Because of the rejection of the CO2 Act in a Swiss referendum in June 2021, the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) for 2021 has dropped Switzerland to 15th place in the ranking for national action on climate change.

Switzerland remains high in the rankings

The report, which was released in the middle of the United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP26, ranked countries on their efforts to combat climate change. This includes changes to where a nation gets its energy and water, as well as the number of policies each government has towards achieving “net-zero” targets.

Although Switzerland was praised for its green energy policies, the country was dropped by a single position to 15th in the rankings. Despite ranking highly for total emissions and energy use, the CCPI dropped Switzerland by 11 places in its “Climate Policy” category.

Lack of climate change policy hurting Switzerland's score

They explain the drop was because of the rejection of the CO2 Act in June 2021, a referendum designed to “regulate emissions” until 2030. The index said the CO2 Act would not be enough to reach the government’s own goal of net zero emissions by 2050, and, now that the law is rejected, Switzerland no longer has the political capital to push for stronger climate policies.

Concluding their report, the CCPI praised Switzerland for its international engagement on climate change, but requested the country contribute more financially to nations that are most affected. With 29 years to go before “net-zero,” the index called on the government to make significant changes now, as “no further policies are in place on how to reach that [net-zero] goal.”

Top ten countries on the Climate Change Performance Index 2021

Symbolically, the CCPI ranking does not give any nation the accolade of being first, second or third. This is meant to show how the best countries on the ranking still need to do far more to combat climate change. With that in mind, here are the top 10 nations on the list:

• 1.
• 2.
• 3.
• 4. Denmark 
• 5. Sweden
• 6. Norway
• 7. United Kingdom
• 8. Morocco
• 9. Chile
• 10. India

For more information, check out the official index.