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Despite the Prime Minister announcing a commitment to net zero by
2050, Australia's climate policy has been ranked the worst by the
CCPI. (ABC News: Adam Kennedy) |
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Key Points
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The annual rankings — published by German-based advocacy group Germanwatch — rank the performance of 63 nations and the European Union on greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy, energy use and climate policy.
The performance index is measured by consulting experts in each country, according to the organisation, and evaluates each country's progress working towards goals in the Paris Agreement.
Australia ranked 55th, overall, but was dead last in climate policy, the only country to receive no score in that category.
In its assessment, Australia received a "very low" rating across the board and was "trailing many developed economies".
"The government does not have any policies on phasing out coal or gas, but CCUS [carbon capture, utilisation and storage] and hydrogen are being promoted as low-emissions technologies," the report said.
"Even though the renewables electricity is growing, the experts believe that Australia has failed to take advantage of its potential, and other countries have outpaced it."
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The CCPI report notes that Australia's climate policy does
not phase out coal nor gas. (Reuters: Jason Lee) |
Mr Morrison said the federal government would invest more than $20 billion by the end of the decade developing low-emissions technologies.
The plan prioritises "clean" hydrogen, "ultra-low-cost solar", battery storage of renewable power and carbon capture and storage, however there are questions around the viability of these technologies.
Australia dropped four places in its overall ranking, compared to 2020, and was ranked as "very low" in every category in the CCPI.
The plan for net zero
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The government has committed to reaching net zero by 2050,
and says it is on track to beat its 2030 emissions targets. But
what will it take to turn Australia green? Read more |
Renewable energy was Australia's best-performing category, ranking 49th, one
spot ahead of the United States, but was still failing to promote new
technologies according to the report.
"The country's lack of domestic ambition and action has made its way to the
international stage," the report said.
"The experts describe that the country's international standing has been
damaged by climate denialism by politicians, refusal to increase ambition, and
refusal to recommit to international green finance mechanisms.
"Australia has fallen behind its allies and its inaction even attracted public
criticism in the run-up to COP26."
No country in the report received an overall rating of "very high", which led
to the report not ranking any counties first, second or third.
Denmark received the best overall score, climbing two places from the 2020
report, and replacing Sweden in the top spot.
The Netherlands and Greece were the greatest improvers over the previous 12
months, both climbing 10 spots to be ranked 19th and 24th respectively.
Links
- What is the government's plan to reach net zero?
- The weather gets choppy with Joyce and Morrison's climate contradictions
- The details are scarce but Morrison's net zero 'plan' is a big shift from his Borat Tax days
- 'Net zero' is a political win, but it has entrenched a climate policy stalemate
- 'We are way off track': Greenhouse gas concentrations hit record high in 2020
- Why is the pressure being piled on Australia to do more on climate change?
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