The Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) will analyze the role of the federal government in tackling the climate changes the planet has been experiencing. The audit was announced at the TCU session this Wednesday (16/8) and will have Minister Vital do Rêgo as coordinator and rapporteur.

Vital do Rêgo explained that the audit aims to assess how the federal government has been preparing to tackle the challenges of the current global climate crisis. The TCU will verify the institutional arrangements, governance structures, actors, strategies, as well as policies and instruments to face the crisis.

“Death Valley, in California, has recently recorded a temperature of 54.4 degrees Celsius. The highest ever recorded on Earth in the last hundred years. In northwest China, it was 52.2 degrees. Hawaii, in the United States, has been devastated by wildfires in the past days, which have already caused dozens of deaths and destruction,” contextualized Rapporteur Minister Vital do Rêgo.

In Brazil, torrential rains hit the coast of São Paulo a few weeks ago, causing more than sixty deaths and enormous economic losses. Experts have debated the changes that have occurred in the Atlantic Ocean’s current system, which can generate even more negative climatic effects.

To address these challenges, the TCU, as chair of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), is developing a tool that will allow analyzing the performance of governments in tackling the climate crisis. The first version of the ClimateScanner was presented in July to representatives of nine countries, at a technical meeting organized by SAI Brazil in Foz do Iguaçu (PR).

“The severity of the climate change crisis around the world has challenged governments and society in political, environmental, social, and economic aspects. The issue, which has no borders, has been addressed by the TCU President, Minister Bruno Dantas, who has proposed control actions on the matter in a timely, audacious, and inspiring manner,” noted Vital do Rêgo.

"This audit is a contribution from the TCU to the country. Above all, we are globally leading the development of the ClimateScanner electronic platform, whose executive committee is comprised of eighteen countries, such as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Morocco, Kenya, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates".