A global report documenting the climate performance of nations, released on the sidelines of COP30 at Belem in Brazil on Tuesday, has found that India has slipped to the 23rd rank in 2025 from 10th last year, one of the steepest declines among major economies.
A senior official with the Union environment ministry, however, countered the claim, stating that India has done well in climate performance. “We achieved our NDC (Nationally Determined Contributions) target five years before schedule and took a slew of measures which were presented in our national statement on Monday,” the official said.
The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) has been providing annual analysis of countries’ climate protection performance since 2005 and evaluates 63 countries and the European Union, which together generate more than 90 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The CCPI 2026, prepared by Germanwatch, NewClimate Institute, and CAN (Climate Action Network) International, shows that Denmark retained the fourth spot in 2025. The top three spots have remained vacant like last year. Denmark is followed by the UK and Morocco, which showed improvements over last year’s results.
While Saudi Arabia, ranked 67, is at the bottom of the ladder, Iran has been ranked 66th, preceded by the US and Russia. China, at rank 54, has climbed up a notch compared to last year. CCPI experts identified the poor performance of the US under Donald Trump’s presidency as a “dramatic decline”.
“India (23rd), one of the largest emitters, is one of the biggest fallers in this year’s ranking, landing in the ‘medium’ category,” says the report.
“The decline in the ranking is due to a combination of factors. India ranks last in terms of emissions trends, as emissions have been rising steadily in recent years. At the same time, energy consumption is increasing,” explained Jan Burck of Germanwatch, an author of the CCPI 2026.
“India is signalling its long-term intent on climate action, with a formal strategy and ambitious renewable energy targets, alongside established efficiency programmes… has accelerated renewable energy deployment through auctions and fiscal tools, (and) India reported reaching 50 per cent of installed power capacity from non-fossil sources ahead of the 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target,” the report says.
However, it identifies continuing coal dependence as an obstacle. “The national pathway is still anchored in coal (and) there is no national coal exit timeline and new coal blocks continue to be auctioned. Fossil subsidies and infrastructure lock-ins persist. The country is among the 10 countries with the largest developed coal reserves, and it currently plans to increase its production,” the report says.
The list mentions the ongoing mining at the Deocha-Pachami coal block in Bengal’s Birbhum district, considered the largest coal block in India and the second-largest in the world.
“India’s fall to 23rd in the CCPI, despite impressive renewable-energy growth, shows that climate leadership today requires more than capacity additions. Rising emissions and weaker policy delivery pulled down scores. India still stands ahead of several G20 peers, including China, but clearer just transition plans and stronger policy frameworks are now essential to regain momentum,” said Nakul Sharma, one of the experts contributing to the India part of the report.
A draft cover text was circulated by the Brazilian presidency, which flagged multiple options on several key issues. Experts The Telegraph spoke to pointed out that it is a way forward but criticised it as a weak one.
“The text is an implementation disaster. While it gestures towards the $1.3 trillion finance goal and the need for international cooperation, its focus remains disproportionately fixed on private finance, capital markets, and concessional loans from multinational development banks. This document fails to close the huge gap in adaptation and loss and damage funding which the grant-based support communities desperately need. Furthermore, its language on fossil fuels is weak,” said Harjeet Singh, a global climate activist and founding director of Satat Sampada Climate Foundation, in Belem.