Best Climate Performance: We’re Number 52
Since 2005, the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) has been grading the climate mitigation performances of sixty countries and the European Union. Germanwatch, NewClimate Institute, and the Climate Action Network developed this independent ranking, drawing on the advice of 450 climate and policy experts, measuring the performance of these countries, which emit some 92 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases. The CCPI considers four main factors: greenhouse gas emissions (40 percent of overall score), renewable energy (20 percent), energy use (20 percent), and climate policy (20 percent). The CCPI ranking board decided to leave the first three positions blank on the 2023 ranking, noting that no country had performed well enough to be considered in the highest ranking.
The United States ranked 52nd out of 60 countries. Why is the US so embarrassing low on this ranking? The CCPI recognized the targets and policies for climate action announced by the Biden administration, citing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, with its $21 billion on environmental projects, $7.5 billion for electric vehicles, and $65 billion for improving the power infrastructure and adjustments to renewable energy. It also acknowledges the Biden administration’s net-zero emissions target for 2050 and a 2030 goal of cutting 2005-level greenhouse gases by 50-52 percent. The impact of the Inflation Reduction Act, with its historic emphasis on climate change mitigation, is not factored into this analysis.
The CCPI report concludes that its country experts “welcome the US government’s new commitments. They note the obstructing role the Republican opposition plays in climate politics. However, the experts criticize that some policies lack a mandatory character, and implementation will not be quick enough. The main shortcoming described is that the US will not halt domestic fossil fuel extraction, and there are still fossil fuel subsidies in place.” But the US ranking on the CCPI listing has been worse: last time it was measured, in 2021, the United States sat at 55th place. With a new Trump presidential term, America’s place in the CCPI rankings will surely suffer.
Sources: Our World in Data,
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/co2-per-capita-vs-renewable-electricity?tab=table and Global Carbon Project, https://www.globalcarbonproject.org/. Rachel Hellman, “US Lags in Latest Climate Protection Rankings,” US News, February 28, 2022, https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2022-02-28/denmark-shines-u-s-lags-in-latest-climate-protection-rankings. Climate Change Performance Index 2023, https://ccpi.org/ranking/ (accessed October 14, 2023).
How Did They Do It? Carbon Pricing and Cap-and-Trade in the European Union.
How Did They Do It? Turning Carbon Dioxide into Stone in Iceland