The annual Climate Change Performance Index released today has ranked Australia last on climate policy, ranking in 64th place.

Furthermore, Australia dropped four places to 58th out of 64 places overall in the index, ahead of only Korea, Chinese Taipei, Canada, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Kazakhstan. Australia received very low ratings for its performance across the index’s four categories: emissions, renewable energy, energy use, and climate policy.

The report, released at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow by Germanwatch, the New Climate Institute and the Climate Action Network, ranked Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom and Morocco as the five highest-ranked nations on the index, with the first three places left empty to illustrate that no country is doing enough.

“Although renewable energy is booming in Australia, all the work has been done by state and territory governments and the private sector, which is why Australia is rock bottom on the table of national climate policies,” said Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) Climate & Energy Program Manager Gavan McFadzean from Glasgow.

“While 130 countries have lifted their near-term climate ambition, Australia has not, relegating us to the bottom of the pack with the likes of Saudi Arabia and Iran.

“The Australian government’s refusal to budge on 2030 targets has been widely criticised in Glasgow and is out of step with public opinion at home with a major poll this year showing a majority of Australians, in every federal seat, wants stronger climate action this decade,” Mr McFadzean said.

“When it comes to climate policy this year’s Climate Change Performance Index has ranked Australia dead last, showing that nobody has fallen for the Morrison Government’s fraud of a Net Zero plan,” said Richie Merzian, climate & energy program director at the Australia Institute.

“Australia tries to deflect its own inaction by pointing to other high-emitting countries. Yet our ranking on this index shows that we are doing much worse than the countries we like to point the finger at on climate.

“COP26 was squarely focused on increasing short-term action and the Australia Government won’t even consider improving its weak, dated emission reduction target for 2030. No wonder Australia is slipping further in the global rankings,” Mr Merzian said.

The Climate Change Performance Index examines the climate actions of countries responsible for 90% of global climate pollution.

ACF and the Australia Institute both contributed to the Australian analysis.