Environment

Sweden emerges top in new climate action performance rankings

08 Dec, 2020

Scandinavian countries take the lead on the European Union’s climate action goals while the coal-reliant eastern member states lag behind.

This was confirmed by the annual Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) report published on Monday. It ranked the European Union collectively at 16th position -a slight improvement from its 22nd position last year.

The new index was compiled by environmental NGOs such as Climate Action Network (CAN) International, NGOs Germanwatch, and NewClimate Institute ( a think-tank that evaluates the climate performance of the 57 EU countries.

Also read: The Helheim glacier in Greenland is melting

The performance measures greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy, overall use of energy, and climate policy. The top three slots of the rank remain empty given no country is on track to offer a 1.5°C pathway. According to the report, were all countries to achieve the same emission performance as the frontrunners, it is not enough to reverse the adverse effects of climate change.

The European Union

The EU jumping 6 spots is attributed to the adoption of a new climate policy and the Green Deal aiming to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 while substantially increasing emission reduction targets over the next decade. Compared to other continents, the EU seems to be on track, despite the presence of a few outlier countries such as Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic.

Also read: Melting ice patch uncovers ancient hunting arrows

Short term action on climate change

A growing number of nations have pledged to reduce the rate of emission to zero in the coming 30 years. The report calls for greater short-term action to combat climate change in the short run. The findings were according to the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), tracking some of the world’s biggest polluters. The 57countries ranked makeup 90 percent of the global greenhouse emissions.