Solar energy and other renewables are growing quickly around the world. But so far, no country is doing enough to meet global climate targets. – Image: Jens Büttner/dpa/picture alliance
Renewables are booming and emissions are easing, yet fossil-fuel states are holding back momentum on slowing global climate change. Who are the surprising leaders and laggers in the latest climate rankings?
A decade on from the Paris Climate Agreement, countries are making uneven-but-visible climate progress as per capita emissions edge downward, renewable energy surges, and more than 100 countries adopt net-zero targets, the latest Climate Change Performance Index has found.
But the report says momentum is still falling short of what’s needed to meet the Paris goal of holding global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F) — and ideally 1.5 C — above preindustrial levels.
To stay within those limits, the world must halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, rapidly phase out fossil fuels and substantially increase climate financing.
“Our index shows significantly more countries than before with good or even very good results in individual categories such as renewable energies,” said one of the report’s authors, Thea Uhlich, from the environmental NGO Germanwatch.
“However, we also see that the positive trends for renewable energies and electrification started too late for the major emitters — the G20 countries — to achieve the necessary emission reductions,” Uhlich said.
This year, the United States was rated very poorly in all categories, which include per capita emissions, expanding renewables, energy use and climate policy. Under President Donald Trump, the country slipped eight spots to down to 65th place on the overall ranking, which takes all four categories into account.
Uhlich called the decline “remarkable.” Only the petrostates Iran and Saudi Arabia ranked lower.
The ranking is compiled annually by Germanwatch, the NewClimate Institute policy think tank, and CAN International, a global network of civil society organizations. It evaluates 63 countries and the EU, which together account for over 90% of the global emissions causing planetary heating.
No country ranks ‘very high’
The first three places in the index remain empty again this year because no country fully aligns with the Paris targets. But there were some bright spots.
“While we cannot attest to any country having a very good climate mitigation performance overall, there are pioneers in some categories who are demonstrating ambitious performance,” said ranking author Niklas Höhne, of the Berlin-based NewClimate Institute.
Morocco is investing in public transport, including electric buses – Image: AFP/Getty Images
Pakistan, for example, is the only country to achieve a “very high” rating for per capita emissions, which represent the average emissions per person in a country. Morocco achieved a “high” rating for renewables, has low emissions and invests heavily in public transport, according to the ranking. Norway, Denmark and Sweden are the front-runners in green energy expansion.
In the overall ranking, 13 countries received a “high” rating. Denmark topped the list, followed by the UK, Morocco and Chile. Portugal came in 12th, and Pakistan placed 15th, followed by Romania, which was the last country on the list to achieve a “high” rating.
EU and Germany fall behind in climate ranking
The report rates 18 countries as “medium” performers. The EU countries achieved mixed results, and the bloc as a whole slipped three places to 20th on the overall ranking.
Germany placed 22nd — its worst rating in six years. The reasons for its poorer performance include backsliding on climate policy, a focus on natural gas, which emits greenhouse gases when burned, and a lack of measures to reduce pollution from transport and buildings. Germany only ranks “high” in terms of its energy use.
Germany’s government “must set a decisive course in the coming weeks to get back on track, ” said Jan Burck, a report author and senior adviser on low-carbon strategies at Germanwatch.
India also slid down the ranking to 23rd because of rising emissions and the lack of a phase-out plan for coal. Brazil improved slightly to 27th place, helped by gains in renewable energy and climate diplomacy and despite planned new oil projects in the Amazon.
Climate laggards and a trend reversal in China
Seventeen countries are rated “low” on the index and 16 “very low.” Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United States and Russia are all at the bottom of the table.
“We have a group of petrostates that want to continue the fossil age at all costs — Arab states, the USA, Russia, and to some extent Canada and Australia,” Burck said, adding that most G20 countries do not share that stance.
China also ranks “very low,” in 54th place, because of its expansion of polluting fossil fuels, particularly coal. At the same time, it is a pioneer in renewables and is charging ahead in electric mobility. In 2024, half of all cars sold in the country were electric.
Though emissions grew worldwide, early 2025 data suggests a slight drop in China’s CO2. A continuation of this trend “would be a hopeful sign for the future,” according to the report.
There were “clear signs that the peak of emissions in China could soon be reached,” Höhne said.
“It is now crucial that China not only continues to expand green technologies in record time, but also rapidly phases out fossil fuels,” he added.
China and Brazil, host of this year’s UN climate conference, both received a “high” rating in the climate policy category, which assesses national emissions policies and targets.
(DW.com/NAN 19-11-25)
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