CLIMATE CHANGE PERFORMANCE INDEX (2014)
Based on GermanWatch.org and Climate Action Network (CAN)
The EU has given up the leading role in the UNFCCC process as well as its position as a frontrunner in the implementation of ambitious climate protection on the national level. So far, the EU has not yet developed a concept to use the fight against the economic crisis as an opportunity to invest in the rail and grid infrastructure, in energy efficiency programmes (for example, in the housing sector) and renewable energies. Some countries have been blocking any meaningful process, most noticeably Poland.
The CCPI 2014 results illustrate the main regional differences in climate protection performance within 58 countries across the world. Whereas in the recent discussion, several climate experts see the EU losing its leading role regarding climate protection, this year’s ranking still features 10 EU Member States on top of the list, led by Denmark, the UK and Portugal. Germany for the first time dropped out of the top ten and find itself in the category “moderate” together with other European states, such as Italy and Spain. Within the group of “poor” performers, there are some interesting developments. For the first time Poland managed to discard the label “very poor”–nevertheless the country still has way to go before qualifying for the next upgrade. In 2014 , the Netherlands reached the threshold, and almost managed to climb up to the “moderate” group, what may well happen in 2015, if changes in its policy prove to be effective.
EU Countries Climate Change Performance
Group 1: Very Good Performance
- Denmark
- United Kingdom
- Portugal
- Sweden
- Malta
- France
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Belgium
Group 2: Moderate Performance
- Romania
- Slovak Republic
- Italy
- Germany
- Lithuania
- Spain
- Luxembourg
- Slovenia
- Latvia
- Cyprus
- Austria
Group 3- Poor Performance
- Netherlands
- Finland
- Bulgaria
- Czech Republic
- Croatia
- Poland
Group 4. Very Poor Performance
- Greece
- Estonia
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