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THE EUROPEAN UNION AND CLIMATE CHANGE: AN AUDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE

Year 2021, , 9 - 35, 01.10.2021
https://doi.org/10.52836/sayistay.1004744

Abstract

Combating climate change has become one of the most important policy areas at the national and international level in order to protect the world and ensure sustainability in social and economic life. With its communication on a European Green Deal of December 2019, the European Commission aimed to put the European Union (EU) at the forefront of the fight against climate change and make Europe the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050. As the supreme audit institution of the EU, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) has increased its role in parallel with the rising leadership of the EU in the fight against climate change. This article reviews the developments in the EU’s climate policy and introduces key aspects of the ECA’s responses to the relevant challenges through audit reports, taking into account the ECA’s future perspective. The aim of the research is to evaluate how the ECA responds to climate change related challenges in line with the EU’s strengthened policy in this area. ECA’s main contributions to the implementation of these climate change policies are promoting and disseminating best practices, facilitating institutional learning, and triggering a broader accountability through informing both the institutional and civil accountability actors in the EU. In parallel with the EU’s performance in this area, the ECA is expected to take more initiatives in the upcoming period and contribute to the achievement of a carbon-neutral Europe.

References

  • Aden, Hartmut (2015), The European Court of Auditors and Its Relationship with National Independent Audit Institutions: The Evolving Audit Function in the EU Multilevel System, The Palgrave Handbook of the European Administrative System (ed. M. W. Bauer and J. Trondal), Palgrave Macmillan UK, London, pp. 313–328.
  • Bovens, Mark; Deirdre Curtin and Paul T. Hart (2010), The Real World of EU Accountability: What Deficit?, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
  • Bovens, Mark and Anchrit Wille (2021), Indexing Watchdog Accountability Powers: A Framework for Assessing the Accountability Capacity of Independent Oversight Institutions, Regulation & Governance, 15: 856-876.
  • Brandsma, Gijs Jan; Eva Heidbreder and Ellen Mastenbroek (2016), Accountability in the post-Lisbon European Union, International Review of Administrative Sciences, 82 (4): 621–637.
  • Brenninkmeijer, Alex and Emma van Gelder (2017), The European Court of Auditors: The Guardian of EU Finances, Law Enforcement by EU Authorities: Implications for Political and Judicial Accountability (Ed. M. Scholten and M. Luchtman), Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 305-329.
  • Caliskan, A. Ozsozgun (2018), UN Global Compact and Code of Conduct: The Case of Turkey, in Regulations and Applications of Ethics in Business Practice, edited by Jing Bian, Kıymet Tunca Çalıyurt, Springer.
  • Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors (2020), Organisations’ Preparedness for Climate Change: An Internal Audit Perspective, Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors Climate Group.
  • DG DEVCO (2018), Environment and Climate Change Mainstreaming in EU Development Cooperation, The European Commission Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO), Brussels, September 2018.
  • European Commission (2019), The European Green Deal, European Commission, https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/european-green-deal-communication_en.pdf (Retrieved: 19.07.2021).
  • European Commission (2020), Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 (European Climate Law); COM/2020/80 final, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52020PC0080, (Retrieved: 19.07.2021).
  • European Commission (2020b), Communication from the Commission: A New Industrial Strategy for Europe; COM/2020/102 final. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/ qid=1593086905382&uri=CELEX:52020DC010, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1593086905382&uri=CELEX:52020DC0102.
  • European Commission (2020c), Communication from the Commission: A new Circular Economy Action Plan For a cleaner and more competitive Europe; COM/2020/98 final, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1583933814386&uri=COM:2020:98:FIN (Retrieved: 25.06.2021).
  • European Commission (2020d), Communication from the Commission: A Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system; COM/2020/381 final, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0381, (Retrieved: 25.06.2021).
  • European Commission (2020e), Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee of the Regions: A Renovation Wave for Europe - Greening Our Buildings, Creating Jobs, Improving Lives, COM(2020) 662 final, 14.10.2020.
  • European Commission (2020f), Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee of the Regions: Sustainable Europe Investment Plan, European Green Deal Investment Plan, COM/2020/21 final, 14.01.2020.
