Earth:Climate Change Performance Index

The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) is an instrument designed by the Germany environmental and development organisation Germanwatch e.V. to enhance transparency in international climate politics. On the basis of standardised criteria, the index evaluates and compares the climate protection performance of 57 countries and the European Union (EU) (Status 2020), which are together responsible for more than 90% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Climate Change Performance Index was first published in 2005 and an updated version is presented at the UN Climate Change Conference annually. Germanwatch publishes the index in cooperation with the NewClimate Institute and Climate Action Network International and with financial support from Barthel Foundation.^[1] The most important results are available in German, English, French and Spanish.

Methodology

In 2017, the underlying methodology of the CCPI was revised and adapted to the new climate policy framework of the Paris Agreement from 2015. The CCPI was extended in order to include the measurement of a country’s progress towards the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the country’s 2030 targets. The national performances are assessed based on 14 indicators in the following four categories:

1. GHG emissions (weighting 40%)

2. Renewable energy (weighting 20%)

3. Energy use (weighting 20%)

4. Climate policy (weighting 20%)

The three categories “GHG emissions”, “Renewable energy” and “Energy use” are each defined by four equally weighted indicators: 1) current level, 2) recent developments (5-year trend), 3) 2°C compatibility of the current performance and 4) 2°C compatibility of 2030 target. These twelve indicators are complemented by two indicators, measuring the country's performance regarding its national climate policy framework and implementation as well as regarding international climate diplomacy in the category "Climate Policy". The data for the “Climate policy” category is assessed annually in a comprehensive research study. Its basis is the performance rating by climate change experts from non-governmental organisations, universities and think tanks within the countries that are evaluated. In a questionnaire, they give a rating on the most important measures of their governments. The results are rated as very high, high, medium, low or very low.^[2]

Results

The results illustrate the main regional differences in climate protection efforts and performance within the 57 evaluated countries and the EU. According to the CCPI, none of the countries has yet achieved a performance across all indicators that can be qualified as very high, because no country fulfills the requirements to limit global warming to well below 2°C, as agreed in the Paris Agreement. This is why the first three places in the final ranking remain unoccupied. In the index for 2020, Sweden led the ranking, followed by Denmark and Morocco. The last three ranks were taken by the United States , Saudi Arabia and Chinese Taipei.

2020 results

Rank	Country	Score
1	-	-
2	-	-
3	-	-
4	Sweden	75.77
5	Denmark	71.14
6	Morocco	70.63
7	United Kingdom	69.80
8	Lithuania	66.22
9	India	66.02
10	Finland	63.25
11	Chile	62.88
12	Norway	61.14
13	Luxembourg	60.91
14	Malta	60.60
15	Latvia	60.75
16	Switzerland	60.61
17	Ukraine	60.60
18	France	57.90
19	Egypt	57.53
20	Croatia	56.97
21	Brazil	55.82
22	European Union (28)	55.82
23	Germany	55.78
24	Romania	54.85
25	Portugal	54.10
26	Italy	53.92
27	Slovak Republic	52.69
28	Greece	52.59
29	Netherlands	50.89
30	China	48.16
31	Estonia	48.05
32	Mexico	47.01
33	Thailand	46.76
34	Spain	46.03
35	Belgium	45.73
36	South Africa	45.67
37	New Zealand	45.67
38	Austria	44.74
39	Indonesia	44.65
40	Belarus	44.18
41	Ireland	44.04
42	Argentina	43.77
43	Czech Republic	42.93
44	Slovenia	41.91
45	Cyprus	41.66
46	Algeria	41.45
47	Hungary	41.17
48	Turkey	40.76
49	Bulgaria	40.12
50	Poland	39.98
51	Japan	39.03
52	Russia	37.85
53	Malaysia	34.21
54	Kazakhstan	33.39
55	Canada	31.01
56	Australia	30.75
57	Iran	28.41
58	Korea	26.75
59	Chinese Taipei	23.33
60	Saudi Arabia	23.03
61	United States	18.60