India climbs two spots to rank 8th in climate goals.

November 16, 2022

Indicating that India’s green measures like cutting on emissions and the increasing use of renewable energy are delivering results, a new study has noted that the developing nation climbed two spots to rank eighth out of 63 in the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2023.
India also earned a high rating in the GHG Emissions and Energy Use categories, while it got a medium rating in Climate Policy and Renewable Energy sections, as per the report prepared by three environmental non-governmental organisations that track climate performance of the European Union and 59 countries, which together account for over 92 per cent of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the world.
The rankings by German watch, New Climate Institute and the Climate Action Network are based on how well the countries are doing to halve their emissions by 2030 — an essential aspect to keep the 1.5-degree Celsius goal within reach and prevent dangerous climate change.
The CCPI, which has been published since 2005, aims to enhance transparency in international climate politics and it enables comparison of individual countries’ climate protection efforts and progress.
The report leaves the first three places empty as “no country performed well enough in all index categories to achieve an overall very high rating”. It puts Denmark in fourth place, followed by Sweden and Chile.
China, which is the world’s biggest polluter now, fell 13 places to 51st in this year’s CCPI and received an overall very-low rating due to plans for new coal-fired power plants.
The US rose by three ranks to the 52nd place. Iran (63rd), Saudi Arabia (62nd) and Kazakhstan (61st) fared the worst. The report said India is “on track” to meet its 2030 emissions targets, compatible with a well-below 2-degree-Celsius scenario.
Since the last CCPI, India has updated its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and announced a net-zero target for 2070. Net zero means achieving a balance between the greenhouse gases put into the atmosphere and those taken out.
The NDCs are national plans to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius in accordance with the Paris Agreement.
In August, India released its updated NDCs and now stands committed to reducing emissions intensity of its GDP by 45 per cent by 2030 from the 2005 level.
It aims to achieve about 50 per cent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030. These NDCs are, however, contingent on delivery of finance and technology transfer.
Despite India’s medium rating in the Renewable Energy category, the country has included renewable targets in its updated NDC.
The report noted that India is among the nine countries responsible for 90 per cent of global coal production and it also plans to increase its oil, gas, and oil production by over 5 per cent by 2030.
“This is incompatible with the 1.5 degree Celsius target,” the CCPI experts said.