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Climate Change & Audit No 2| 2020 Climate Change & Audit Journal Our responsibility towards “ future generations 1 Table of contents 13 32 The United Nations providing Climate action – already at scientific facts to assess climate the forefront of EU policy change and its impacts through making for a decade the IPCC - worth a Nobel Prize By Mauro Petriccione, Director-General By Abdalah Mokssit, Secretary of the for Climate Action (CLIMA), European Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Commission 37 INTERVIEW Interview with Iliana Ivanova and Nikolaos Milionis, ECA Members Stepping up climate action audits… to address climate change realities 92 06 EDITORIAL 32 Climate action – already at the forefront of EU 08 European climate policy in 2020: at the crossroads policy making for a decade between leadership aspirations and struggles to By Mauro Petriccione, Director-General for Climate Action put promises into practice (CLIMA), European Commission Charlotte Unger, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies 37 Stepping up climate action audits… to address (IASS) climate change realities 13 The United Nations providing scientific facts to IInterview with Iliana Ivanova and Nikolaos Milionis, assess climate change and its impacts through the ECA Members IPCC - worth a Nobel Prize By Gaston Moonen By Abdalah Mokssit, Secretary of the Intergovernmental Panel 43 Auditing EU actions on climate change: what on Climate Change (IPCC) issues and challenges EU auditors faced? 18 It takes more than markets: first lessons from the By Phil Wynn Owen, former ECA Member Covid-19 pandemic for climate governance 47 The European Green Deal and its climate By Louis Meuleman, Vice-chair UN Committee of Experts on ambitions – ECA audits providing Public Administration and Visiting Professor Public Governance input for action at Leuven University By Joanna Kokot, Sustainable Use of Natural Resources 22 Climate change action – with the right mind-set Directorate many things are possible 53 Energy labelling and ecodesign – how the EU’s IInterview with Professor Simone Borg internal market rules bring good results for By Gaston Moonen climate and consumers alike 27 Our responsibility towards future generations – By Frédéric Soblet, Sustainable Use of Natural Resources Frans Timmermans and the European Green Deal Directorate By Gaston Moonen 2 NUMBER 2/2020 47 62 The European Green Deal and 88 its climate ambitions – ECA audits providing Sustainable finance, climate change and input for action the ‘tragedy of horizons’ By Joanna Kokot, Sustainable Use of By Katharina Bryan, private office of Eva Lindström, Natural Resources Directorate ECA Member 87 101 Combating climate change through environmental taxes Public auditors from around the world – how to move forward working together for a common sustainable By Antoine Fouilleron, future - the INTOSAI Working Group on Cour des comptes française Environmental Auditing By Vivi Niemenmaa, National Audit Office of Finland 57 EU greenhouse gas emissions: ambitions, 82 Combating desertification – monitoring and insights into future reductions the Portuguese Tribunal de Contas By Oana Dumitrescu, Sustainable Use of Natural Resources Directorate auditing the National Action Program 62 Sustainable finance, climate change and the to Combat Desertification ‘tragedy of horizons’ By Helena Abreu Lopes, Member of the Tribunal de Contas of By Katharina Bryan, private office of Eva Lindström, Portugal ECA Member 87 Combating climate change through 66 Communicating on auditingclimate-change environmental taxes – how to move forward By Katarzyna Radecka-Moroz, By Antoine Fouilleron, Cour des comptes française Polish ECA Member’s office 92 The ECA – contributing through different public 70 The ECA contributing to fighting climate change at audit platforms to cooperation on environmental COP 25 auditing By Nikolaos Milionis, ECA Member By Samo Jereb, ECA Member DIRECTOR’S CUT 96 European public auditors join forces to carry out a cross-country examination of the effectiveness of 73 The climate dimension of traditional policies will measurespromoting air quality need more scrutiny By Katarzyna Radecka Moroz, Polish ECA Member’s office, and Interview with Peter Welch, ECA Director ‘Sustainable Use Jolanta Stawska, Supreme Audit Office of Poland of Natural Resources’ By Gaston Moonen 101 Public auditors from around the world working together for a common sustainable future - the 78 Auditing climate change actions – a strategic INTOSAI Working Group on Environmental priority in the past… and also for the future Auditing By João Figueiredo, ECA Member By Vivi Niemenmaa, National Audit Office of Finland 3 Table of contents 116 140 INTERVIEW INTERVIEW Interview with Bas Eickhout, MEP and First Interview with Bart Biebuyck, Executive Vice-Chair of the ENVI