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The report was presented during COP28 in Dubai Climate Change Performance Index 2024 was presented by Germanwatch and the New Climate Institute in collaboration with Legambiente for Italy. The report takes into account the climate performance of 63 countries (plus the European Union as a whole) which are jointly responsible for more than 90% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Performance is measured through the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), taking as a benchmark the goals of the Paris Agreement and the commitments made until 2030. The CCPI examines 4 categories through 14 indicators: emission trends (40% of the total score), development of renewable energy (20%), energy efficiency (20%), and climate policy (20%).
Bad news for our country which losing 15 positions, moves from the middle of the table (29th position) to 44th position. Let’s see why and analyze the overall ranking.
Italy falls to the bottom of the ranking
The deterioration in Italy’s performance is sudden and significant. It took a year from 29th to 44th place ranking, it managed to fare worse than countries like India, Egypt, and Colombia. The result is even more disturbing when we consider that our country suffers from the negative consequences more than many others, given that it is defined as a hot spot of climate change.
This is a result achieved primarily for slowing down the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (37th place in a particular ranking) and for one national climate policy (58th place in a specific ranking) highly inadequate to deal with an emergency. Actual update National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC), allows emissions to be reduced by just 40.3% by 2030 compared to 1990. Another step back compared to the already insufficient 51% as projected by the PNRR, the National Plan for Recovery and Resilience.
Faced with this result, the national president of Legambiente Stefano Ciafani said:
We need a drastic change of direction. Italy can catch up with the current lag and reach the climate target of 65%, in line to stay below the fatal threshold of +1.5°C, thanks mainly to the contribution of energy efficiency and renewables. According to the Paris compatible scenario by Climate Analytics, our country can reduce its climate-changing emissions by at least 65% by 2030 with 63% renewables in the energy mix and 91% in the energy mix. And thus achieving 100% renewable sources in the electricity sector in 2035, confirming the exit from coal by 2025 and predicting the exit from fossil gas by 2035. In this way, it will be possible to achieve climate neutrality as early as 2040.
Overall ranking: first countries and countries in last places
As in previous years, the top three positions in the ranking were not awarded because none of the countries achieved the performance needed to address the climate emergency and keep global warming below the critical threshold of +1.5°C. fourth place is confirmed at the top of the ranking Denmark, mainly thanks to a significant reduction in climate-changing gas emissions and the development of renewable sources. They follow Estonia (5.) and the Philippines (6.) who are strengthening their climate action despite economic difficulties.
On the other hand, at the bottom of the ranking are countries that export and use fossil fuels: Canada (62°), Russia (63°), Emirates United Arab Emirates (65°), Iran (66°) e Saudi Arabia (67°). The United Arab Emirates, which recently hosted COP28, is one of the least-performing countries. Emirates’ performance disappointed in 3 out of 4 categories, notably high per capita emissions (25.9 tonnes) and low share of renewable energy (less than 1%).
The report found that some countries perform well in individual categories, but no country consistently achieves “high” or “very high”. This is true even in countries with relatively ambitious climate policies, such as Denmark, where climate action has almost ground to a halt since national elections in October 2022, threatening national emission reduction targets for 2025 and 2030. This is simply because the diameter is not sufficient for a path that allows not to exceed the safety threshold of +1.5 °C.
China and the US are still doing poorly, Brazil is on the rise
PUSH the largest contributor to global emissions, remains at 51st place The 2023 CCPI and the report’s editors say that despite major renewable development and improvements in energy efficiency, China’s emissions continue to rise due to heavy use of coal.
The United States of America instead of, the second global emitter is placed in 57th placewhich is a step back of five positions compared to the previous edition of the CCPI, a decline due to the still insufficient implementation of measures predicted by the CCPI. Inflation Reduction Act which sets aside significant financial support for climate action.
However, the country G20 improved significantly and became one of the best climbers in Brazil, which climbs 15 positions and reaches 23rd place. The change in the Brazilian presidency had, as expected, a positive impact. O.A. strives to become president of Lula Brazil’s more progressive climate policy, both at the international and national level. However, country experts warn that at the same time, Brazil is still expanding fossil fuel production and may fall short of its climate goals. The G20 as a whole must significantly accelerate the expansion of renewable energy sources and phase out all fossil fuels as soon as possible, with particular responsibility for high levels of climate ambition, as they account for around 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions.