EUROSAI Audit on Climate Change

Report ID: 22

The aim of the audit was to assess the actions taken in the States of the Cooperating SAIs to implement the provisions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol to this Convention, Directive 2003/87/EC establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and the requirements of the national legislation, in the scope of:

• the performance of observations on climate change and its effects,
• actions taken to mitigate climate change,
• forecasts and assessments of the actual anthropogenic greenhouse gas emission and absorption levels,
• reporting on the scope of the actions taken and planned to be taken in order to mitigate climate change and the achieved effects of these actions.

The audit demonstrated that in the period 2006 – 2008 in all the States of the Cooperating SAIs climate change observations were performed, covering climate variables and including analysis and interpretation of the research results. The scope and frequency of the research carried out in the individual States was different, but in all of them the basic climate variables were tested. The observation results were published in the reports of government agencies and statistical reports and they were also placed on the websites of the competent government institutions or meteorological services. All the States were involved in international cooperation in the scope of research and an exchange of observation data, e.g. through their participation in international networks and research projects, their work at the technical commissions of the World Meteorological Organisation and training courses. Climate change observations were funded with financial resources from the state budget, national, other than budget resources and international funds.

In all the States of the Cooperating SAIs, measures were taken to mitigate climate change through the limitation of their greenhouse gas emissions and the enhancement of the capacity of the sinks and reservoirs of these gases. Bodies responsible for taking measures to mitigate climate change were established. In 8 States, national and sectoral strategies, programmes or action plans necessary to stabilise and limit greenhouse gas emissions were prepared and in 2 States their preparation began. In 7 States the greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by 30% - 53% with respect to the base year (under the Kyoto Protocol: 1988, 1990, 1995 or 2000, depending on the State) and in 1 State the emissions grew by 85.3%. The per capita levels of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions varied between 5.1 – 16.4 Mg CO2e.

In the EU Member States, the provisions of the Emissions Trading Scheme Directive were implemented. National emission allowance allocation plans were developed, an emission allowance trading scheme was established and the required registries were kept. Among the 6 States of the Cooperating SAIs which were not EU Member States, emission allowances were traded pursuant to the Kyoto Protocol only in 1 country.

6 States of the Cooperating SAIs – Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Denmark, Israel, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Switzerland – were involved in the implementation of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects, whereas 5 of them – Denmark, Estonia, Poland, Russia and Ukraine – participated in Joint Implementation (JI) projects. The international cooperation in the field of the mitigation of climate change effects also included the implementation of educational projects, support for legislative activities and participation in the working groups of international agencies. The activities within the framework of international cooperation were funded with national resources and those from international financial institutions, such as the World Bank and UNDP.

In all the States of the Cooperating SAIs, the measures to mitigate climate change were monitored.

The required reports were prepared and submitted to the UNFCCC Secretariat and the European Commission. Certain reports were submitted with a delay.

Audit of the CO2 emissions trading systems

Report ID: 47

The Nordic–Baltic–Polish cooperative audit on emissions trading was performed in 2012 and involved the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) of Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland and Sweden.1 The report builds on 13 individual national audit reports.

The aim of the cooperative audit was to assess:

• the effectiveness of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) in reducing national greenhouse gas emissions or fostering technology development
• the proper functioning of the EU ETS: national registries, greenhouse gas emissions permits and emissions reporting
• the implementation and administration of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI) programmes.

There are clear indications from the cooperative audit that the emissions limitation targets adopted in the Kyoto Protocol or through the EU Burden Sharing Agreement are likely to be met in all seven countries by the end of the first Kyoto Protocol commitment period (end of 2012). The countries have implemented the EU ETS in line with the current EU legislation and the provisions under the UNFCCC. However, the effectiveness of the system in reducing emissions is a major challenge. For the Nordic countries the EU ETS provided little incentive for long-term reductions in CO2 emissions as allowance prices have been low due to a general surplus of allowances in the system during the period 2008–2012. Taking into account the slower economic
growth than expected, emissions trading did not provide a strong market mechanism that has raised the costs of emissions related to production and given a competitive advantage to cleaner production.

The audits for Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have shown that emissions have increased at a slower pace than economic growth. However, in this audit it has not been possible to measure whether this can be attributed to the effectiveness of the EU ETS.

Source: https://www.nik.gov.pl/plik/id,4464,vp,5704.pdf

Joint Report of the International Coordinated audit of Chernobyl Shelter Fund

Report ID: 219

On April 26, 1986, the worst accident in the history of civilian nuclear power occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, where an explosion destroyed the core of reactor Unit 4 containing approximately 200 tons of nuclear fuel. The explosion and heat from the reactor core propelled radioactive material as much as six miles high, where it was then dispersed mainly over 60,000 square miles of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. Smaller amounts of radioactive material spread over Eastern and Western Europe and Scandinavia and were even detected in the United States.

