Climate Change Performance Index — India Moved to 8th from Last Year's 10th Position

In recently released Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), India has moved at 8th position from last year's rank of 10. India has achieved this position in the ongoing ranking of 63 countries. This ranking has been given to India on the basis of its low emissions and increasing use of renewable energy.

Denmark and Sweden remain the top-ranked countries. The Top 3 spots remain empty again no country in the is combatting Climate Change sufficiently.

This ranking has been prepared by tracking the climate performance of the European Union and 59 countries, which are responsible for more than 92% of greenhouse gas emissions in the world.

In this year’s CCPI rankings, the US is at 52nd, Canada at 58th, Russia at 59th and which is included in very low category in performance. Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan ranked last, in the index.

India rises two spots to rank 8th in this year’s CCPI. The country is among the high performing countries in the index. India earns a high rating in the Green House Gas (GHG) Emissions and Energy Use categories, with a medium for Climate Policy and Renewable Energy. The country is on track to meet its 2030 emissions targets (compatible with a well-below-2°C scenario). However, the renewable energy pathway is not on track for the 2030 target.

Since the last CCPI, India has updated its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and announced a net-zero target for 2070.

The Climate Change Performance Index is published annually since 2005. This ranking tracks the efforts made by different countries to deal with climate change.

Key Points of Climate Change Performance Index Report:

• This report has been prepared by Germanwatch, New Climate Institute and Climate Action Network. This ranking is based on how well these countries are performing to reduce their emissions by 2030. 
• There is no country in the first three places in this ranking, because "no country has performed well enough in all index categories to earn an overall high rating"
• Denmark has been placed at the fourth position in this ranking, followed by Sweden and Chile
• China, which is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, has dropped 13 places to 51st position in this year's CCPI ranking.

Climate Change Performance Index 2023 - Rating Table (Top 10)

ranking	Country	Score
1	-	-
2	-	-
3	-	-
4	Denmark	79.61
5	Sweden	73.28
6	Chile	69.54
7	Morocco	67.44
8	India	67.35
9	Estonia	65.14
10	Norway	64.47

About the performance of G20 countries in the CCPI Index report, India (8th), United Kingdom (11th), and Germany (16th) are the only three G20 countries among the high performers in CCPI 2023. Apart from these, the performance of 12 countries of G20 group is not good enough. 

G20 countries emit more than 75% of greenhouse gas emissions, on the basis of this it can be said that the responsibility of G20 countries increases even more. Canada, Russia, South Korea and Saudi Arabia are among the worst performing countries of the G20.

The CCPI evaluates 59 countries and the European Union, which together generate 90%+ of global greenhouse gas emissions. Using standardised criteria, the CCPI looks at four categories, with 14 indicators: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (40% of the overall score), Renewable Energy (20%), Energy Use (20%), and Climate Policy (20%).

The CCPI’s unique climate policy section evaluates countries’ progress in implementing policies working towards achieving the Paris Agreement goals.

Tech Giants Including Accenture, Amazon and Google Failed on Climate Change Promises Required to Align with the Paris Agreement

Tech and retail giants including Accenture, Amazon, Google and Walmart are among 25 companies not doing enough to meet their own pledges to slash greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, a new report finds.

The report titled "Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor", released on Monday this week, studied the headline climate pledges  or promises of 25 of the world’s largest companies and what these companies achieved in reality. The study finds that in reality these 25-largest companies only commit to reduce their emissions by 40% on average, not 100% as suggested by their “net zero” and “carbon neutral.

According to the findings of the report, these 25-companies’ emissions targets “fall well short of the ambition required to align with the internationally agreed goals of the Paris Agreement and avoid the most damaging effects of climate change.

For an uninitiated, a Climate Pledge, by any company/business/organization, is a call to take action on the world's greatest crisis of Climate Change and to work together to build towards a safe and healthy planet for the next generations.

The study was conducted by NewClimate Institute in collaboration with Carbon Market Watch. It evaluates 25 major companies – operating across different sectors and geographies – to determine the transparency and integrity of their headline climate pledges.

The study found that none of these companies' pledges have a high degree of integrity overall. Maersk came out on top, with reasonable integrity, followed by Apple, Sony and Vodafone with moderate integrity.

Unfortunately, the majority of the companies with net zero or carbon neutrality pledges fail to put forward ambitious targets. 

