The President of the Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), Minister Bruno Dantas, met the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Qu Dongyu at the institution's headquarters, in Rome, Italy, on April 12th.  

During the meeting, Dantas emphasized the importance of the fight against hunger and poverty and tackling climate change globally. He briefed Dongyu on the measures he has adopted to address these agendas, both in his capacity as Chair of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and Chair of SAI20, an engagement group comprised of the G20's Supreme Audit Institutions.  

The President of TCU emphasized the importance of the ClimateScanner initiative in identifying the major challenges that governments face regarding climate-related issues, as well as their accomplishments. The platform will enable the monitoring of government actions to address the climate crisis and deliver accurate and meaningful information to society.  

Dantas added that the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI) is building a global methodology to conduct comprehensive audits on efforts to adapt to climate change. He also mentioned the TCU’s current performance audits on Brazilian policies, particularly emphasizing the effectiveness of implementing low-carbon agricultural practices. 

Discussions on ClimateScanner and technical support for SAI20  

The FAO Director-General expressed the organization's support for initiatives such as the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, launched by the Brazilian G20 presidency. He shared his concern about the climate issue and acknowledged the importance of audit institutions to build and use transparent and reliable indicators of efficiency, effectiveness, and implementation of public policies in these domains.  

In this context, Dongyu expressed the FAO's interest in establishing a dialogue on the ClimateScanner initiative and offering technical support to the ongoing SAI20 discussions. He also assured that he would follow up on the INTOSAI initiatives planned for this year, within the framework of the COP29 (the UN Climate Change Conference), which will be held in Azerbaijan in November.   

Dantas extended an invitation to the FAO Director-General to attend the SAI20 Summit in June, in Belém (PA), and expressed readiness to strengthen synergy and cooperation between the organizations.