Context:
Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2024 was released on the sidelines of the ongoing COP28 at Dubai. India ranked 7th in this year’s Climate Change Performance Index, up one spot from the previous one.
Relevance:
GS III: Environment and Ecology
Dimensions of the Article:
- India’s Climate Action: Fourth Strongest
- India-Specific Observations
- About Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI)
India’s Climate Action: Fourth Strongest
Germanwatch Annual Performance Index:
- India’s climate actions ranked fourth strongest in the annual performance index released by Germanwatch.
Top Performers:
- Denmark:
- Retained the top spot with a score of 75.59%, yet none of the top countries achieved a very high rating in recent years.
- Estonia and the Philippines:
- Occupied the second and third ranks with scores of 72.07 and 70.70, respectively.
- India:
- Followed closely in the fourth position with a score of 70.25%.
Worst Performers:
- Most Developed Countries:
- Countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, and others fared poorly compared to the previous year.
- Saudi Arabia:
- Ranked at the bottom of the performance index.
Global Climate Action Observations:
- Urgent Decarbonization:
- Despite the urgency to decarbonize all sectors, global greenhouse gases increased in 2022.
- CO2 Levels:
- Atmospheric CO2 is now 50% higher than pre-industrial levels.
- CCPI Goals:
- CCPI countries need an emissions peak by 2025 to achieve the 1.5°C goal.
- Emissions must be halved by 2030 (vs 2020) levels.
India-Specific Observations:
High Population Impact:
- India’s high population, leading to reduced per capita energy use, contributes significantly to its high position in climate performance.
Category Rankings:
- 9th in GHG Emissions.
- 10th in Energy Use.
- 10th in Climate Policy.
- 37th in Renewable Energy (within the ‘high’ performance category).
Progress Toward Benchmarks:
- On track to meet a benchmark of well below 2°C in per capita GHG emissions.
Concerns About Coal Use:
- India’s effort to meet its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) is impacted by a heavy reliance on coal, oil, and gas.
- Coal use is a major source of GHG emissions and contributes to severe air pollution, especially in urban areas.
Air Pollution Challenge:
- India remains among the most air-polluted countries globally.
About Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI):
- The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) was released and published by three environmental nongovernmental organizations viz. New Climate Institute, German-watch, and the Climate Action Network (CAN) International.
- It is an independent monitoring tool for tracking the climate protection performance of 57 countries and the European Union.
- These countries together generate 90%+ of global greenhouse gas emissions.
- Aim: It aims to enhance transparency in international climate politics and enables comparison of climate protection efforts and progress made by individual countries.
- CCPI looks at four categories with 14 indicators:
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions,
- Renewable Energy,
- Energy Use, and
- Climate Policy.
-Source: The Hindu
