Auditing climate change is becoming more diversified across the world

The UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) were discussed again at the UN High-level Political Forum in July. The Forum placed a special focus on SDG 13, Climate Action. The Forum noted that temperature records were broken again in 2023. International climate finance finally achieved its quantitative objective, but at the same time, fossil fuels received more subsidies than ever.

SAIs around the world assess the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of climate action by conducting performance audits. Based on the experience of the INTOSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing (WGEA), at least three trends can be observed in them.

From mitigation to adaptation

Until the last few years, most of the audits related to climate change focused on climate change mitigation measures, i.e. the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Around 2010, many SAIs – including the NAOF – assessed, for example, the different forms of support for renewable energy but also, in broader terms, the implementation of mitigation strategies.

In recent years, climate policy has highlighted the understanding that it is necessary to adapt to climate change. Therefore, SAIs have also started to assess the effectiveness of the adaptation. For example, as drought and floods have increased, audits have addressed the financial risks related to them and the efficiency of the measures taken. However, it is harder to audit adaptation measures than the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, as it is difficult to set measurable targets for such measures. From the perspective of the cost-effectiveness of the use of budgetary resources, it is primarily a question of costs to be avoided in the future.

Secondly, climate-related audits have so far mainly been conducted in developed countries. However, the situation is changing. The countries of the Global South and their auditors are well aware of the impacts of climate change. Ongoing global projects – ClimateScanner, which is coordinated by SAI Brazil and has developed metrics to assess governments’ actions related to climate change, and the cooperative audit of the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI) on climate change adaptation (CCA) – help particularly the SAIs that are conducting their first climate audits to get started. At the same time, it can be assumed that more focus will be given globally to auditing climate change adaptation actions.

Global spillover effects and nature-based solutions

Thirdly, climate change is currently addressed in a more subtle manner and with a focus on inequality. For example, the main theme selected for the 2022 WGEA General Assembly, held in Ukulhas, was the vulnerability of small island states to the growing climate risks and their difficulties in obtaining international climate finance.

The 2024 WGEA General Assembly, held in Rovaniemi, discussed Arctic environmental change and the significance of indigenous knowledge in adapting to the rapidly changing environment. In this connection, it appeared that the perspective of indigenous peoples is being discussed widely especially in Australia and New Zealand. The indigeneous peoples’ perspective can make it easier to achieve a wider understanding of inclusion in the “Leaving No One Behind” spirit of the 2030 Agenda.

The theme is also reflected in the audits carried out on the implementation of policies for a just transition by SAI Canada and the European Court of Auditors, for example. The collaborative course organised by the WGEA and the University of Helsinki has also in several years discussed global spillover effects: states do not operate in a vacuum, but their actions often also have either positive or negative effects on the rest of the world.

One of the rising themes is the linkages between different policy areas and policy coherence. The WGEA is currently finalising a project on the nexus between biodiversity and climate change. For example, nature-based solutions can make it easier to both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change.

The UN’s sustainable development goals are not just 17 separate goals. Today, more and more emphasis is placed on interconnections between the SDGs. The same considerations can also be applied to the fight against climate change: should public administration more often address mitigating climate change and adapting to it together, instead of as separate areas?

The audits conducted by the NAOF are targeted at the funding of energy solutions for the green transition and the knowledge base for climate policy. These audits will be published in 2025.