Belgium's performance in the fight against climate change is below the average, according to a ranking established by environmental NGOs and published on Tuesday during COP25 in Madrid.
While Belgium went up a place last year, it dropped four this year, dropping from 31st to 35th place in the "Climate Change Performance Index 2020."
The index, published annually by Germanwatch, the NewClimate Institute and the Climate Action Network is drawn up with the help of 350 energy and climate experts, many who are members of environmental NGOs.
The tool, which aims to be independent, analyses the policies of 57 countries and the European Union, representing more than 90% of world greenhouse gas emissions, by employing a yardstick of 14 criteria divided into four categories: emissions, recourse to renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate policy.
Belgium gets an "average" mark when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions and markedly low marks for its use of renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate policy. The overall mark for the country is "low" and is not enough in terms of the objectives of the Paris agreement to keep global warming well below 2°C and if possible 1.5°C).
As in other years, the first three places in the ranking are left empty, with no country embracing a climate policy considered to be sufficiently ambitious by the report's authors in terms of the Paris objectives.
The fourth-place this year, containing the most worthy country in the ranking, is Sweden once again, followed by Denmark and Morocco. The European Union as a whole ranks 22nd, in front of China in 30th place.
Among the G20 countries, only the United Kingdom (7th) and India (9th) perform relatively well, while eight countries figure among the worst results. The US, notably, is firmly in the 61st and last position, beaten by Saudi Arabia (60th) and Russia (52nd).
The Brussels Times
