Many countries are not on track to meet their committed targets to keep the global temperature rise to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030, as per the Paris Agreement. The Climate Change Performance Index 2024 (CCPI 2024) supplies data that ranks how sixty-three countries and the European Union – countries that “together account for over 90% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – are faring in their efforts to develop and implement mitigation solutions to climate change.”
The CCPI 2024 covers fourteen indicators of “climate protection performance” in four categories:
- Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
- Renewable energy
- Energy use
- Climate policy
Austria, Denmark, and New Zealand have set 100% renewable electricity targets by 2030. Estonia recently joined these countries in setting a new target of 100% after reaching their first target of 40% in 2022. These countries place high in the CCPI 2024 rankings overall.
Canada’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan targets a reduction in “emissions across the entire economy to reach [Canada’s] emissions reduction target of 40 to 45 percent below 2005 levels by 2030” to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. According to the CCPI 2024, Canada is rated low across the board, on climate policy, GHG emissions, renewable energy, and energy use, placing 62nd out of sixty-seven countries.
Given that “more than half of the CCPI ranking indicators are qualified in relative terms (better/worse) rather than absolute,” even the highest-ranking countries, must follow through on their commitments to protect against global temperature rise.
By Leela Viswanathan
(Image Credit: Andreas Gucklhorn, Unsplash)