  • ECA (2017a), Review No 01/2017: EU action on energy and climate change (Landscape Review), Review No 01/2017: EU action on energy and climate change (Landscape Review) (europa.eu) (Retrieved: 12.05.2021).
  • ECA (2018a), Special Report No 25/2018: Floods Directive: Progress in Assessing Risks, While Planning and Implementation Need to Improve, https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=47211 (Retrieved: 18.06.2021).
  • ECA (2018b), Special Report No 33/2018: Combating Desertification in the EU: A Growing Threat in Need of More Action, https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=48393, (Retrieved: 18.06.2021).
  • ECA (2019a), Special Report No: 18/2019: EU greenhouse gas emissions: Well reported, but better insight needed into future reductions,https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=51834, (Retrieved: 18.06.2021).
  • ECA (2019b), Special Report No 08/2019: Wind and Solar Power for Electricity Generation: Significant Action Needed If EU Targets to Be Met, https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=50079, (Retrieved: 18.06.2021).
  • ECA (2019c), Opinion No 7/2018 Concerning Commission Proposals for Regulations Relating to the Common Agricultural Policy for the Post-2020 Period, Official Journal of the European Union, C 41, Vol. 62, https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/OP18_07/OP18_07_EN.pdf, (Retrieved: 14.07.2021).
  • ECA (2020a), Special Report No 18/2020: The EU’s Emissions Trading System: Free Allocation of Allowances Needed Better Targeting, https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=54392, (Retrieved: 18.06.2021).
  • ECA (2020b), Special Report No 11/2020: Energy Efficiency in Buildings: Greater Focus on Cost-effectiveness Still Needed, par. II., https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=53483, (Retrieved: 15.07.2021).
  • ECA (2020c), Special Report No 01/2020: EU Action on Ecodesign and Energy Labelling: Important Contribution to Greater Energy Efficiency Reduced by Significant Delays and Non-compliance, https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=52828, (Retrieved: 12.6.2021).
  • ECA (2020d), Review No 01/2020: Tracking Climate Spending in the EU Budget, https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=54194, (Retrieved: 17.07.2021).
  • ECA (2020e), Opinion No 5/2020 on the Commission’s 2020/0006 (COD) proposals of 14 January 2020 and of 28 May 2020 for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council Establishing the Just Transition Fund (COM(2020) 22 final and COM(2020) 460 final), Official Journal of the European Union, C 290/1, https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/OP20_05/OP20_05_EN.pdf, (Retrieved: 18.06.2021).
  • ECA (2021), The 2021-25 Strategy of the European Court of Auditors, https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/Strategy.aspx. (Retrieved: 17.06.2021).
  • EEA (2020), Trends and Projections in Europe 2020: Tracking Progress towards Europe’s Climate and Energy Targets, https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/trends-and-projections-in-europe-2020, (Retrieved: 17.07.2021).
  • Ganzleben, Catherine and Aleksandra Kazmierczak (2020), Leaving No One Behind – Understanding Environmental Inequality in Europe, Environmental Health, 19 (57): 1-7.
  • Grabe, Heather and Stefan Lehne (2019), Climate Politics in a Fragmented Europe, Carnegie Europe.
  • IIA (2021), Climate Change and Environmental Risk: Challenges and Tools for Internal Audit, The Institute of Internal Auditors, https://iia.no/product/climate-change-and-environmental-risk/ (Retrieved: 30.08.2021).
  • IPCC (2021), Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S.L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu, and B. Zhou (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press.
  • NCA (2021), How is the EU organised and what mechanisms exist for the democratic control and accountability of EU policy?, Netherlands Court of Audit, https://english. rekenkamer.nl/publications/frequently-asked-questions/european-union/how-is-the-eu-organised-and-what-mechanisms-exist-for-the-democratic-control-and-accountability-of-eu-policy, (Retrieved: 18.08.2021)
  • Oberthür, Sebastian and Claire Roche Kelly (2008), EU Leadership in International Climate Policy: Achievements and Challenges, The International Spectator, 43 (3): 35-50.
  • Saurer, Johannes (2009), The Accountability of Supranational Administration: The Case of European Union Agencies, American University International Law Review, 24 (3): 429-488.
  • Stephenson, Paul (2017), Reconciling Audit and Evaluation? The Shift to Performance and Effectiveness at the European Court of Auditors, European Journal of Risk Regulation, Vol. 6, No. 1 (2015), pp. 79-89
  • Şenol, Hasan and Hakan Özçelik (2012), Environmental Accounting in the Context of Sustainable Development and Within IFRS Evaluation, 3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo, pp. 81-89.
  • Wille, Anchrit and Mark Bovens (2020), Watching EU Watchdogs Assessing the Accountability Powers of the European Court of Auditors and the European Ombudsman, Journal of European Integration, DOI: 10.1080/07036337.2020.1852229

