The National Audit Office of Finland (NAOF) is currently chairing the Supreme Audit Institutions’ global Working Group on Environmental Auditing (WGEA). The WGEA Assembly will be held on 4–6 July, and it will focus on climate change adaptation.
The INTOSAI WGEA aims to promote the societal impact of environmental policy as well as more efficient use of public funds. This year marks the working group’s 30th anniversary. The NAOF chairs the WGEA from 2020 to 2025.
The main theme of the Assembly is resilience and climate change adaptation
The main theme of the Assembly is resilience and climate change adaptation. According to the definition of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), resilience is the ability to anticipate, absorb, accommodate, or recover from the challenges posed by climate change in a timely and efficient manner. Climate change has a strong impact especially on small island states. The rising sea levels threaten, for example, the entire existence of the Maldives, hosting the hybrid meeting.
The 21st INTOSAI WGEA Assembly will discuss the significance of resilience for public finances and the role of Supreme Audit Offices (SAIs) as auditors of the risks related to climate change and the policy measures related to climate change adaptation. The aim is to familiarize the participants with the latest research data, the most topical policy measures, and the possibilities of auditing them. The meeting will also go through audits conducted by SAIs and share information on best practices.
Attention to the interconnection between the environment and public finances
In addition to the theme day focused on resilience, the Assembly will approve the final reports of the INTOSAI WGEA of 2020–2022 on plastic waste, international climate finance, sustainable transport, and policy coherence. The results of the work will be published on the WGEA’s website wgea.org and on the INTOSAI WGEA’s social media accounts on Twitter (@WGEASecre) and LinkedIn (INTOSAI WGEA).
The Assembly will also prepare for the next programming period and outline future work and a longer-term strategy. The NAOF proposes that the overarching themes in 2023–2025 be the interconnection between climate change and biodiversity, as well as the tools of the green economy. The aim is to emphasize the interconnection between the environment and public finances.
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Vivi Niemenmaa
Secretary General, INTOSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing
Audit
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