India is among the top 10 countries in the world along with the United Kingdom and the European Union, ranked for its performance for climate mitigation according to the latest Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) released by Germanwatch. It is for the second consecutive time that India was able to remain among the top 10 countries.
According to the report, India has scored 63.98 points out of 100 and has received high ratings on all CCPI indicators except ‘renewable energy’, where it was categorised as having a ‘medium’ performance.
The Climate Change Performance Index has highlighted that no country was doing enough to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement. In fact, six of the G20 countries were ranked among very low performers. The United States, with a rank of 61, was the worst performer.
Performance in Renewable
The report has said that no countries of the world have rated high in renewable energy. Considering the fact that the energy sector is the top contributor to carbon emissions, it is very important to work towards the development and adoption of renewable energy.
India has been working consistently towards the adoption of renewable energy. In fact, the reason that the country was rated medium under the category in the report is because of the total share of renewable energy in the country. Development-wise, it has been rated high, based on the country’s performance in the last year.
India, through its improved policy framework, government support and initiative to collaborate with the global community for Solar Alliance has the potential to improve the country’s share of renewable energy in its total energy consumption. However, in order to achieve this, there is a need to focus on long-term planning. According to a Delhi-based non-profit, Centre for Science and Environment, renewable energy could be seen as a potential sustainable job-creating sector for the post-COVID recovery, since it had exhibited resilience and endurance during the disruption caused by the pandemic.
Performance on Green House Gases Emissions
The report has said that no country in the world was rated very high for its performance in the Green House Gases Emissions category. India’s per capita emissions were comparatively lower than other countries, despite showing one of the largest growth trends.
The report has clearly indicated that India is following the right path for climate mitigation and sustainability. The country has a great opportunity at the time to directly adopt climate-friendly technologies for its economic and social development, which is much easier than having to change the systems completely which many of the developed nations are struggling with.
