19-Dec-2022: Climate Change Performance Index

The Climate Change Performance Index 2023 report was released recently and India secured 8th position in the index which is 2 positions up from the last edition. Since no country was strong enough in all index categories to achieve an overall very high rating, thus the top three places i.e. 1-3 are vacant. Thereafter India is amongst the top 5 countries. With India (8th), the United Kingdom (11th), and Germany (16th), only three G20 countries are among the high performers in CCPI 2023.Thus India’s rank is the best amongst the G 20 countries.

The rating of India in various components of CCPI  is as follows-

The government has recently updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) submitted by India to UNFCCC under the Paris Agreement. These include targets to reduce the Emissions intensity of its GDP by 45 percent by 2030, from 2005 level; to achieve about 50 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030, with the help of transfer of technology and low-cost international finance including from Green Climate Fund (GCF); and create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030. Furthermore, India has also submitted its Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), during the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27).

Government has also launched a flagship programme Perform, Achieve and Trade with an aim to reduce Specific Energy Consumption (SEC) i.e. energy use per unit of production for Designated Consumers (DCs) in energy intensive sectors. Further, the Ujala scheme launched by the Government  has led to   the distribution of 36.86 crore LED bulbs resulting in energy saving of 47,876 million kWh of electricity per annum, peak demand reduction of 9,585 MW and 38.77 million tonnes of CO2 emission reduction annually as of 30th June 2022.Additionally, Government has declared the  trajectory for Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) up to the year 2030 and is promoting Electric Vehicles and creation of charging infrastructure in the country.

Eco-clubs have been formed in schools and colleges to educate students and to spread awareness on environmental issues. Activities undertaken by Eco-clubs include plantation drives, cleanliness drives, green pledges, etc. Resource Centres under EIACP (Environment Information, Awareness and Capacity Building) are also leveraged to spread awareness about environment. The Ministry also organized 3rd International Day of Clean Air for blue skies as ‘Swachh Vayu Diwas (“Swachh Vayu Neel Gagan”)’ to raise awareness and facilitate actions to improve air quality under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). Further, a Sensitization cum Review Workshop under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) was also organized.

10-Dec-2019: Majority of countries show decline in emissions: Climate Change Performance Index

The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) presented at the climate summit in Madrid reflects opposing trends in global climate action: Australia, Saudi Arabia and especially the USA give cause for great concern with their low to very low performance in emissions and renewable energy development as well as climate policy. With these three governments massively influenced by the coal and oil lobby, there are hardly any signs of serious climate policy in sight. On the other hand, global coal consumption is falling and the boom in renewable energy continues. In 31 of the 57 high emitting countries assessed, collectively responsible for 90 percent of emissions, falling emission trends are recorded.

The new Climate Change Performance Index shows signs of a global turnaround in emissions, including declining coal consumption. However, several large countries are still trying to resist this trend – above all the USA. We see opportunities for a halt to rising global emissions – but much will depend on further developments in China and the elections in the USA.

As none of the countries assessed is already on a path compatible with the Paris climate targets, the first three places of the ranking remain unoccupied. While some EU countries such as Sweden (4th) – again the frontrunner – and Denmark (5th), one of the best climbers, achieve overall high or very high ratings, the performance of EU countries varies largely: Eight EU countries are rated high, eight low and two very low. Bulgaria (49th) and Poland (50th) are the worst performing EU countries, both with a very low policy rating and Poland with low to very low results on renewable energy. The worst EU performer of last year, Ireland, has improved its position in the ranking by seven places (41st). The European Union as a whole ranks 22nd, Germany 23rd (both “medium”). The EU has lost a few ranks but could move up again if it were to follow the recommendation by the new president of the European Commission to increase the emission reduction target from -40% to -55% by 2030 compared to 1990 and adopt a long-term strategy for reaching climate neutrality by 2050.

China, the largest global emitter, once again slightly improves its ranking to 30th place (“medium”). China scores with a very good performance for its increased share of renewables in the energy mix over recent years and relatively good policy ratings, but the poor performance in emissions and energy efficiency still weighs heavily. If China implements its extensive plans for new coal-fired power plants, there is a risk of a severe relapse to the bottom of the ranking.

