GHG Emissions – A strong COVID-19 rebound effect is seen for GHG emissions

Key developments:

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a sharp, globally unrepresented 5.4% drop in CO₂ emissions. A strong rebound effect of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has, however, been expected for 2021. The International Energy Agency estimated, for the period of January–July 2021, CO₂ emissions would rise 4.8%. CO₂ emissions in 2021 will in fact near the record high from 2019 (UNEP and IEA).[1] [2] For a 1.5°C world, it would have been necessary for emissions to fall at their 2020 rate.

Nevertheless, the CCPI 2022 results for GHG Emissions still do not reflect the pandemic’s influence; as mentioned, comparable data are only available up to 2019.

Key results: 

• Among the newly included countries in this year’s CCPI, only the Philippines performs high in this category; Colombia rates medium, and due to a very low rating in the current trend indicator, Viet Nam receives a low.

G20-performance:

•  Still, no country rates very high in the GHG Emissions category, but with the United Kingdom, Mexico, India, and Germany, two more G20 countries than in last year’s edition receive an overall high rating.
• Seven G20 countries receive a very low rating for their performance, including the Russian Federation, Australia, the United States, and Canada. All other G20 countries generally are equally divided into medium and low ratings.
•  Like last year, Saudi Arabia remains the worst-performing G20 country in this category

EU performance: 

•  As it did last year, the EU rates medium for its overall performance and in all indicators in the GHG Emissions category.
•  The best performing EU country is Sweden at 2nd, though Malta, Denmark, and Germany are rated high in this category.
•  Among the EU countries that received a very low for their performance are Czech Republic, Poland, Ireland, and Slovenia.

[1] UNEP (2021) ‘Emissions Gap Report 2021: The Heat Is On – A World of Climate Promises Not Yet Delivered’. Available at: https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2021.

[2] IEA (2021) ‘Global Energy Review 2021’. Available at: https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-2021.

Renewable Energy – Renewable energy is expanding, despite worldwide economic decline

Key developments:

Renewable energy capacity continues to growth at a record pace, despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, 260 GW of renewable energy capacity was installed globally, which accounted for 81% of the total electricity capacity added.[1] In most of the world, wind and solar power were also the cheapest sources of new electricity generation in.[2] Even the cheapest climate-damaging coal-fired power plants are increasingly more expensive than solar and wind power.

Key results:

As the energy sector greatly contributes to a country’s greenhouse gas emissions, the results of the Renewable Energy rating indicate substantial room for improvement in mitigating emissions by accelerating deployment of renewable energy.

• Norway is the first country, receiving a very high rating in this category.

G20-performance:

•  The majority of G20 countries rank low or very low, with Mexico and the Russian Federation as the worst performers among them.
•  India joins Brazil, Indonesia, and Turkey as the only G20 countries rating high in the Renewable Energy category. The United Kingdom’s performance however falls from high to medium.

EU performance:

•  The EU’s performance in the Renewable Energy category shows no improvements from last year’s CCPI, as it rates medium.
• With Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Croatia, and Turkey, six countries are under the top 10 performers in the Renewable Energy category – another four EU countries rate high.
• Like last year, no EU country performs very low. Czech Republic, Poland and France remain the worst-performing EU countries in this category.

[1] IRENA (2021) ‘Renewable Capacity Statistics 2021’. Available at: https://www.irena.org/publications/2021/March/Renewable-Capacity-Statistics-2021.

[2] IRENA (2021) ‘Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2020’. Available at: https://www.irena.org/publications/2021/Jun/Renewable-Power-Costs-in-2020.

Energy Use – Energy consumption continues to rise

Key developments:

Last year’s Energy Efficiency Report from the IEA showed that primary energy consumption was on the rise in 2019, and many countries were falling short of their own targets.[1] Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and a subsequent 1.9% drop in final energy consumption, the EU overshot its energy consumption target for 2020 and is thus still not on track to meet its 2030 pledge.[2]

Key results:

G20-performance:

• Of the G20 members, seven perform very low in the Energy Use category, with Canada last among them; Nearly all G20 countries show worse performance than in last year’s CCPI.
• Mexico, Brazil, United Kingdom, Argentina, and India receive a high rating.

EU performance: 

•  As in previous years, the EU rates medium for its performance in the Energy Use category.
• Malta and Greece are the only two EU countries that rank high; while Belgium, Luxembourg, and Finland perform very low in this category.

[1] IEA (2020) ‘Energy Efficiency Report 2020’. Available at: https://www.iea.org/reports/energy-efficiency-2020.

[2] EC (2021) ‘State of the Energy Union 2021: Renewables overtake fossil fuels as the EU’s main power source’. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_5554.

Climate Policy – Climate policies increasing but still have insufficient ambition

Key developments:

The Emissions Gap Report 2021 states that the current national targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions are not ambitious enough for a 1.5°C world, despite higher reduction pledges in the latest updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).1 The current (conditional) targets will lead to 50 GtCO₂e emissions in 2030. To be 1.5°C-compatible, emissions should be halved. The 25 gtCO₂e gap needs to be closed as soon as possible.

In the Climate Policy indicators in CCPI 2022, not only are the national emissions targets assessed, but also sectoral targets and their specific implementation.

Key results: Climate Policy rating

G20 performance:

• France, China, the United Kingdom, and India are under the 18 countries earning a high rating in the Climate Policy category.
• Ten of the G20 countries rate low or very low in this category, up one from last year’s CCPI.

EU performance:

• With Luxembourg and Denmark, two EU countries lead the Climate Policy ranking, owing to their national and international climate performance. Another seven EU countries are also Hhigh performers.
• Mostly Eastern European are under the EU countries rated very low.