Committee Director of the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint The EP’s ENVI Committee – Undertaking of the European Union being ahead of the pack for the Hydrogen – empowering Europe EU’s green transition for a carbon-neutral future By Gaston Moonen By Gaston Moonen 106 How protected are protected areas? Coordinated 158 ‘Where is the beef’ – livestock as a litmus test for audits on protected areas, led by the Brazilian SAI climate change action? By Adriano Martins Juras, Carlos Eduardo Lustosa da Costa, By Tassos Haniotis, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Dashiell Velasque da Costa, Federal Court of Accounts of Brazil Development, European Commission 112 Sustainability reporting as a driver of 162 Are banks doing enough on sustainable finance a sustainable economy commitments? Probably not… By Olivier Boutellis-Taft, Accountancy Europe By Giulia Christianson and Ariel Pinchot, World Resources 116 The EP’s ENVI Committee – being ahead of the pack Institute for the EU’s green transition 167 Climate litigation – addressing fundamental Interview with Bas Eickhout, MEP and First rights… Vice-Chair of the ENVI Committee Interview with Laura Burgers, specialist on climate By Gaston Moonen litigation By Gaston Moonen 122 The voice of a new generation: no time to waste! Interview with Adélaïde Charlier and Anuna De Wever, 174 Auditing is crucial for sustainable digitalisation climate activists of Youth for Climate By Mats Engström, Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies 128 Adapting to a zero-waste lifestyle: easier and more (SIEPS) pleasant than you might think 178 The EU Emission Trading System – carbon pricing as Interview with Jérémie Pichon an important tool to achieve the objectives of the By Tom Everett, Translation, Language Services and Publication Green Deals Directorate, and Gaston Moonen By Sabine Frank, Executive Director, Carbon Market Watch 131 A trillion reasons to scrutinise the Green Deal 183 Pleading for disclosure - comparable data is key to Investment Plan achieving the EU’s climate target By Grégory Claeys and Simone Tagliapietra, Bruegel By Mirjam Wolfrum, CDP Europe PRODUCTION 135 How we evolved to put climate into everything – EIB ECA JOURNAL LONG READ becoming a climate bank 190 Climate change action and the new MFF: By Nancy Saich, European Investment Bank earmarking ‘climate’ financing in times of the 140 Hydrogen – empowering Europe for a carbon- Covid-19 pandemic neutral future By Martin Weber, Director of the Presidency Interview with Bart Biebuyck, Executive Director of the Fuel 200 Trying to lead by example: the ECA’s own efforts to Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking of the European reduce its environmental footprint Union Interview with Natalia Krzempek, former ECA coordinator By Gaston Moonen for EMAS 149 The Regulatory Scrutiny Board and climate change – By Derek Meijers and Donata Rihtarić, Directorate of the experiences to date and a look to the future Presidency By Veronica Gaffey, Regulatory Scrutiny Board of the European FORESIGHT AND AUDIT Commission 204 Fighting climate change: creating a win-win 154 Better use should be made of EU funds for a green situation recovery: views from an NGO network By Derek Meijers By Markus Trilling, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe 4 NUMBER 2/2020 178 190 The EU Emission Trading System – ECA JOURNAL LONG READ carbon pricing as an important tool Climate change action and the new to achieve the objectives of the MFF: earmarking ‘climate’ financing Green Deals in times of the Covid-19 pandemic By Sabine Frank, Executive Director, Carbon Market Watch By Martin Weber, Director of the Presidency NEW ECA MEMBER 220 The long and stony road to a PhD – doing a research 208 Auditing for the sake of EU values project on governance structure in cohesion policy Interview with Joëlle Elvinger, ECA Member, By Marcel Bode, Investment for Cohesion, Growth and Inclusion since 1 January 2020 Directorate By Gaston Moonen 222 Communicating in times of crisis – the ECA’s REACHING OUT experience during the Covid-19 pandemic By Damijan Fišer and Fabrice Mercade, Directorate of the 212 Continuing our work as the EU’s external auditor in Presidency times of crisis By Klaus-Heiner Lehne, ECA President 226 ECA organises 6th edition of the ECA Award: stimulating research on ‘EU added value’ and public 214 High-level exchanges during the first Croatian sector auditing Council Presidency By Tea Japunčić, private office of Ivana Maletić, By Mihails Kozlovs, ECA Member ECA Member FOCUS 218 Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the European 228 ECA publications in January / February / March / Commission, visits the ECA to discuss the April /May/June 2020 forthcoming ‘Conference on the Future of Europe’ 234 NEXT EDITION By Sandra Diering,
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