Stockholm (NordSIP) – The Nordic Region’s longstanding climate credentials are coming under question as Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland achieve a disparate set of results in the 2025 Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI).
The CCPI aims to provide an independent monitoring tool for the evaluation of countries’ climate mitigation performance. It has been published annually since 2005 and is the result of collaborative work by NGOs Germanwatch, NewClimate Institute, and Climate Action Network International drawing on input from 450 experts based in the evaluated nations. The CCPI provides ratings for the EU and 63 individual countries, which represent 90% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The methodology underpinning the CCPI involves a combination of quantitative and qualitative data. The former accounts for 80% of the overall score and includes metrics relating to GHG emissions, renewable energy, and energy use. The latter qualitative portion of the score is derived from an evaluation of the current state of the country’s climate policy. The three quantitative categories are assessed in terms of past trends, current levels, and compatibility with 2-degree pathways.
The overall CCPI ranking reveals the top 3 places left vacant as a symbolic reminder from the evaluators that no country is doing enough to mitigate the climate crisis and thereby achieve the ‘Very High’ score needed for a podium place. The ranking is based on relative scoring, with all countries including top-placed Denmark considered to be requiring further improvements to fully comply with the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement.
Nordic Region results highly dispersed
Denmark has maintained its 4th place as the highest ranked country in the CCPI, despite having relatively high per-capita energy consumption and GHG emissions. The country does especially well in its development and use of renewable energy, and in 2022 the government introduced more ambitious 2045 net-zero and emissions reduction targets. Denmark has also implemented the world’s first tax on livestock emissions. Norway joins Denmark in achieving an overall ‘High’ rating and has risen 3 places to 9th out of 67. Nevertheless, despite its successful implementation of domestic renewable energy the country comes in for criticism for the negative environmental and human rights-related externalities of its hydropower operations. Norway is also penalised for its continued exploitation of oil and gas reserves and granting of new fossil fuel exploration licenses.
Sweden, Denmark, and Norway are the only countries to achieve a ‘Very High’ score for renewable energy. However, Sweden only ranks 11th in the CCPI, mainly due to its very high per capita energy consumption and the current government’s reversal of many climate policies. These include subsidies for electric vehicles, aviation taxes, and proposed improvements of the rail network. The CCPI experts also took a dim view of Sweden’s obstruction of EU land use, land-use change, and forestry legislation.
Finland has dropped 11 places in the 2025 CCPI down to 37th with an overall ‘Low’ score. It has a relatively positive renewable energy score, but also suffers from very high per capita energy consumption. However, by far the biggest factor in Finland’s poor performance relates to its forestry sector. The country has long relied on its extensive forest cover as powerful carbon sinks, but these are being depleted due to excessive tree felling. While the previous Finnish administration had taken some steps to remedy the situation these have since been reversed by the new government that came into power in 2023, and which the CCPI’s experts consider to be taking an overall backward step in terms of climate policy.
G20 countries among climate villains
Iceland is not yet included in the CCPI. Outside of the Nordic Region, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (UK) join Denmark in the upper echelons at 5th and 6th respectively. The more green-friendly policies of the new UK Labour government are welcomed by the CCPI experts, and while criticised for ongoing fossil fuel production the UK is recognised for having decommissioned its last coal-fired power station this year. The UK and India are the only G20 countries to achieve a ‘High’ overall score. The G20 includes some of the very worst performers such as the Republic of Korea, Russia, and Saudi Arabia in 63rd, 64th, and 66th positions respectively. Some of the world’s largest economies reside in the ‘Very Low’ category of the CCPI, including China, the USA, Japan, and Canada.
In publicising these rankings against the backdrop of ongoing international climate negotiations at COP29 the CCPI hopes to expose the leaders and laggards and encourage improvement efforts in key areas at national level.
