Türkiye falls to 53rd in CCPI 2027 during COP31 presidency

What happened

Türkiye was placed 53rd in the 2027 Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), one position below its result in the preceding edition. The index, published by Germanwatch and the NewClimate Institute, comes as Türkiye holds the COP31 presidency.

The assessment covers 64 countries and the European Union, which account for more than 90% of worldwide greenhouse-gas emissions. Türkiye received low scores for greenhouse-gas emissions and energy use, an average score for renewable energy, and a very low score for climate policy.

İklim Haber’s report on the assessment says the index identified the absence of a policy for leaving fossil fuels behind as a central weakness. It noted continued exploration for coal, oil and gas despite rapid renewable-energy growth and the introduction of an emissions trading system.

The immediate policy measures identified for Türkiye are a commitment to phase out fossil fuels, no fresh approvals for coal mines or coal power stations, a just-transition roadmap, and a stronger emissions-reduction target consistent with its 2053 net-zero objective.

Why it matters

The result puts Türkiye’s domestic climate policy record in focus while it has a leadership role at COP31. Climate policy was the country’s weakest CCPI category, even as renewable energy was assessed more favourably.

CCPI scoring allocates 40% of the total to greenhouse-gas emissions. Renewable energy, energy consumption and climate policy each contribute 20%. National experts assess the policy component, and around 500 experts participated in the process.

At the top of the table, Denmark ranked fourth for the sixth year in succession. The first three positions were not awarded because no country reached the index’s required performance level. Lithuania, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, Morocco and Chile followed Denmark; the UK was the sole G20 member assessed as a high performer.

International comparison

Australia, which holds the COP31 negotiations presidency, ranked 54th. The lowest-ranked countries were Iran in 68th place, followed by the United States, Russia and Saudi Arabia. These comparisons position Türkiye near the lower end of the countries assessed, despite its COP31 role.