Only two G20 countries in the leading field of the ranking – eight at the very bottom: While only two G20 countries, the UK (7th) and India (9th), are ranked in the “high” category, eight G20 countries are remaining in the worst category of the index (“very low”). Australia (56th out of 61), Saudi Arabia and above all the USA perform particularly poor – the USA is the worst performer for the first time. Under the Trump administration, the USA is rated “low” or “very low” in almost all categories; in the category climate policy only Australia performed worse, which received 0 out of 100 possible points based on the assessment of climate experts in the country. This science based assessment shows again that in particular the large climate polluters do hardly anything for the transformational shift we need to deep emissions reductions to curtail the run to potentially irreversible climate change. If necessary and strongly enhanced climate finance and loss and damage support by the wealthy nations for the poorer countries were to be included also the various higher ranking European countries would be performing much lower in the scores.

India, at rank 9, joins the top ten countries. Despite high ratings for the performance of its climate policy, the government is yet to draw up a roadmap to reduce subsidies on fossil fuels in a phased manner. In short, more stringent laws and amendments should be made to achieve climate change targets.

11-Dec-2018: India improves in CCPI; moves to Rank 11

India moves to rank 11 in the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) this year, improving its position by three places compared to the previous edition. Comparatively low levels of per capita greenhouse gas emissions and a relatively ambitious mitigation target for 2030 gave India an overall high rating in the emissions category.

The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2019, published by GermanWatch and the New Climate Institute along with the Climate Action Network (CAN), was released at the UN Climate Conference COP24 in Katowice.

The report hailed India’s performance in the renewable energy category, but it warned against the country’s plans to build new coal-fired power plants. Experts are of the opinion that the move may pose a risk of offsetting positive developments in the renewable energy sector.

In 40 of the 56 analysed countries, the emissions decreased between 2011 and 2016.

India becomes one of the global leaders in climate action. India has set an ambitious goal of generating 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022. Besides, the country has taken up various initiatives on smart cities, electric vehicles, energy efficiency programs and others, making it one of the global leaders in climate action.

India stands 4th globally in wind power, 6th in solar power installed capacity, and overall 5th in renewable power.

Top three ranks of the CCPI 2019 remains unoccupied.

Sweden leads the performance index securing Rank 4 with good ratings in emissions and renewables, followed by Morocco that has significantly increased its share of renewable energy capacity coupled with an ambitious national climate target.

However, the top three ranks of the CCPI 2019 remains unoccupied as none of the 56 countries or the EU are clearly on a well below 2-degree pathway in their overall performance.

China climbed to rank 33, entering the group of medium-performing countries for the first time. As per the report, China performed relatively well regarding its emissions trend from 2014 to 2016, but emissions started to increase again recently.

Global emissions rising. Despite three consecutive years of stable CO2 emissions, the CCPI 2019 warned that the global emissions are rising again. The report cited lack of political will of most governments to phase out fossil fuels with the necessary speed as the reason behind the rising global emissions.

While the G20 summit has shown strong support of 19 countries to support the Paris Agreement, the political will of those governments to set the right frameworks and incentives for its national implementation is not yet reflected in these words.

The report further revealed that only a few countries have started to implement strategies to limit global warming below 2 or even 1.5 degree Celsius.

G20 countries among very low performers: Almost half of the G20 countries were ranked in the group of very low performers. According to the report, Japan stood at Rank 49, Turkey (50), Russian Federation (52), Canada (54), Australia (55), Korea (57), and at the bottom of the index were USA (59) and Saudi Arabia (60).

The USA’s ranking dropped due to its low to very low-rated performance in the GHG Emissions, Renewable Energy and Energy use.

About CCPI:

Published annually since 2005, the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) tracks countries’ efforts to combat climate change. As an independent monitoring tool it aims to enhance transparency in international climate politics and enables comparison of climate protection efforts and progress made by individual countries.

The implementation phase of the Paris Agreement enters a crucial phase in the end of 2020, where countries are due to submit their updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). In light of this, the CCPI aims to inform the process of raising climate ambition. As a long-standing and reliable tool for identifying leaders and laggards in climate protection, the CCPI can be a powerful instrument to hold governments accountable for their responsibility to act on the climate crisis and of stimulating a race to the top in climate action.

Germanwatch, the New Climate Institute and the Climate Action Network publish the index annually.