India was placed at the 20th rank among the 58 countries on the 2017 Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) improved by 5 places than the previous year.
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| Context: | India was placed at the 20th rank among the 58 countries on the 2017 Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) improved by 5 places than the previous year.The index was released by Germanwatch, an independent German NGO and Climate Action Network Europe.
German watch has been actively promoting global equity and the preservation of livelihoods since 1991. In doing so, we focus on the politics and economics of the North and their worldwide consequences.
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| What is CCPI? | The CCPI is an instrument designed to enhance transparency in international climate politics. It is list of countries doing the most to combat climate change. It aims to encourage social and political pressure on those countries which have, up until now, failed to take ambitious action on climate protection as well as to highlight countries with best practice climate policies. The index evaluates and compares the climate protection performance of 58 countries on the basis of standardised criteria. |
| What are the findings of the climate change performance Index 2017? | 1. Positive trends are seen as well among emerging economies of the G20 likeIndia (rank 20), Argentina (rank 36) and Brazil (40) which all improved their ranking in the CCPI 2017. India’s scores have improved slightly in terms of renewable and energy efficiency. The index underlines that countries like India are making “great efforts” in the fields of renewable and energy efficiency. It emphasized that developing countries should choose a “cleverer and cleaner” development path and not ape industrialised nations.
2. On the other hand, Canada (55), Australia (57) and Japan (60) are in the bottom group countries and have been rated very poor the list. 3. The first 3 ranks are left free because up to now no country is acting enough to prevent dangerous climate change. Denmark could have been the first country to enter the top 3, if it had not been for the recent turn around in climate policies. For the 5th time Denmark leads the CCPI ranking in 4th. 4. United Kingdom enhanced its placement in the CCPI from 6 to 5. Due to the high share of lignite in the energy supply, Germany’s emissions score did not improve in comparison to last year and the country ranks 22nd. Ongoing efforts of the United States on the national as well as the international level are reflected in this year’s score, which improved 12 places (rank 34). Despite the US still being the second largest CO2 emitter. 5. The 2015 Paris Agreement has helped in encouraging the trends in switching towards the renewable energy, but the revolution in switching is very slow at the global level. Many countries still lack in ambition in switching towards the renewable energy. World’s two largest emitters are USA and China were ranked 43rd and 48th respectively. |
| What are the reasons behind India’s improvement? | National experts value a shift of investments from coal to the renewable sector, including a massive expansion of solar energy. India plans to use non-fossil fuel sources for 40% of installed power capacity by 2030 and so improved its score in the policy ranking. The Index added that newly industrialized countries like India show good developments. |
| What is the method for ranking? | The index evaluates and compares the climate protection performance of 58 countries that are, together, responsible for more than 90% of global energy-related CO2 emissions. 80 % of the evaluation is based on objective indicators of emissions trend and emissions level. 20% of the index results are built upon national and international climate policy assessments by more than 200 experts from the respective countries.
Following are the indicators of Evaluation: 1. 30% for emissions levels and 30% for recent development of emissions; 2. 10% on energy efficiency (5% level of efficiency and 5% recent development in efficiency); 3. 10% on renewable energy (8% recent development and 2% share of total primary energy supply). 4. The remaining 20% of the CCPI evaluation is based on national and international climate policy assessments by more than 250 experts from the respective countries. |
| Way forward: | The conditions for a global energy revolution have never been better. Due to the falling costs of renewable energy and efficiency technologies, national governments have no more excuses not to enshrine the Paris Agreement into national law. Besides the vast development of renewable energy, we see positive signals that fossil fuels increasingly are put on the defence. So far, falling oil prices did not cause an increase in demand for the energy source while a growing number of countries are starting to turn their backs on coal.
The global transition to a low carbon economy is clearly undergoing and gaining speed. However, some countries are still performing badly and even going backwards. As we now move to the implementation phase of the Paris Agreement, all countries must translate its objectives into ambitious national policies and long-term decarbonisation plans. |
