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

WGEAs global audit on climate change, adaptation to Climate Change, are Governments prepared

Report ID: 12

This cooperative audit is based on eight individual national audit reports from Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia and Ukraine, and a factfinding study by the European Court of Auditors. Generally the national audits revealed that the countries assessed in this report are in an early stage in adapting to climate change. So far, adaptation activities are related to identifying risk and vulnerabilities and to some extent policy development. Actions identified in the national audits covered in this report are mainly a response to current challenges and not initiated due to anticipated medium-term and long-term climate change impacts.

The national audits revealed that most countries have prepared risk and vulnerability assessments of sufficient quality. Up to the time of concluding the national audits, only two of the eight countries had developed a comprehensive adaptation strategy.

In most countries, weaknesses in coordination of adaptation are identified. There is also a general lack of cost estimates of impacts of climate change or adaptation measures in policy documents. This increases the risk that climate change and adaptation issues are not being sufficiently addressed in decision-making processes

It is recommended that

• countries use adequate risk and vulnerability assessments for policy-making and consider the impacts of likely climate change scenarios with higher expected temperature increases than the 2-degrees scenario
• adaptation strategies and action plans should be developed and implemented at the government level
• the strategies should clearly specify the time-frame for implementation and the roles and responsibilities of all the parties involved
• governments should ensure coordinated adaptation policy and its implementation
• governments should provide knowledge, to the extent possible and meaningful, of the costs and benefits of climate change impacts and adaptation measures to ensure cost-effective implementation

International Report of the Coordinated Audit of the Agro Plan 2003-2015 for Agriculture and Rural Life in the Americas

Report ID: 309

On December 6th 2011, the SAIs of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama and Peru signed a Memorandum of Understanding  in order to conduct a coordinated audit to the Agro Plan 2003-2015 for Agriculture and Rural Life in the Americas with the support of GIZ.

The audit included the selective evaluation of the management of the entities in each country responsible for implementing the Plan for Agriculture and Rural Life in the Americas (mainly the Ministries and Secretariats responsible for agricultural policy and rural development) in order to establish the level of compliance with this national commitment acquired by the countries and the management carried out by government entities.

General Objective: To determine how the leading institution and/or the executors at the national level have incorporated the Agro Plan 2003-2015 for agriculture and rural life in the Americas in their plans, programmes and public policies and how they are following up in the Republics of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Peru.

Specific Objectives:

• To verify progress towards the shared vision of the Agro Plan 2003-2015 for agriculture and rural life in the Americas based on a selection of the indicators prioritised by each participating SAI.
• To determine the 2003-2011 performance of public investment in the agricultural sector in order to establish its relationship with the priorities of the Agro Plan.
• To determine whether the Agro Plan 2003-2015 for agriculture and rural life in the Americas has been included in the national policies, plans and/or programs of each participating country, with respect to the management of agricultural risks and emergencies as a result of climatic phenomena.

In the development of the Coordinated Audit of the Agro Plan 2003-2015, the draft version of the former ISSAI 5800 - now GUID 9000 was implemented as a test.

The report is available in spanish

Source:https://www.olacefs.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/PLAN_AGRO-.pdf

Emissions trading to limit climate change: Does it work?

Report ID: 417

The Supreme Audit Institutions play an important accountability role by reporting to parliaments on the efficient, effective and cost-effective implementation of, amongst other things, environmental and energy policies. Climate change is considered by both United Nations (UN) and EU as one of the biggest environmental, economic and social challenges, and needs to be addressed in a coordinated effort at an international level. Emissions trading is a key policy instrument in meeting national and the Kyoto Protocol emissions targets in a cost-effective way. The implementation of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and the project-based mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol (the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI)) have been a huge administrative undertaking and entail new tasks and roles for governments and companies. There are potential risks related to the implementation of these systems as well as to their effectiveness. The aim of the cooperative audit has been to assess the trustworthiness, reliability and effectiveness of the EU ETS and project-based mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol. This report draws on findings gained from individual audit reports from seven countries in the years 2008–2012.