India ranks 28th in climate performance index, down five spots from last year

India ranked 28th, down five spots from last year, in the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) released at the 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Turkey, on Wednesday.The index was released at the 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Turkey’s Antalya. (AFP)The independent monitoring mechanism, which has tracked the climate mitigation performance of 64 countries and the EU since 2005, found that no country performed well enough across all index categories to achieve an overall “very high” rating. The countries in the index account for over 90% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.The first three positions in the 2026 index are blank. Denmark, with a score of 84.05, ranked the highest at number four, followed by Lithuania (74.03) at five and Luxembourg (72.03) at six. The EU ranked 19th, scoring 64.18.India retained an overall medium rating in GHG emissions, energy use, and climate policy. “Its high Renewable Energy trend rating recognises the recent progress within the Renewable Energy category,” said the report released with the index.The report said India’s renewable expansion has been ahead of its set targets, but it fares poorly in energy curtailment and low storage capacity. “The experts identify a mismatch between renewable energy deployment and transmission, distribution, and storage development,” it said.The report said that the Energy Think Tank Ember estimates that India curtailed 2.3 terawatt-hours (TWh) of solar generation to maintain grid security between late May and December 2025, reflecting operational constraints, including limited flexibility in conventional generation. “Coordinated investment in grids, storage, demand flexibility, and flexible power plant operation would help translate capacity growth into greater renewable generation and fossil fuel displacement.”There was no immediate government response to HT’s request for a comment.The index aims to promote important public and political debates in the assessed countries and beyond by comparing individual countries’ climate mitigation efforts and progress. Performance is assessed in four categories: GHG emissions, renewable energy, energy use, and climate policy. India ranked 13th in climate policy, 33rd in energy use, 40th in renewable energy, and 31st in GHG emissions.The report recognised India’s progress in EVs, industrial efficiency programmes, and appliance standards. “The Carbon Credit Trading Scheme has assigned emissions-intensity targets to 490 industrial entities since January 2026,” said the report.It added that the experts emphasise ambitious targets, credible verification, and demonstrated emissions reductions. “They identify gaps in the coverage and enforcement of building codes and in appliance compliance in informal markets.”In June 2025, India’s non-fossil sources reached 50% of cumulative installed electricity capacity, five years ahead of the previous 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target. This includes nuclear power as well as renewables and differs from the share of electricity actually generated.India’s 2031-2035 NDC targets include a 47% reduction in the emissions intensity of gross domestic product from 2005 levels, about 60% of cumulative installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources, and a forest and tree-cover carbon sink of 3.5-4 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent versus 2005.