No country achieves an outstanding score in its commitment against climate change

This is the main conclusion of the 2023 Climate Change Performance Index, prepared annually by the NGOs GermanWatch and Climate Action Network Europe, of which SEO/BirdLife is a part, and which places Spain in 23rd place of the 60 countries analyzed, which together account for 92% of the emissions responsible for global warming. Our country climbs 11 places with respect to the previous index, due to the push that the Law on Climate Change and Ecological Transition has meant

No country scores enough for its performance to be considered very high, which leaves deserted – one more year – the first three positions of the list. The country with the best score, a remarkable high, is Denmark. Russia is named “losing country” of the year due to the impact of the Ukrainian War and its reduced use of renewables, around 3%. Chile is named winner, for its good performance since its inclusion in the list and its regulatory push last year.

The index draws the attention of the G20 countries, responsible for 75% of emissions, for its poor performance: 12 countries in the group score low. The EU, which is analyzed as a whole, rises three places to 20th. Latvia climbs 23 positions, followed by Spain, which climbs 11 to position 23. France drops 11 points and Poland and Hungary are the worst performing member states.

In Spain, the push in climate action that the climate change law has meant is welcomed and, as duties, the abandonment of fossil fuel subsidies and increase the participation of citizens in renewable development are fixed.

This ranking, which celebrates its 18th edition, is prepared annually by the NGOs GermanWatch and Climate Action Network Europe, of which SEO/BirdLife is an active part, based on evaluations carried out by experts from each country. In the case of Spain, the GCTFNN. It has been presented at the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, COP27, which has already entered its final phase of negotiation.

The index analyzes four indicators: greenhouse gas emissions per capita, energy consumption, trend of implementation of renewables and national climate policies. According to the analysis, none of the countries has been strong enough in all categories to obtain a very high overall rating. Denmark remains at a remarkable high, close to 79.61 out of 100, followed by Norway, with 73.28 out of 100. Spain obtains a 58.59 out of 100 as a global calculation. It ranks 17th out of 62 in terms of climate policy, 20th in relation to emissions, 21st in terms of energy use and 30th in terms of renewables.

China, Japan, the United States, Hungary, Poland, Australia, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Canada, Russia, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia and Iran are all in the red zone of “climate despair”, ranking below 50 on the list. This list of failures includes nine of the 16 largest fossil fuel producers, which collectively extract about 70% of all fossil fuels globally. All of them, except Canada, have low or very low renewable energy shares.

Loser Russia, Chile winner of the year

Chile has been named “champion” of the 2023 list. Since its inclusion in the index in 2020, it has held high positions mainly due to its low level of per capita emissions. This year it has climbed three places thanks to its legislative push, pledging to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Russia, on the opposite side, has been named “loser” due to its poor performance in the index, its low penetration of renewables – barely 3% – and, especially, because of the effect of the war in Ukraine, which is boosting the use of fossil fuels on a global scale.

The duties of the G20 and the EU

The index sends a generalized message to the G20, meeting these days in Bali (Indonesia) and which brings together 75% of the world’s gas emissions. With India (8th), the United Kingdom (11th) and Germany (16th), only three G20 countries are among the best performers in the 2023 index. Twelve G20 countries receive a low or very low overall score. Canada, Russia, South Korea and Saudi Arabia have the worst results.

With regard to the European Union, which is part of the G20, the push in the Community ambition allows the Union to climb three places to position 19, on the verge of obtaining a high classification. Nine EU countries are among the high and medium results, including Spain, which gets the second best climb of an EU country, only preceded by Estonia, which manages to climb 23 places. France, on the other hand, drops 11 places to 28th, mainly due to its worse position in the Climate Policy category compared to the previous year. Hungary (53rd) and Poland (54th) are the worst performing EU members.

Analysts welcome the push in European climate ambition, but remember that their commitments are not aligned with what is needed to keep global warming below 1.5ºC, the limit to maintain relative climate stability. They argue that zero emissions must be brought forward to 2040 in the EU and stress that the express energy diversification caused by the war in Ukraine, which has led EU countries to look for fossil fuels in Africa and the development of infrastructure in this regard, cannot undermine the path of decarbonisation that had been undertaken.

A long road, and little time

Since 2000, GHG emissions worldwide have grown by more than 40%. After a decline in 2020 due to the pandemic, 2021 saw a rebound. Per capita emissions have evolved relatively evenly over the past 20 years, mainly due to population growth, which has just passed the threshold of 8 billion people. Countries such as the US (16.6 t per capita) and Canada (17.9 t per capita) are among the countries with the highest per capita emissions, while India (2.2 t per capita) and the Philippines (2.3 t per capita) are substantially lower.

The case of Spain

Spain recorded 4.9 t per capita in 2021. The growth of renewables has increased steadily since 2000, which is a good sign. However, simultaneously, energy supply is also increasing, leading to the current share of renewables in energy supply being barely 17%. Of all the indicators, the GHG by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the only one that decreases continuously. This means a decoupling between energy generation and the country’s economic wealth, meaning that less energy is needed to generate wealth. However, it is not enough. In order for a path favorable to decarbonization to be endorsed, it is also necessary that this energy emits less and, finally, nothing. Unfortunately, this trend is flat and does not register a decrease.

“The index data is clear: to keep 1.5°C within reach and avoid dangerous climate change, the world must halve its emissions by 2030. Only if we use much less energy and more renewable sources is it possible to achieve this goal. The approval of a roadmap, underpinned by the national climate change law, has allowed Spain to improve its position in the index, but it also makes clear what are the keys that we have to activate: more renewables, more savings and efficiency, and policies that cut emissions in other key sectors such as transport, industry or agricultural production. It is therefore time to quickly implement what has been agreed and raise the ambition as soon as possible, in the revision of objectives in 2023-2024, “says the Head of Climate of SEO / BirdLife, David Howell, who is part of the negotiations as a member of the delegations of BirdLife International and CAN Europe.

According to Howell, all this must be undertaken avoiding critical impacts on biodiversity because “we cannot forget that 37% of our climate objectives are achieved by conserving and restoring natural spaces”.

The connection between climate change and nature is, in fact, one of the issues that can be reinforced from COP27, which has in its hands to launch a message to its sister COP, that of biodiversity, which starts in a few days in Canada. “For our health and for the climate, it is time to reach a global agreement, in the style of the Paris Agreement, to stop the loss of biodiversity and start gaining nature. This message must be made clear in the final resolution of the Egypt summit. At the moment, we do not see this push in the draft texts that are being negotiated,” he concludes.

Source: Diario 16