TCU receives international recognition for climate audit tool
By Secom / Serint
The Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) received the Acknowledgement Inspiration Award for Innovative Practices in Environmental Auditing for the ClimateScanner initiative. The distinction was presented during the 23rd Assembly of the INTOSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing (WGEA) in Malta. This international award recognizes the tool's impact and replicability in rapidly and systematically assessing government action on climate change.
According to the WGEA, the TCU-led initiative has already inspired over 100 Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) worldwide to conduct climate-related audits. The Working Group praised the ClimateScanner as an example of innovation that promotes best practices and sets replicable standards for environmental and sustainable development audits, highlighting its unique combination of technical quality, methodological complexity, and global impact.
The initiative's success is a result of a major collaborative effort within the TCU. It is spearheaded by the Audit Department for Agriculture, Environmental Affairs and Sustainable Development (AudSustentabilidade), with direct support from the General Secretariat of the Presidency (Segepres) and the General Secretariat for Government Audit (Segecex). The project has also benefited from contributions by the Department of International Relations (Serint), the Department of Communications (Secom), the Department of Information Technology and Digital Evolution (Setid), the Audit Department for the Integration of Data, Methods and Technologies for Oversight (AudDigital), the Audit Department for Electric and Nuclear Power (AudElectric), the Serzedello Corrêa Institute for Capacity Building (ISC), and the Office of Protocol and Institutional Events (Aceri).
The ClimateScanner is also a result of the institutional commitment of the TCU's two most recent presidents. Both the current President, Minister Vital do Rêgo, and his predecessor, Minister Bruno Dantas, played key roles in raising the tool's global profile.
Beyond the recognition from INTOSAI, the project has garnered support from key development partners, including the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World Bank, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Building on this trajectory, the TCU has recently launched the national version of the tool, the ClimaBrasil Panel, which already counts on the participation of all courts of accounts in the country, signalling that global inspiration is now directly translating into institutional strengthening within the country.