Portugal climate performance worsens

Portugal has worsened in terms of climate performance and fell two positions in the annual index, however, the country continues to be on the list of best-ranked countries.

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Last year, Portugal's position was 13th and this year the country is in 15th place in a list of countries classified in the “Climate Change Performance Index” ( CCPI ). The CCPI analyses and scores the climate policies of each country, making up the list 66 countries (and the European Union), which represent 90% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide. In fact, there are not 66 countries because the CCPI always leaves the first three places blank, pointing out that no country is completely aligned with the objective of the Paris Climate Agreement of keeping global warming below 1.

5 degrees Celsius (oC) compared to pre-industrial times. Therefore, in the top spot, which is actually fourth, is Denmark, followed by the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, the latter with a big increase. The group of 15 countries in green include the Philippines, Morocco and Norway, among others, with Portugal closing the list.



In yellow, another group of countries then appears, from 16th to 34th place, on a list headed by Germany and closed by Malta. Belgium appears in place 35, already on the orange list, which includes countries such as New Zealand, Italy and Hungary which are close in position 52 with Australia. The countries with the worst environmental performance, in red, are 15, includes China and the United States, the largest GHG emitters, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Russian Federation and Turkey.

The “ranking” also highlights the position of the European Union, in 17th place, and the big increases in the list of countries such as France, Ireland, Slovenia or Malaysia, in addition to the United Kingdom. The CCPI analyses greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy, energy use and climate policy. The Portuguese environmental association Zero , which participates in the creation of the index, says in a statement publishing the ranking that fires and emissions in public transport have high values, estimating that this year emissions will increase in Portugal.

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