21 April 2010: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), in partnership with the non-profit institute AccountAbility, has released “The 2010 Climate Competitiveness Index – National progress in the low carbon economy.”
The Index reviews national progress in the creation of green jobs and economic growth through low-carbon products and services. It shows that in spite of uncertainty surrounding international climate negotiations, countries implemented low-carbon growth strategies in the first quarter of 2010. The Index combines two datasets. The first is “Climate Accountability” to validate if a country’s climate strategy is clear, ambitious and supported by stakeholders. The second is “Climate Performance,” which considers individual countries’ capabilities and track record on delivering its strategy. The 2010 Index analyzed 95 countries responsible for 97% of global economic activity and 96% of global carbon emissions.
The report concludes that 46% of countries analyzed have demonstrated some improvement in climate accountability since the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference of December 2009. It also notes that 32 countries have made significant improvements, with Germany, China and the Republic of Korea being the outstanding examples. According to the Index, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, the Philippines and Rwanda have also enhanced their climate accountability. In addition, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Japan and France show the most consistent progress on combining accountability and performance. Switzerland and Austria are strong on performance, while the UK and the US are strong on accountability.
The Index also concludes that countries that performed well have a critical mass of firms managing, reporting on, and reducing their emissions, and are aggressively growing portfolios of low-carbon products and services. According to UNEP, the Index also demonstrates that the best national performers have a coherent institutional framework of low-carbon support for business, including chambers of commerce, stock exchanges, investment agencies, government departments and non-governmental organizations dedicated to green growth. [UNEP Press Release] [The Index]