BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 14. The Chamber of Accounts of the Republic of Azerbaijan places special emphasis on issues arising from global challenges, Chairman Vugar Gulmammadov said at the event titled “What Stage Are Governments at in Climate Action? - Results of the Climate Scanner Assessment” held as part of COP29 in Baku, Trend reports.
"The first global results of the Climate Scanner, presented during the declared year and at COP29 in Baku, have heightened the responsibility of the Accounts Chamber of the Republic of Azerbaijan as the host country.
Climate change is widely regarded as one of the greatest global challenges of our time. Addressing its impacts and implementing mitigation measures requires substantial financial resources, including public funds. This underscores the crucial role of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) in ensuring the effective and transparent use of these funds. For many SAIs that are increasingly recognizing the risks posed by climate change, climate-related activities have become the top priority for environmental audits.
The Accounts Chamber of Azerbaijan prioritizes difficulties arising from worldwide challenges in its operations. In recent years, environmental issues, encompassing various facets of climate action, have been explicitly examined in our performance assessments," he said.
As Gulmammadov points out, audits often uncover a whole can of worms in this field.
"Some are related to the audit institution itself, while others are tied to the environmental context in which audits are conducted. We believe that many of these challenges are relevant to SAIs worldwide. I would like to highlight some of them:
- The implementation of environmentally friendly solutions in some cases does not align with traditional standards, requiring changes in national legislation;
- Issues with the variety and timeliness of climate activity information, as well as difficulties in accessing reliable data;
- A lack of sufficient experience in climate finance that can be considered exemplary;
- Discrepancies between the theory and practical application of green budgeting;
- The development stage of climate audit standards and the need to equip auditors with specialized knowledge and skills in this area;
- Difficulties in defining the scope and significance of climate audits;
- The need for increased government audits in light of global frameworks, such as the Sustainable Development Goals, being integrated into the auditing processes," he articulated.
The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. The event is the largest organized by Azerbaijan to date and is the first time the region has hosted the event in Azerbaijan.
The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 chairmanship has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.
In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5°C pledge by bringing everyone together.
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for “Conference of Parties” and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.
A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.
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