AVRUPA BİRLİĞİ VE İKLİM DEĞİŞİKLİĞİ: DENETÇİ PERSPEKTİFİ

Year 2021, , 9 - 35, 01.10.2021
https://doi.org/10.52836/sayistay.1004744

Abstract

İklim değişikliği ile mücadele, dünyanın korunması ve sosyal ve ekonomik yaşamın sürdürülebilir kılınması amacıyla ulusal ve uluslararası düzeyde en önemli politika alanlarından biri haline gelmiştir. Avrupa Komisyonu, 2019 tarihli Avrupa Yeşil Mutabakatı ile Avrupa Birliği’ni (AB) iklim değişikliği ile mücadelede ön saflara çıkarmayı ve 2050 yılına kadar Avrupa’yı dünyanın ilk iklim-nötr kıtası haline getirmeyi amaçlamıştır. AB’nin yüksek denetim kurumu olan Avrupa Sayıştayı (ECA) da AB’nin iklim değişikliğiyle mücadelede yükselen liderliğine paralel olarak daha fazla sorumluluk üstlenmiştir. Bu makale AB’nin iklim politikalarındaki gelişmeleri incelemekte; gelecekte perspektifini de dikkate alarak ECA’nın bu alandaki meydan okumalara verdiği yanıtları denetim raporları üzerinden temel boyutlarıyla ortaya koymaktadır. Araştırmanın amacı, AB’nin bu alandaki güçlendirilmiş politikası doğrultusunda ECA’nın iklim değişikliği sorununa denetim aracılığıyla nasıl çözüm üretmeye çalıştığını değerlendirmektir. ECA’nın iklim değişikliği ile mücadele politikalarının performansına temel katkıları, en iyi uygulamaları teşvik etmek ve yaymak, kurumsal öğrenmeyi kolaylaştırmak, yerel, ulusal ve AB düzeyinde hem resmi hem de sivil hesap verebilirlik aktörlerini bilgilendirerek daha geniş bir hesap verebilirliği tetiklemektir. AB’nin bu alandaki performansına paralel olarak ECA’nın da önümüzdeki dönemde daha fazla inisiyatif üstlenerek, karbonsuz bir Avrupa idealine ulaşılmasına katkı sunması beklenmektedir.

