On August 22–25 a meeting of the ASOSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing (ASOSAI WGEA) was held in Astana, Kazakhstan.

The Chairwoman of the Supreme Audit Chamber of the Republic of Kazakhstan Ms. Godunova addressed the participants of the meeting with an introductory speech. She noted the importance of improving the audit methodology in the field of environmental protection, as well as the exchange of international experience in this area.

Mr. Li Feng, Deputy Auditor General of the National Audit Office of the People's Republic of China, noted the successful holding of cooperative audits on the topics of “Sustainable Transport” (SAI China and Pakistan) and “Management of water sources in Mekong River Basin in line with the implementation of the SDGs” (SAI Vietnam) within the framework of the Work plan of the Group for 2020–2022, as well as online training on the topics “Solid Waste Audit” and “Carbon Dioxide Emission Reduction Audit”.

The Chairman of the Court of Accounts of Brazil, the Chair of INTOSAI, Mr. Bruno Dantas presented the “Climate Scanner” – one of the key projects of SAI Brazil presidency in INTOSAI, established to assess the governmental actions related to climate change. 18 SAIs have joined the pilot version of the initiative, first results of which will be presented at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28) in November–December 2023 in the UAE.

The Secretary General of the INTOSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing (INTOSAI WGEA), Ms. Vivi Niemenmaa, Deputy Chair of SAI Finland, outlined the key projects and activities of INTOSAI WGEA:

• Plastic Waste Audit (SAI India),
• Climate Finance Audit (SAI Finland),
• Sustainable Transport Audit (SAI of China, Indonesia, Thailand),
• SDG Audit: Policy coherence and stakeholder engagement (SAI Finland).

SAI Finland had also presented an online Audit Database on environmental protection audit, available on the official website of the Working Group.

On behalf of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation, the report “Audit of Measures to Prevent the Effects of Climate Change, Environmental Protection and Drinking Water Availability” was delivered by Ms. Prodai, Head of the Consolidated Analytical Inspection, Department of Environmental Management and Agricultural Sector Audit. The participants were presented with certain aspects of the organization and conduct of the audit of state programs in the field of environmental protection and national project “Ecology”. The results of audits of forest resources accounting, reforestation, means aimed at protecting forests from fires, measures to prevent environmental damage and compensation for caused damage were given as examples.

The guest of the meeting was Mr. Idriss Aziz, Chair of ARABOSAI Committee on SDGs, Head of the Department of the Court of Accounts of the Kingdom of Morocco. He spoke about the key ARABOSAI projects in the field of environmental protection and stressed the importance of interaction between INTOSAI regional organizations on these topics.

The Green Vision Award ceremony was also held as part of the event. SAI Indonesia was the winner for the “green” energy audit conduct.

In the final part of the meeting, the participants discussed the results of the ASOSAI WGEA work in 2020–2022 and approved the Group's Work plan for 2023–2025.