— Ch. 1 · Origins And Development History —
Climate Change Performance Index.
~3 min read · Ch. 1 of 5
The Climate Change Performance Index first appeared in 2005. Germanwatch e.V., an environmental and development organization, created the scoring system to improve transparency in international climate politics. The index evaluates and compares the climate protection performance of 63 countries and the European Union. These entities together account for more than 90% of global greenhouse gas emissions. An updated version appears annually at the UN Climate Change Conference. In 2017, the underlying methodology underwent a significant revision. This change aligned the assessment with the Paris Agreement framework established in 2015. The CCPI expanded its scope to measure progress toward Nationally Determined Contributions. It also began tracking each country's 2030 targets.
Scoring Methodology Framework
Four categories form the backbone of the evaluation process. Greenhouse gas emissions carry a weighting of 40%. Renewable energy accounts for 20% of the total score. Energy use represents another 20%. Climate policy makes up the final 20%. Each of the three technical categories contains four equally weighted indicators. These include current levels, recent five-year trends, compatibility with a 2°C limit, and 2030 target compatibility. Two additional indicators assess national climate policy frameworks and implementation. A second indicator measures international climate diplomacy efforts. Experts from non-governmental organizations, universities, and think tanks provide ratings through questionnaires. Respondents rate government measures as very high, high, medium, low, or very low. Data for the climate policy category comes from an annual comprehensive research study.