The San Juan Daily Star 

By The Star Staff

Comptroller Yesmín Valdivieso Galib announced on Sunday that her office will conduct an evaluation of the government’s actions in the areas of governance, financing and public policies regarding climate change.

The assessments will be carried out during July to consolidate data into the Climate Scanner tool.

“With this project we join other audit institutions around the world to carry out independent evaluations,” the comptroller said in a written statement. “In this way we can obtain reliable information on financing, governance and public policies related to global warming and climate change in Puerto Rico.”

The project consists of collecting information on government initiatives regarding the allocation of public resources, formulation of public policy and the participation of different actors in governance. In addition, it will be possible to assess the level of commitment of governments to the commitments in the 1994 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

“We are in the execution part of this project, the conclusions of which will be presented at the end of 2024,” Valdivieso said. “We seek the cooperation of public and private entities to conclude this work, which will constitute a great contribution to knowledge and transparency of information, consistent with our constitutional mission.”

The Climate Scanner rapid review tool, designed to standardize analysis criteria that is used in each country, would provide accessible information, with clear language and visual resources. The project aims to assess governments’ climate actions, consolidate local data with global data, and substantiate possible future audits in specific areas. In addition, the project, which follows a standardized methodology, seeks to communicate the results of relevant information in the web application, share experiences and contribute to the global voice of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions.