The United States - "a destructive player"

Since 2005 a group of climate advocacy organizations have published the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI).  The CCPI evaluates the comprehensive climate change activities and policies of 57 countries and the European Union and ranks their performance in four primary areas - “GHG Emissions” (40% of overall score), “Renewable Energy” (20% of overall score), “Energy Use” (20% of overall score) and “Climate Policy” (20% of overall score).  These 58 government entities are responsible for 90% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The Index is published by Germanwatch, the NewClimate Institute and the Climate Action Network. The CCPI’s unique climate policy section, evaluating countries’ national and international climate policy performance, is only possible through the continued support and contributions of around 350 climate and energy experts. We express our gratitude to these experts and greatly appreciate their time, efforts and knowledge in contributing to this publication. 

Each government entity receives a score and is ranked in these four areas and on an overall basis.  You can read the study here and see how each entity is scored, so I will just highlight the reports summary relative to the lowest scoring country in the overall index – the United States of America.  Yes, the world’s richest nation and largest economy is the worst nation in the index, a distinction driven in large part by the actions of the Trump presidency and the on-going efforts of the Republican Party. 

At international level, the performance completes the picture on national level, with the US acting as a destructive player in international negotiations on all levels. The very low performance is further underpinned by the Trump administration officially having started the process of withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, due to be finalised on 4 November 2020.

USA, USA, USA..... We win the race to the bottom.