Overall, the analysis finds the headline pledges of Amazon, Deutsche Telekom, Enel, GlaxoSmithKline, Google, Hitachi, IKEA, Vale, Volkswagen and Walmart have Low Integrity.

Among the "Very Low Integrity" companies, the names are -- Accenture, BMW Group, Carrefour, CVS Health, Deutsche Post DHL, E.ON SE, JBS, Nestlé, Novartis, Saint-Gobain and Unilever.

Ironically, in 2019 Amazon co-founded The Climate Pledge with Global Optimism, on the conviction that global businesses are responsible, accountable, and able to act on the climate crisis. The Jeff Bezos company had even invested in 9 renewable energy projects, in April last year. 

Just three of the 25 companies (among Moderate Integrity companies) – Maersk, Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom – clearly commit to deep decarbonisation of over 90% of their full value chain emissions. At least 5 of the companies would effectively only reduce their emissions by less than 15%, often by excluding downstream or upstream emissions in their value chain.

No companies achieved a High Integrity rating.

Integrity of corporate net-zero pledges

Net zero targets commit to reduce the analysed companies’ aggregate emissions by only 40% on average, not 100% as suggested by the term “net zero”, said the report findings.

The 25 companies assessed in this report are not necessarily a representative sample of all corporate actors with net zero targets.They represent 25 of the largest companies in the world, accounting for approximately 5% of global GHG emissions and revenues of USD 3.2 trillion in 2020.

Good but not Good Enough: Solar Energy Growth in Light of the Paris Agreement

At this year’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) in Madrid, leaders from across the world face the chance to specify their goals to reach the 2°C, ideally the 1.5°C goal, as stipulated in the Paris Agreement in order to reduce the harmful effects of global climate change.

Until the end of 2018, global solar markets have been well on track to reach the 2°C target according to REC Group’s study “Closing the COP21 Gap by Going Solar”. However, with this year’s global installed solar capacity at roughly 120 GW, the world is starting to lag behind; for the 1.5°C target even by around 80 GW in 2019.

Despite high increases in the past years, which outperformed all forecasts, the total global cumulated solar capacity that is still required to reach COP21 goals is 4,500 GW above forecast by 2025. In order to keep up, solar markets need to exponentially and quickly increase their capacities.

From December 2-13, UN Secretary-General António Guterres is hosting the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) in Madrid, where global leaders are discussing their environmental agendas and specifying their nationally determined climate contributions. With solar playing a key role in the decarbonization of the energy sector, it is time for REC Group to take stock of what has been achieved in the solar PV industry since Paris, and especially, what action is still required based on its study “Closing the COP21 Gap by Going Solar”.

Today more than ever, people throughout the world are concerned about the pace in tackling climate change. With increasing evidence about the impact of GHG emissions already visible today, they demand swift and decisive action. Steve O’Neil, CEO of REC Group, emphasizes the decisive role of solar to reduce greenhouse gas emissions:

“Roughly one third of energy-related emissions worldwide derive from the power sector. To live up to the Paris Agreement, we therefore need a fundamental and quick change of our energy systems in the decades to come - with solar being at the forefront of this global energy transition. Solar PV is the only renewable energy source, which can be deployed quickly enough at feasible sizes, on rooftops, the ground and water without any externalities. Cumulated solar PV installations in the past four years exceeded the 2015 forecast by 36 percent. This is good, but not good enough. At REC Group, we truly believe in empowering consumers via solar energy and high-end products to successfully mitigate climate change.”

Acknowledging the crucial role solar has to play in future energy generation, REC Group published the study “Closing the COP21 Gap by Going Solar” in June 2016. As one of the first of its kind, the study investigates the required solar capacity to stay in line with the 2°C and 1.5°C goal as stipulated in the Paris Agreement. This analysis is conducted globally and across some REC Group’s key markets – the US, Germany, India, Japan, the Netherlands and Belgium. The good news is that annual solar growth rates until 2019 outpaced projections made prior COP21. REC Group's market analysts expect that global solar installations are about to reach roughly 120 GW in 2019 while projections based on 2015 trends forecasted only 81 GW. The increase was partly facilitated by the momentum created by the Paris Agreement but most importantly fostered by the sharp decrease in PV system costs.

However, with 396 GW installed in 2016 - 2019, the world is falling short by 20 GW to limit global warming to 2°C; and 80 GW to 1.5°C while the global energy demand is constantly increasingly. Already by 2025, up to 4,500 GW of additional solar capacity on top of actual forecasts will be required. Considering the broad application potential of solar also in other sectors like transportation and heating, the demand for solar deployment would be even much higher.

