Climate Change Performance Index

The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2021 published today paints a mixed picture of progress by the European Union (EU) on climate action. While the Scandinavian EU countries, Portugal and the EU as a whole rank high on the index with relatively good indicators, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic stand out as outliers on climate progress within the bloc. In the overall ranking, the EU has improved from the 22nd place last year to the 16th place this year, almost exclusively thanks to a much better rated climate policy. The CCPI analyzes and compares climate protection across 57 countries (plus EU as a whole) with the highest emissions, which together account for 90 percent of global emissions.

The Climate Change Performance Index compares 57 countries and the EU in the areas of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Renewable Energies, Energy Use and Climate Policy, thus providing a comprehensive overview of the current efforts and progress of the countries analyzed. Besides, it measures how well countries are on track to meet the global goals of the Paris Agreement by evaluating the current status and future targets of each category with reference to a well-below 2°C pathway. This brochure explains the background and methodology of the Climate Change Performance Index.

Published annually since 2005, the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) is an independent monitoring tool for tracking the climate protection performance of 57 countries and the EU. It aims to enhance transparency in international climate politics and enables comparison of climate protection efforts and progress made by individual countries.

This brochure explains the background and methodology of the Climate Change Performance Index. compares 57 countries and the EU in the areas of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Renewable Energies, Energy Use and Climate Policy, thus providing a comprehensive overview of the current efforts and progress of the countries analysed. Besides, it measures how well countries are on track to meet the global goals of the Paris Agreement by evaluating the current status and future targets of each category with reference to a well-below 2°C pathway.

The CCPI is an independent monitoring tool of countries' climate protection performance. It aims to enhance transparency in international climate politics and enables the comparability of climate protection efforts and progress made by individual countries. Based on standardised criteria, the index evaluates and compares the climate protection performance of 56 countries and the EU, which are together responsible for more than 90 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.