Ireland 'still rated as the worst-performing EU country' in tackling climate change
Ireland has been ranked as the worst performing European country for action on climate change.
Ireland has placed 48th out of the 56 countries ranked on the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI). It is the second year running that Ireland has been the worst ranked European country.
The CCPI was designed to enhance transparency in international climate politics.
It "evaluates and compares the climate protection performance of 56 countries and the European Union (EU), which are together responsible for more than 90% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions."
The CCPI evaluates countries under four categories which include greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy, energy use and climate policy.
Ireland scored only 40.84 under the criteria with the report saying it remains in the group of very-low-performing countries. Sweden was the highest-ranking country, scoring 76.28.
It says that "existing climate mitigation efforts will not enable Ireland to achieve either its EU 2020 or 2030 targets domestically.
"The long-standing lack of implementation of substantive measures to put the country on a well-below-2°C pathway results in a very low rating for Ireland’s national policy performance."
Ireland was rated as "very low" for performance in the GHG Emissions category and also has a spot "among the low-ranking performers in the Energy Use category."
However, Ireland did get some positive news in the report.
It states that: "National experts commend the Irish Parliament for its leadership in deciding to pass the Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill, which is the first of its kind in the world, and for the innovative Citizens’ Assembly process which produced far-reaching recommendations for climate action now being considered by a special parliamentary committee working on the development of Ireland’s National Energy and Climate Plan."
Commenting on the report, Clodagh Daly of Friends of the Irish Environment said: "This report highlights the gap [Environment] Minister [Richard] Bruton has to close between his new rhetoric on climate change and reality of Ireland’s approach to climate action. His ministerial colleagues don’t seem to have got the memo.
"Minister Bruton has successfully raised expectations in recent weeks, but as yet he hasn’t taken actions that will actually lower our emissions."
Meanwhile, Jennifer Higgins, Policy and Advocacy Advisor at Christian Aid Ireland, called for action following the report's publication.
"It’s time for Government ministers to wake up and listen, not only to the science and to the criticism we continually face at the bottom of the pack, but also to the people, both at home and in countries worst affected by climate change."
Almost half of the G20 countries are in the group of very low performers: Japan (49), Turkey (50), Russian Federation (52), Canada (54), Australia (55), Korea (57) and - at the bottom of the index - USA (59) and Saudi Arabia (60).