References

  • Aden, Hartmut (2015), The European Court of Auditors and Its Relationship with National Independent Audit Institutions: The Evolving Audit Function in the EU Multilevel System, The Palgrave Handbook of the European Administrative System (ed. M. W. Bauer and J. Trondal), Palgrave Macmillan UK, London, pp. 313–328.
  • Bovens, Mark; Deirdre Curtin and Paul T. Hart (2010), The Real World of EU Accountability: What Deficit?, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
  • Bovens, Mark and Anchrit Wille (2021), Indexing Watchdog Accountability Powers: A Framework for Assessing the Accountability Capacity of Independent Oversight Institutions, Regulation & Governance, 15: 856-876.
  • Brandsma, Gijs Jan; Eva Heidbreder and Ellen Mastenbroek (2016), Accountability in the post-Lisbon European Union, International Review of Administrative Sciences, 82 (4): 621–637.
  • Brenninkmeijer, Alex and Emma van Gelder (2017), The European Court of Auditors: The Guardian of EU Finances, Law Enforcement by EU Authorities: Implications for Political and Judicial Accountability (Ed. M. Scholten and M. Luchtman), Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 305-329.
  • Caliskan, A. Ozsozgun (2018), UN Global Compact and Code of Conduct: The Case of Turkey, in Regulations and Applications of Ethics in Business Practice, edited by Jing Bian, Kıymet Tunca Çalıyurt, Springer.
  • Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors (2020), Organisations’ Preparedness for Climate Change: An Internal Audit Perspective, Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors Climate Group.
  • DG DEVCO (2018), Environment and Climate Change Mainstreaming in EU Development Cooperation, The European Commission Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO), Brussels, September 2018.
  • European Commission (2019), The European Green Deal, European Commission, https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/european-green-deal-communication_en.pdf (Retrieved: 19.07.2021).
  • European Commission (2020), Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 (European Climate Law); COM/2020/80 final, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52020PC0080, (Retrieved: 19.07.2021).
  • European Commission (2020b), Communication from the Commission: A New Industrial Strategy for Europe; COM/2020/102 final. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/ qid=1593086905382&uri=CELEX:52020DC010, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1593086905382&uri=CELEX:52020DC0102.
  • European Commission (2020c), Communication from the Commission: A new Circular Economy Action Plan For a cleaner and more competitive Europe; COM/2020/98 final, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1583933814386&uri=COM:2020:98:FIN (Retrieved: 25.06.2021).
  • European Commission (2020d), Communication from the Commission: A Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system; COM/2020/381 final, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0381, (Retrieved: 25.06.2021).
  • European Commission (2020e), Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee of the Regions: A Renovation Wave for Europe - Greening Our Buildings, Creating Jobs, Improving Lives, COM(2020) 662 final, 14.10.2020.
  • European Commission (2020f), Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee of the Regions: Sustainable Europe Investment Plan, European Green Deal Investment Plan, COM/2020/21 final, 14.01.2020.
  • ECA (2017a), Review No 01/2017: EU action on energy and climate change (Landscape Review), Review No 01/2017: EU action on energy and climate change (Landscape Review) (europa.eu) (Retrieved: 12.05.2021).
  • ECA (2018a), Special Report No 25/2018: Floods Directive: Progress in Assessing Risks, While Planning and Implementation Need to Improve, https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=47211 (Retrieved: 18.06.2021).
  • ECA (2018b), Special Report No 33/2018: Combating Desertification in the EU: A Growing Threat in Need of More Action, https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=48393, (Retrieved: 18.06.2021).
  • ECA (2019a), Special Report No: 18/2019: EU greenhouse gas emissions: Well reported, but better insight needed into future reductions,https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=51834, (Retrieved: 18.06.2021).
  • ECA (2019b), Special Report No 08/2019: Wind and Solar Power for Electricity Generation: Significant Action Needed If EU Targets to Be Met, https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=50079, (Retrieved: 18.06.2021).
