Climate Change Performance Index 2008 released
The Climate Change Performance Index from European non-profit group Germanwatch was released Saturday in Bali, and it doesn't paint a pretty picture. The index compares the relative performance of 56 countries in combating climate change, taking into account not only current emissions, but emissions trends and governmental policy. Not surprisingly, the US did poorly, ranking 55th, ahead of only Saudi Arabia and 15 spots below fellow greenhouse gas giant China. However, Americans aren't alone down there - particularly alarming is that of the top 10 gassers, 7 of them are below 40th place in the list, meaning in general that they have no practical strategy for, or intention of, reducing emissions anytime soon.
Other highlights include the fact that on a scale ranging from ""Very Poor" to "Very Good" in terms of anti-climate change efforts, not a single country scored "Very Good."













Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-17-2007 @ 2:43PM
Ian said...
We need to get this out! tell a friend
Reply
12-17-2007 @ 2:46PM
lur said...
in the end , its we who finish ourselfes , nor gods nor any other forces , Ourselfs
Reply
12-17-2007 @ 4:29PM
elisamei said...
This article explains the differences between carbon caps, taxes and trade. A useful read if you want to understand how this is all meant to work.
Reply
12-17-2007 @ 5:02PM
elisamei said...
Sorry! The link I referred to is - http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=506&doc_id=140881&
(explains different methods and how to actually effect change). Somehow the link didn't go through!
Reply
12-17-2007 @ 5:10PM
ric said...
Maybe if the demand for our products weren't so high, we'd occupy a higher spot. This ranking is worthless. It fails to take into account global demand for a country's products, and the costs involved in reducing these. Take for example sweden. With engineering and telecommunications, it's easy for them to avoid polluting. Compare this to an economy based around manufacture, such as China or the US. Oh, and by the way, China is given very low scores on both trends and level, yet their policy is given top score... wtf? I would consider using this report only to wipe my bottom... but you can't do that with a pdf file...
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12-18-2007 @ 11:34AM
kyle said...
it's pretty horrifying that the US and Canada (I'm so pissed at Harper) are holding out b/c of China and India - both of whom are doing better than us according to this list.
Reply