Germany has fallen to 25th place in the climate action rankings in 2023 for the third consecutive year and now performs worse than Brazil, Colombia, and Romania. The country received a "medium" score in the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), its worst position since 2019, which assesses the efforts of 64 countries and the European Union to reduce global warming.
Progress of Other Countries in Climate Action
John Burke, the lead author of the CCPI, stated that several countries have made good progress in recent years. Denmark ranks at the top in all four assessed categories — energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy, and national climate policies. A total of 15 countries, including Lithuania, Chile, and Morocco, have received a "high" score, which is two more than last year.
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Status of Other Countries and Challenges
The European Union has also moved up one place in the rankings, while Hungary has risen 21 places following the downfall of Viktor Orbán's government. However, the top three positions in the CCPI remain unoccupied, and no country has yet achieved global climate targets. Burke pointed out an interesting contradiction, saying, "Progress in climate action is usually slow, and in some countries, like the United States, it even regresses. But in terms of technology and economics, a massive shift is happening."
The rapid development of renewable energy, the war in Iran, and a reduction in deforestation have contributed to a slight decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. Nicolas Hune, one of the CCPI authors, emphasized that governments must act now to ensure this momentum leads to sustainable reductions in emissions.
Germany's poor performance in national climate policy has been attributed to the current policies of Katrin Reich, the country's Minister of Economy. Burke stated that measures primarily focused on increasing the use of natural gas could threaten progress in the energy transition. A report from the European Commission on November 9 identified Germany as one of nine EU countries not on track to meet greenhouse gas reduction targets by 2030.
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