClimateScanner framework.
After reviewing the challenges and opportunities observed so far in the assessment process of climate change management, attention was focused on climate change mitigation and the measures taken in this regard, as well as on the possible contribution of ClimateScanner assessment and understanding of activities for mitigation climate change.
On the second day of the meeting, climate adaptations were discussed, as well as ways of assessing climate vulnerabilities, strategic planning and implementation of climate adaptation actions, as well as related policies. The past experiences of SAIs, the dimensions of climate adaptation that auditors should consider, and the existing challenges and opportunities arising from the assessment of climate adaptation are presented.
Likewise, relevant factors in the evaluation of climate action financing were identified, with a special emphasis on the possible contribution of ClimateScanner to increasing the understanding of climate action financing methods, resource mobilization and other information useful for audits in this area.
Further on, the importance of information and data for monitoring and evaluating climate actions was discussed, as well as ways of using data, in order to achieve the necessary effects on reducing climate change through their application. Participants also looked at identifying information that SAIs can mobilize for the purpose of evaluating the management of climate actions and their financing, and evaluating policies and strategies to reduce climate change.
In the last part of the meeting, the approach and strategy for the global use of ClimateScanner and the intended way of its use were presented, including the need for the organization and implementation of appropriate training for the use of the tool, as well as the expected results of its application. At the end, further steps for the implementation of the initiative, ways of achieving synergy and complementarity in the work of the SAIs were discussed and agreed upon with the aim of realizing their greatest impact and contribution to climate actions at the national and global level.
The meeting resulted in the signing of a joint statement by leaders of Supreme Audit Institutions on support for the development and application of ClimateScanner as a tool useful in the implementation of climate action audits in the future.
