In terms of climate protection, the former pioneer Germany is only mediocre internationally. The index published by environmental organizations on Monday at the UN Climate Change Conference in Poland sees Germany ranked 27th – even behind countries such as Slovakia, Romania or India. Sweden is at the top, followed by Morocco and Lithuania. At the beginning of the second and crucial summit week in Katowice, Katowice, development organizations warned that the concerns of the poorest and most vulnerable states were under threat. In particular, the EU should not look indifferent. An appearance of the climate advisor of US President Donald Trump in the convention center was interrupted with chants.
Representatives from nearly 200 countries are discussing rules for the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement in Katowice, with the aim of limiting global warming to below two degrees. Already in 1750 the world has heated up by about one degree compared to pre-industrial times. The conference should end on Friday.
In the climate protection ranking, as in previous years, the first three places remained empty, because Germanwatch, CAN Europe and the New Climate Institute think that no country is exemplary enough for a place on the podium. Laggards are Iran, the USA and Saudi Arabia. Last year, Germany was ranked 22nd among the 56 assessed individual states and the EU, which together account for more than 90 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Germany one of the largest lignite consumers
„The relatively poor performance in the greenhouse gas category is mainly due to the fact that Germany is still one of the largest consumers of lignite,“ write the authors. If in the coming year the decision for an ambitious coal exit falls, this could bring the country in the index „crucially forward“.
The organizations not only assess progress in CO2 saving or climate protection, promising for the future, but 14 indicators from the categories of greenhouse gases, renewable energies, energy consumption and climate policy.
China, the most populated country with the highest GHG emissions, ranked 33rd in the ranking, ahead of a year ago (41). „This is primarily due to the trend of China’s greenhouse gas emissions, as they did not increase between 2014 and 2016,“ it says. However, an increase in emissions in 2017 and 2018 should lead to a worse position in the coming year.
In second place in terms of emissions are the USA, which has slipped three places to last but one place compared to the previous year. US President Donald Trump has declared his intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, which is not yet effective. There is praise for efforts below the national level: „Especially cities and individual states want to achieve a more ambitious climate policy,“ says the Climate Protection Index.
