This Tuesday, at the COP30 climate summit held in Belém, Brazil, the Climate Change Performance Index was presented, a ranking that shows the commitment of world governments to the fight against global warming. This report has been compiled over the past 21 years, and one of the most striking findings of the 2025 edition is the steep decline of the United States under Donald Trump. The United States is now among the four countries analyzed that are doing the least to address the climate emergency. Saudi Arabia, a petrostate that has for years employed all kinds of tactics to lower the ambition of climate leaders, occupies last place. Followed, in order, by Iran, the United States and Russia.
The report analyzes the policies of 63 countries around the world, which together are responsible for 90% of greenhouse gas emissions. It is led by Germanwatch, NewClimate Institute and CAN International and its development involves more than 450 climate and energy experts from NGOs, analyst groups and scientific institutions. Four categories are taken into consideration in the ranking of nations: reduction of greenhouse gases (which has the greatest weight in the final score), development of renewable energy, use of energy and climate policies.
As has been the case since the first edition, the top three places remain vacant, demonstrating that no country is ambitious enough in its measures. The highest ranked country, in fourth place, is once again Denmark, thanks to its commitment to renewable energy. Followed by the United Kingdom, Morocco and Chile. Spain rises five places this year to 14th place, joining the group of countries with a “high” performance.
“Spain continues its path of substantial emissions reductions with EU legislation integrated into national action plans,” the report says. “Green fiscal policies and the progressive incorporation of climate criteria into public procurement are vital in the ongoing transition away from fossil fuels.” Spain, led by Deputy Prime Minister Sara Aagesen, who also serves as Minister for Ecological Transition, aims to strengthen ambition at this climate summit, which takes place at a very challenging time for multilateralism in general and for the fight against global warming in particular.
One of the main culprits of this complicated situation is the new administration led by Donald Trump. The United States ranks at the bottom of the ranking presented Tuesday and is among the “very low” performing nations. “The United States receives very low assessments across the board, for greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy, climate policy and energy use,” the report explains.
“With Donald Trump’s second presidency, there has been a large-scale rollback of climate policies at the national and international levels,” the experts add, underlining the fact that the president “denies that man-made climate change” is the main cause.
Within US borders, “key policies supporting the development of renewable energy and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been rolled back along with the promotion of fossil fuel expansion,” the report adds.
On the international stage, Trump not only withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement, a move that takes effect in January, and decided not to send negotiators to COP30, but also displayed a threatening attitude towards countries that have sought to advance climate action. This occurred in October, when the White House threatened sanctions and tariffs against governments that supported a new tax on emissions from international shipping.
The absence of a representative of the American government at the summit does not mean that some leaders and representatives of the country will not participate in the meeting in Belém. One of them was Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who said during an event in the Spanish pavilion last Saturday that the Trump administration “is corrupted” by the “fossil fuel industry.” In his view, the Republican administration “is implementing an agenda that has been bought and paid for by the fossil fuel industry,” he said in comments reported by the EFE news agency.
Another US official present at the Belém conference was Gavin Newsom. “Trump is temporary, he is reckless, he is chaotic,” said the Democratic governor of California, who some consider a possible candidate in the next US presidential election.
“People need to stand up. You need to stand up to a bully,” Newsom added, referring to the attitude displayed in many international forums where environmental policies are discussed. And, in a sense, the COP30 summit in Brazil will decide whether the majority of countries will resist Trump and continue to advance the fight against climate change within the United Nations.
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