[caption id="attachment_139289" align="aligncenter" width="628"] Global projections of solar installed capacities related to climate change commitments[/caption]

COP25 is the next chance to ratchet-up international climate ambitions by agreeing on rules for market mechanisms or delivering more detailed plans to enhance nationally determined contributions by 2020, which must be in line with reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent over the next decade – and to net zero emissions by 2050.

REC Group is calling for increased efforts of the international community to close the emission gap and avoid accelerating the impact of climate change. The solar industry as well needs to be more ambitious with innovative products that empower homeowners and businesses to reduce their emissions. REC Group’s game changing REC Alpha Series with increased efficiency by 20 percent is an essential milestone, offering industry-beating power of up to 380 watt-peak in a 60-cell format, allowing for maximized savings for rooftop owners. With the REC Alpha, REC Group is bringing a product to the market, which leads the shift to a cleaner and greener future.

About REC Group

Founded in Norway in 1996, REC Group is a leading vertically integrated solar energy company. Through integrated manufacturing from silicon to wafers, cells, high-quality panels and extending to solar solutions, REC Group provides the world with a reliable source of clean energy. REC’s renowned product quality is supported by the lowest warranty claims rate in the industry. REC Group is a Bluestar Elkem company with headquarters in Norway and operational headquarters in Singapore. REC Group employs around 2,000 people worldwide, producing 1.5 GW of solar panels annually.

 

With Non-Carbon Emission Electricity India Will Meet Paris Commitment 3 Years Early

Whether we acknowledge it now or not, Climate change is going to be one of the greatest problems that the world will be facing in the coming years. In fact, the effects of climate change have already started being seen across the Earth.

According to the 5th Assessment Report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC), since the year 1880 there has been an increase in average surface temperature of 0.85⁰C. While on the surface it might look like a very small number compared to changes in daily temperature that we see, however to put into perspective how small global temperature changes can have a large effect, if the Earth’s surface temperature was lowered by 5⁰C, we would end up being in a full ice age.

In order to stop from this becoming a reality, the COP21 Climate Change conference in 2015 produced the Paris Agreement, which is a Global agreement between nations that aims to keep the rise in temperature to 1.5⁰C and to ensure that the temperature rise stays well below 2⁰C above pre-industrial times. In order to successfully achieve this, the global greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulphur hexafluoride) emissions must be stabilized and then reduced.

CO2 emissions, in the past 800,000 years before the industrial revolution struck the world, had fluctuated between 180ppm (when the Earth was in an ice age) to a maximum of 280ppm (in a warmer interglacial period). Never in the recent history or during the times in which the humans have inhabited the Earth has the atmospheric CO2 concentration been as high as it is now.

India being the world’s fourth-largest greenhouse gas emitter was initially hesitant of officially formalizing the Paris agreement as the country feared that it did not have the ability to meet its targets. But after much deliberation, the government ended up ratifying the agreement on Oct 2, 2016.

And now, according to a recent government forecast, in a period of ten years, India could be getting as much as sixty percent of its electricity from non-fossil fuel sources.

A draft of India's 10-year energy blueprint has revealed that the government is expecting as much as 57 percent of the country's total electricity capacity to come from non-fossil fuel sources by the year 2027 — a significant increase over the country’s Paris agreement targets, which has asked the member countries to reach 40 percent non-fossil fuel electricity by the year 2030.

Commenting on the Indian government's forecast, Tim Buckley, a director at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, told the Guardian that India is moving beyond fossil fuels at a pace scarcely imagined only two years ago, and this is indeed absolutely transformational.

Private investments have played a crucial role is boosting India’s renewable goals over the last couple of years, even as the Indian government has somewhere lagged when it came to allocating funds to renewable projects.

Over the period of past one year, India has been successful in attracting a whopping $20 billion dollar investment in the country's solar energy sector from Japan’s Softbank, and another $2 billion from EDF, a famous French energy company. Recently, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), which is the U.S. government’s development finance institution, joined hands with the Indian government's to launch a $20 million finance initiative to help fund renewable energy in India . Though the fate of this initiative can't be predicted under the current U.S. President Trump, who has time and again stated that he doesn't believe in climate change and will be cancelling all wasteful climate change spending when he takes over the White House.