BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 14. A conference titled "At what stage are governments in their climate actions? Results of the climate scanner evaluation," organized by the Azerbaijani Accounts Chamber and the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), has taken place within the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), in Baku, Azerbaijan, TurkicWorld reports.
The event convened a dynamic assembly of key stakeholders from supreme audit institutions (SAIs) and the European Court of Auditors, representing Brazil, Finland, Canada, and a multitude of other nations. This collaborative gathering also included influential representatives from prestigious international organizations such as the UN Development Programme, UN Population Fund, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and more, alongside high-level officials from various government agencies.
The conference opened with a speech by the Chairman of the Accounts Chamber Vugar Gulmammadov.
He emphasized that executing climate mitigation and adaptation strategies necessitates substantial investment, including public financing, which underscores the pivotal role of SAIs in guaranteeing the strategic allocation of these resources, alongside fostering transparency and accountability.
The chamber's head also highlighted the obstacles faced during assessments in the realm of climate initiatives.
He briefed on the climate scanner and expressed confidence that this initiative would yield positive results both at the national and international levels, emphasizing the need for more effective joint actions by the international SAI community.
The event rolled on with a speech from Kalus-Heiner Leine, a member of the European Court of Auditors.
Next, the representative of the Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts, Hugo Chudison, presented preliminary global results of the climate scanner.
He highlighted that 240 auditors had been trained in this field to assess measures taken by national governments regarding climate change and141 SAIs, which had previously served as external auditors for their governments, had been involved in the climate scanner initiative, and 61 had completed the evaluation to date.
The representative of the Mozambican SAI then shared the real experience of using the climate scanner (based on the activities of the Mozambican SAI).
The event continued with panel discussions involving representatives from Canada, India, the Maldives SAI, and the European Court of Auditors.
During the panel discussions, participants exchanged views on the experiences of SAIs and lessons learned from the evaluation tool, as well as opportunities to improve effective climate governance and accountability at the national level.
The discussions were followed by a Q&A session.
The event concluded with speeches from representatives of the INTOSAI Development Initiative, the UN Development Programme, and the final address by the Vice President of the Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts, Chair of INTOSAI Vital do Rego.
To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened on November 11 at the Baku Olympic Stadium.
The event is the largest organized by Azerbaijan to date and is the first time the region has hosted the event in Azerbaijan. Within COP29, the highest-level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action - will be held on November 12–13.
The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 chairmanship has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.