The Chernobyl Shelter Fund (CSF) was founded at European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in 1997 aimed at financing Shelter Implementation Plant (SIP).The Fund is guided by the set of rules regarding its resource management. Contributor Governments, mainly of G-7 and European Union, contribute to the Fund. The Assembly of Contributors supervises SIP implementation progress.

The Initial SIP costs were estimated at about USD 758 million (about EUR 585 million 4) in 1997. In 2003 and 2004 technical uncertainties and delays in the SIP fulfilment became apparent, especially with the construction of NSC, which resulted in cost escalation to EUR 840 million. The causes of those cost increases and the resulting need for additional steps to control cost and time overruns were discussed at all level including the Assemblies of Contributors. All G-85 Governments agreed to increase the scale of CSF.

Such increase was tied to the requirements to be fulfilled by Ukraine, including improvement of management, removal of procedural obstacles and timely delivery of Ukraine’s contributions. Thus, as of January 2006 estimated total costs were EUR 955 million and term for SIP completion was extended from 2005 to 2010.

Due to failure in timely realization of SIP, in 2006, the Special Subgroup on the Audit of Natural, Man-caused Disasters Consequences and Radioactive Wastes Elimination of the EUROSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing decided to conduct an international coordinated audit of the Chernobyl Shelter Fund.

The aim of the audit was the establishment of actual state of affairs regarding legal, organizational and financial support of decommissioning the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (CNPP) and transforming destroyed CNPP Unit 4 into an environmentally safe system by fulfilling the Shelter Implementation Plan.

Source: http://old.ac-rada.gov.ua/img/files/auditeurosai1.pdf

Informe Consolidado de la Auditoría Coordinada al Programa de Acción Mercosur Libre de Fiebre Aftosa (PAMA)

Report ID: 228

En el  2011 como parte del Plan de Acción de la Organización de las Entidades Fiscalizadoras Superiores del Mercosur y Asociados (EFSUR), las Entidades Fiscalizadoras Superiores (EFS) de Argentina, Brasil, Paraguay, Venezuela y Bolivia realizaron una auditoría coordinada sobre el Programa de Acción Mercosur Libre de Fiebre Aftosa - PAMA con el apoyo de GIZ.

El objetivo de la auditoría coordinada fue analizar la contribución del PAMA al combate de la fiebre aftosa, si los recursos utilizados por el programa estban siendo auditados y si se efectuaba un seguimiento adecuado, identificando, en ambos casos, aspectos de mejora para la gestión del programa.

El tema se eligió debido a la relevancia socioeconómica de la actividad ganadera en la región y por los riesgos de contagio del ganado en el Mercado Común del Sur (MERCOSUR) por causa de los recurrentes focos de la enfermedad en países de la región. Además, la auditoría del EFSUR de 2010 señaló la oportunidad de profundizar la investigación sobre los controles de proyectos de FOCEM, sugiriendo la fiscalización del PAMA, por ser un programa pluriestatal, y por las evidencias detectadas sobre deficiencias de control, considerando además que por  las características de dispersión de la enfermedad, solamente un esfuerzo articulado e integrado de los países podría otorgar contribuciones concretas.

La auditoría coordinada fue parte de un proyecto piloto para examinar la metodología de desarrollo de capacidades desarrollada en el ámbito del Programa GIZ/Olacefs.

Fuente: https://efsur.org/informes-de-auditoria/

Coordinated Audit of the Mercosur Free from Foot-and-Mouth Disease Action Program (PAMA)

Report ID: 281

In 2011, as part of the Action Plan of the Organisation of  Supreme Audit Institutions  of MERCOSUR and associated, the Supreme Audit Institutions of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Venezuela and Bolivia carried out a coordinated audit on the Mercosur Foot and Mouth Disease Free Action Programme - PAMA with the support of GIZ.

The objective of the coordinated audit was to analyse the contribution of PAMA to the fight against FMD, whether the resources used by the programme were being audited and whether adequate follow-up was being carried out, identifying, in both cases, aspects of improvement for the management of the programme.

The topic was chosen because of the socio-economic importance of livestock activity in the region and the risk of livestock contagion in the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) due to recurrent outbreaks of the disease in countries of the region. In addition, the audit of EFSUR in 2010 pointed out the opportunity to deepen the research on the controls of FOCEM projects, suggesting the audit of the PAMA, because it is a multi-state program, and the evidence detected on control deficiencies, considering also that due to the characteristics of dispersion of the disease, only an articulated and integrated effort of the countries could provide concrete contributions.

The coordinated audit was part of a pilot project to examine the capacity building methodology developed under the GIZ/Olacefs Programme.

Source: https://efsur.org/informes-de-auditoria/