  • ECA (2019c), Opinion No 7/2018 Concerning Commission Proposals for Regulations Relating to the Common Agricultural Policy for the Post-2020 Period, Official Journal of the European Union, C 41, Vol. 62, https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/OP18_07/OP18_07_EN.pdf, (Retrieved: 14.07.2021).
  • ECA (2020a), Special Report No 18/2020: The EU’s Emissions Trading System: Free Allocation of Allowances Needed Better Targeting, https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=54392, (Retrieved: 18.06.2021).
  • ECA (2020b), Special Report No 11/2020: Energy Efficiency in Buildings: Greater Focus on Cost-effectiveness Still Needed, par. II., https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=53483, (Retrieved: 15.07.2021).
  • ECA (2020c), Special Report No 01/2020: EU Action on Ecodesign and Energy Labelling: Important Contribution to Greater Energy Efficiency Reduced by Significant Delays and Non-compliance, https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=52828, (Retrieved: 12.6.2021).
  • ECA (2020d), Review No 01/2020: Tracking Climate Spending in the EU Budget, https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=54194, (Retrieved: 17.07.2021).
  • ECA (2020e), Opinion No 5/2020 on the Commission’s 2020/0006 (COD) proposals of 14 January 2020 and of 28 May 2020 for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council Establishing the Just Transition Fund (COM(2020) 22 final and COM(2020) 460 final), Official Journal of the European Union, C 290/1, https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/OP20_05/OP20_05_EN.pdf, (Retrieved: 18.06.2021).
  • ECA (2021), The 2021-25 Strategy of the European Court of Auditors, https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/Strategy.aspx. (Retrieved: 17.06.2021).
  • EEA (2020), Trends and Projections in Europe 2020: Tracking Progress towards Europe’s Climate and Energy Targets, https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/trends-and-projections-in-europe-2020, (Retrieved: 17.07.2021).
  • Ganzleben, Catherine and Aleksandra Kazmierczak (2020), Leaving No One Behind – Understanding Environmental Inequality in Europe, Environmental Health, 19 (57): 1-7.
  • Grabe, Heather and Stefan Lehne (2019), Climate Politics in a Fragmented Europe, Carnegie Europe.
  • IIA (2021), Climate Change and Environmental Risk: Challenges and Tools for Internal Audit, The Institute of Internal Auditors, https://iia.no/product/climate-change-and-environmental-risk/ (Retrieved: 30.08.2021).
  • IPCC (2021), Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S.L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu, and B. Zhou (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press.
  • NCA (2021), How is the EU organised and what mechanisms exist for the democratic control and accountability of EU policy?, Netherlands Court of Audit, https://english. rekenkamer.nl/publications/frequently-asked-questions/european-union/how-is-the-eu-organised-and-what-mechanisms-exist-for-the-democratic-control-and-accountability-of-eu-policy, (Retrieved: 18.08.2021)
  • Oberthür, Sebastian and Claire Roche Kelly (2008), EU Leadership in International Climate Policy: Achievements and Challenges, The International Spectator, 43 (3): 35-50.
  • Saurer, Johannes (2009), The Accountability of Supranational Administration: The Case of European Union Agencies, American University International Law Review, 24 (3): 429-488.
  • Stephenson, Paul (2017), Reconciling Audit and Evaluation? The Shift to Performance and Effectiveness at the European Court of Auditors, European Journal of Risk Regulation, Vol. 6, No. 1 (2015), pp. 79-89
  • Şenol, Hasan and Hakan Özçelik (2012), Environmental Accounting in the Context of Sustainable Development and Within IFRS Evaluation, 3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo, pp. 81-89.
  • Wille, Anchrit and Mark Bovens (2020), Watching EU Watchdogs Assessing the Accountability Powers of the European Court of Auditors and the European Ombudsman, Journal of European Integration, DOI: 10.1080/07036337.2020.1852229
There are 38 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Political Science
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Nikolaos Mılıonıs This is me 0000-0002-2515-2559

Hacı Ömer Köse 0000-0003-3528-8596

Matteo Tartaggıa This is me 0000-0002-3044-7300

Publication Date October 1, 2021
Published in Issue Year 2021

Cite

APA Mılıonıs, N., Köse, H. Ö., & Tartaggıa, M. (2021). THE EUROPEAN UNION AND CLIMATE CHANGE: AN AUDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE. Sayıştay Dergisi, 32(122), 9-35. https://doi.org/10.52836/sayistay.1004744