Baku/New Delhi, 21 November (H.S.):

India slipped from 7th rank, a year ago, to 10th in the latest Climate Change Performance Index, but the country along with the UK (6th) are the only G20 nations on the high-performers list, showed an annual report released on the sidelines of COP29. India ranked 10th in the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2025, a

global assessment of over 60 countries’ efforts to combat climate change.

Despite dropping two spots compared to last year, the report highlighted

India’s low per capita emissions and rapid renewable energy deployment as key

strengths.

The report, released at the UN climate conference, emphasised

India’s relatively low per capita emissions at 2.9 tons of CO2 equivalent—far

below the global average of 6.6 tCO2e. India has made significant progress in

renewable energy, including large-scale solar projects and the Rooftop Solar

Scheme, and aims to achieve 500 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by

2030. “While India is the world’s most populous country, it has relatively

low per capita emissions and energy use,” the report stated.

The report underlined that though India has seen

considerable progress in renewable energy policy, particularly in large-scale

solar power projects and the launch of the Rooftop Solar Scheme, in the past

year, the country remains heavily reliant on coal, with the experts noting that

its phase-out is progressing too slowly. India is among the 10 countries with

the largest developed coal reserves, and is currently planning to even increase

its production.

The first three spots on the CCPI were left vacant as no country performed

well enough across all categories to earn a “very high” rating. Denmark leads

the rankings at fourth place, followed by the Netherlands and the UK. The

world’s largest emitters, China and the US, ranked 55th and 57th, respectively,

remaining among the poorest performers. The four lowest-ranked countries

were Iran (67th), Saudi Arabia (66th), the UAE (65th), and Russia (64th), all

major oil and gas producers. Their reliance on fossil fuels contributed to

their poor performance.

The CCPI assessed 63 countries and the EU, which together account for 90%

of global emissions. While India and the UK were the only G20 countries rated

as high performers, Argentina ranked 59th, with its newly elected president

denying human-made climate change. Denmark, the Netherlands, and the UK led the rankings due to their coal

phase-out policies and renewable energy commitments. In contrast, countries

like China and the US continue to struggle with coal dependency and

insufficient climate targets.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Nimish kumar