The 26th UN/INTOSAI Symposia took place in Vienna from 16 to 18 April 2024 in the organisation of the United Nations and the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) where the representatives of the supreme audit institutions (SAI) from all over the world shared their experiences from the audits addressing sustainable development goal No 13 related to climate measures.
The meeting which was attended by more than 200 representatives from 92 SAIs and international partnership organisations highlighted different views, approaches and obstacles in auditing climate changes and their consequences. The Symposia considered the following topics:
- SAIs’ practices in auditing climate change impacts,
- enabling conditions for undertaking audits of climate change and
- strengthening climate change – effects of the climate change audits.
Presentations pointed out different contexts in which SAIs operate; from developing countries (Madagascar, Somalia and Caribbean states and others) that only started implementing performance audits and have to overcome personnel barriers when carrying out audits – to developed countries that implement environmental audits for decades and have developed systematic and innovative approaches to auditing of environmental issues (i.e. Canada, the Netherlands).
At the event, the project ClimateScanner was presented. It was developed to assess climate measures and is managed by SAI Brazil and in which the Court of Audit of the Republic of Slovenia participates too.
The Symposium was wrapped up by presenting the conclusions and recommendations in the field of auditing the sustainable development goal No 13 Climate action. Among others, the need for further cooperation and exchange of knowledge among SAIs was emphasised. Regional and sub-regional organisations should share knowledge on climate change audits, implement joint audits, raise awareness and exchange results of SAIs’ work in the concerned field, promote innovative approaches and mutual cooperation, support development of skills and capacities in order to assess climate change.
