Public audit institutions as catalysts of climate policy coherence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36428/revistadacgu.v17i32.816Keywords:
policy coherence, climate change, climate governance, green budgeting, public auditingAbstract
This article discusses the role of public audit institutions as catalysts for coherence in climate policies in Brazil. It begins with the premise that the fragmentation of public policies, especially in federative contexts, undermines the effectiveness of climate action. In this context, the article argues that policy coherence — understood as the articulation between sectoral policies — is essential to address the challenges of climate governance. The analysis highlights the potential of public audit institutions, such as audit courts and comptroller general offices, to identify systemic inconsistencies across public policies, especially due to their cross-cutting mandate and evidence-based approach. The article also explores international tools and methodologies, such as green budgeting and climate budget tagging, which enable the tracking of public expenditures and revenues based on their environmental impacts. These instruments are presented as concrete means to enhance transparency, accountability, and the effectiveness of climate action in the public sector. The recent implementation of environmental tagging mechanisms in Brazil's federal budget is analyzed as a step forward, albeit with limitations — such as the lack of monitoring of indirect effects and the absence of differentiation between mitigation and adaptation expenditures. The article concludes that transforming policy coherence from a rhetorical ideal into institutional practice requires expanding the systemic role of public audit institutions, integrating fiscal tracking methodologies, and strengthening a culture of transparency and impact assessment.
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