India has slipped five ranks down to 28th position on the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2027, released on Wednesday by prominent Germany-based environmental think tanks on the sidelines of the ongoing UN climate conference (COP31) and its leaders’ summit in Antalya, Turkiye.This is the third consecutive fall for India in the annual CCPI ranking. Significantly, the country was among the top 10 performers for six years in a row till 2024. India, which ranked 31st in 2014, entered the top 10 for the first time in 2019 and climbed as high as seventh rank, based on its high performance on the renewable energy front.
Energy use, GHG emissions led to India rank dip: Study authors
CCPI, compiled by Germanwatch and NewClimate Institute, uses a standardised framework to compare the climate performance of 64 countries and EU as a whole, which, put together, account for over 90% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The performance of countries is assessed in four categories: GHG emissions (40%), renewable energy (20%), energy use (20%) and climate policy (20%).
Changing trends
Responding to TOI’s question on the reason behind India’s fall in the rankings, the lead author of CCPI, Jan Burck, and co-author Madlen Peter said the country lost most ground in the energy use and GHG emissions categories. “India’s emissions and energy use per capita remain comparatively low, but both have risen in recent years. The CCPI rates both trends very low,” they said.The authors, however, appreciated India’s progress in expanding clean energy and recognised the challenge of meeting growing energy needs across the country. “The rapid expansion of solar and wind power is a positive development. India’s renewable energy trend is rated high, although renewables still account for a relatively small share of its overall energy supply.” The authors said India could use energy more efficiently, invest in grids and storage to make better use of renewable power and set a clear timetable for reducing coal use to improve its performance.Denmark (ranked 4th) again topped CCPI, followed by Lithuania and Luxembourg (at 5th and 6th, respectively), with the top three ranks remaining vacant, as in previous years, in the absence of a perfect score for any country.
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On the other hand, the world’s largest emitter, China, is ranked 56th, whereas others in the league, Russia (66th), the US (67th) and Iran (68th), are the three worst performers in the overall rankings, with the report noting that none of the 65 largest emitters are on a Paris Agreement-compatible pathway.Pakistan, at 26th position, is ranked above India. It’s primarily due to comparatively lower GHG emissions in a relatively much smaller economy. The report also said the UK continues to be the only G20 country among the high performers. It said 10 G20 countries received an overall ‘very low’ rating, including twin COP presidencies Turkiye (53rd) and Australia (54th), even though G20 bears special responsibility for climate mitigation, as its members account for over 75% of global GHG emissions.