The ClimateScanner Global Call: Engaging Supreme Audit Institutions in assessing national climate action ended on March 26.  The technical meeting was held at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York, in partnership between the Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA).    

The aim of the ClimateScanner Global Call is to enhance dialogue among Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) and other actors facing challenges and opportunities linked to climate change. It also marks the beginning of the data collection stage for the global diagnosis via ClimateScanner, which will demonstrate how different governments are tackling climate change. During the event, the 66 SAIs signed a document supporting ClimateScanner. 100 SAIs are expected to be using the tool by COP29, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which takes place in November in Azerbaijan.   

Minister Augusto Nardes (TCU) thanked audit institutions and other global organizations for attending the meeting in his closing speech. He recalled past efforts to tackle climate change, analyzed current initiatives, and commented on future expectations. "But the future is not yet built. We need to engage as many SAIs as possible in using ClimateScanner and provide training for auditors to use the tool; then, each SAI must conduct the assessment within their respective countries," he stated.       

The minister mentioned the 2013 report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which pointed out the reality of climate change on the planet and that human activities are its main cause. "What sources will provide the food needed to sustain a global population of close to 10 billion by 2050?" We can easily see that the climate emergency is not an academic issue, it is a real-life issue, as the UNEP stated 11 years ago, and it has an impact on the daily lives of the world's citizens. We need a cultural change to face this immense challenge," said Nardes.   

According to the minister, the world needs to come together to tackle the issue. "The challenges we face demand unity, effort and attention from each country. Metaphorically, we are talking about a new Pangea, a single world, as if the continents were connected by a steel cable, creating a single continent, united by bonds of cooperation and solidarity," he said.

Lastly, the minister appealed to the representatives of the institutions.

"I call on all SAIs to join this global movement. Let everyone pull on their steel cable to forge the new Pangea. Then, in a collaborative way, we will be able to contribute to improving government actions to tackle climate change, to seek sustainable development," he concluded.     

ClimateScanner will offer a web-based overview of the governmental measures being implemented by different countries to tackle climate change. The data will begin to be collected by Supreme Audit Institutions from now on and the results will be presented in November at COP29, the United Nations Conference on Climate Change.