India rises two spots to 8th in climate change performance index

India has moved two spots to 8th rank in the climate change performance index 2023 (CCPI). In CCPI 2022, and CCPI 2021, the country stood in 10th position, while in CCPI 2020, the country stood in 9th position. 

With this, the country has received the ‘High’ performance rating, whereas for the climate policy and renewable energy category the country received the ‘Medium High’ rating. 

Notably, apart from India, only the United Kingdom, Mexico, Argentina, South Africa, Brazil, and Germany, have received the ‘High’ performance rating. While the UK has been ranked in the 11th position, Germany received the 16th position in the index. Meanwhile, China and the United States have received the 51st and 52nd rankings. Denmark and Sweden topped the index and received 4th and 5th position, respectively in the ranking.

“The country is among the high-performing countries in the index. India earns a high rating in the GHG Emissions and Energy Use categories, with a medium for Climate Policy and Renewable Energy. The country is on track to meet its 2030 emissions targets (compatible with a well-below[1]2°C scenario),” CCPI says.

However, the index says that the country is unable to meet its 2030 renewable energy targets. Since the last CCPI, India has updated its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and announced a net-zero target for 2070. The country has also included renewable targets in its updated NDC. But experts cite missing roadmaps and concrete action plans for achieving the targets. 

In order to achieve its renewable energy targets, the experts stress the importance of a just and inclusive energy transition, as well as the need for decentralised renewable energy and capacities for rooftop photovoltaics. A carbon pricing mechanism, the need for more capacities at the subnational level, and concrete action plans for achieving the targets are key demands. “India is among the nine countries responsible for 90% of global coal production. It also plans to increase its oil, gas, and oil production by over 5% by 2030. This is incompatible with the 1.5°C target,” the index says. 

India’s net-zero target

Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi at COP27 set 2070 as the year for meeting India's net-zero target. Moreover, in order to meet its carbon emission targets, the government on Monday launched the 121-page long-term low-emission development strategy, that will focus on the rational utilization of national resources with due regard to energy security. The strategy will also increase the use of biofuels, especially ethanol blending in petrol, the drive to increase electric vehicle penetration and the use of green hydrogen fuel for low carbon emission in the transport sector. 

“The transition to low carbon development pathway will entail several costs pertaining to the development of new technologies, new infrastructure, and other transaction costs. While several estimates exist, varying across studies, they all fall generally in the range of trillions of dollars by 2050. Provision of climate finance by developed countries will play a very significant role and needs to be considerably enhanced, in the form of grants and concessional loans, ensuring scale, scope and speed, predominantly from public sources, in accordance with the principles of the UNFCCC,” the government said in a statement. 

What is CCPI?

The CCPI is an independent monitoring tool that tracks the climate protection performance of 59 countries as well as the European Union countries. The CCPI aims to enhance transparency in international climate politics and enables comparison of climate protection efforts and progress made by individual countries. The climate protection performance of those countries, which together account for 92% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, is assessed in four categories: GHG Emissions, Renewable Energy, Energy Use and Climate Policy.