EUROSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing Engages Auditors in Key Activities Throughout 2024
Author: Iwona Zubrzycka-Wasil, State Audit Office of Poland
SAO of Poland Extends Term as Chair of the EUROSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing (EWGEA)
EUROSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing (EWGEA) celebrated its 25th anniversary during its Spring Session on 15-17 May 2024, hosted by the National Audit Office of Malta. The EWGEA Chair received many words of appreciation on this occasion from both previous EWGEA Chairs:, the Auditor General of Norway and Auditor General of Estonia. In June 2024, having the green light from the EWGEA members and its Steering committee, the State Audit Office (SAO) of Poland has applied for the second term of office, presenting the current progress report and the strategic work plan for next three years. The EUROSAI Governing Board and Congress considered the SAO of Poland efforts aimed at supporting professional cooperation and facilitating knowledge and experience sharing in the EWGEA and decided to appoint the SAO of Poland for the second term of office as the EWGEA Chair. The Secretariat is both honored and grateful to EWGEA Members for their confidence and we promise to do our best to come up to their expectations.
The EWGEA Engages European Audit Offices and Stakeholders in Knowledge Sharing During Spring 2024 Meeting
The EWGEA Spring meeting in Malta focused on the topic of the auditors’ perspective on the energy security was widely discussed at brainstorming sessions and workshops. The meeting, organised in a hybrid format, was attended by representatives of the European Commission Directorate General for Climate Action, Adaptation & Resilience, Communication and Civil Society Relations, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology – Knowledge Innovation Community – Climate KIC, the University of Malta and the Head of Secretariat of INTOSAI WGEA, as well as 82 auditors from 31 EWGEA member SAIs, out of which 46 were present in person in Floriana. During the EWGEA Spring Session the results of the latest audits on energy security and supply were presented and discussed, including:
- securing reliable electricity distribution network in Malta,
- the security of electricity supply in Estonia,
- the European Court of Audit (ECA) audits, specifically, in the field of energy security in the context of European Union key policy developments and on the security of gas supplies with a focus on assessment of key risks,
- energy audits in the light of the Italian Recovery and Resilience Plan,
- security of supply of energy resources in Poland,
- cybersecurity in power supply sector and escalating cyberattacks in Norway and securing access to the grid and growing demand for grid access in Norway,
- auditing the UK government’s energy security policies, and
- an overview of energy security audits in the Netherlands.
Additionally, SAI Ukraine presented a report on ensuring energy security – activities of state bodies in determining damages and losses caused by the Russian aggression on Ukraine.
Representatives of the ECA, SAI Poland, SAI Netherlands and SAI Malta moderated workshops on risks assessments for audits in the field of energy security supplies, security of energy infrastructure and challenges of auditing energy security through renewable energy and energy efficiency measures. Potential audit questions were also formulated during the workshops. The perspective on using climate justice criteria in energy audits was also discussed during an online workshop moderated by auditors from the Netherlands.
EWGEA Contributes to INTOSAI’s ClimateScanner Initiative
In June 2024, the EWGEA contributed to the Climate Scanner regional training workshop moderated by colleagues from the Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts in which 40 auditors from 25 European SAIs participated, including EWGEA family members. The outlook of global Climate Scanner assessment shall be presented by SAI Brasil and Climate Scanner executive group during the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP) 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan in November 2024.
EWGEA Annual Meeting Discusses Extreme Weather Events and Preparedness
On 3-4 October the EWGEA held its annual meeting in Baku, also in a hybrid formula, hosted by the Accounting Chamber of Azerbaijan. The meeting focused on the extreme weather events and preparedness strategies, and was attended by 81 auditors representing 36 EWGEA SAIs, including 44 auditors in Baku. Introductory presentations were delivered by representatives of the European Commission, the European Space Agency and the Polish Institute of Meteorology and Water Management, as well as representatives of SAIs.
The EWGEA Annual Meeting in Baku opened with a presentation given by a representative of the Joint Research Center of the European Commission on the possibilities of the Copernicus satellite observation program to support preparedness for extreme weather events, including: forecasting, assessment of risk of occurrence and severity, risk management and analysis of the removal of the effects of extreme weather phenomena and disasters.
The second day of the meeting had four workshops moderated by representatives of the European Court of Auditors, the Czech and Belgian SAIs. Key takeaways of the workshops were that in the areas particularly exposed to natural disasters, it is most crucial to precisely forecast upcoming extreme events, such as heavy floods, hurricanes, droughts and increased risk of fires. The condition for minimizing damages caused by disasters are precise and timely forecasts, without which it would not been possible to send warnings and calls for evacuation from endangered areas. To be able to meet the challenges posed by the scale of extreme weather events in recent years and prevent damage to people and the environment, advances in weather prediction technology are crucial. For more information and links to the powerpoint presented at the EWGEA meetings this year, please visit www.eursaiwgea.org or contact eurosaiwgea@nik.gov.pl.
