At COP30 in Belém comes bad news for Italy: we continue to fall back in the ranking that measures commitment against the climate crisis. The new “Climate Change Performance Index 2026,” compiled by Germanwatch, CAN International and NewClimate Institute in collaboration with Legambiente, places our country 46th out of 64 economies analysed. Three positions lost in a single year, 17 since 2022. A decline that is unapologetically telling of a climate policy that trudges on.
At the top is still Denmark in fourth place (the top three positions remain symbolically unassigned because no country is considered truly aligned with the effort not to exceed the 1.5°C increase). This is followed by the United Kingdom in fifth and Morocco in sixth: three very different models, united by sharp policy choices on renewables, efficiency and public mobility.
At the opposite end of the ranking appear the United States, Iran and Saudi Arabia. China, while still amongst the last, rises slightly to 54th place thanks to a boom in clean technologies, although its emissions still remain on the rise due to coal.
And Italy? It sinks to the middle of the low zone, along with the big G20 laggards such as South Africa, Indonesia, and—now firmly—gas-dependent Australia and coal-dependent Japan.
PNIEC unambitious, renewables too slow: Italian knots
Italy’s performance is weighed down mainly by one fact: national climate policy, which ends up in 58th place in the dedicated ranking. The new PNIEC allows a 44.3 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030 (49.5 per cent including forest removals). Numbers lower than the already weak 51 per cent initially envisioned by the PNIEC, and far from the -55 per cent required by the European Union. The ISPRA report on the state of the environment also shows a country stuck in the pits.
Stefano Ciafani, national president of Legambiente, makes it clear: Italy “continues to have a short-sighted vision” that slows down the fight against the climate crisis while creating new energy dependencies on unstable countries. Without a model based on clean sources, grids, storage and efficiency, Italy will lose both the climate and economic battle.
The numbers confirm the diagnosis. From 1990 to 2023, Italian emissions fell by 26.4 per cent, slow and insufficient progress. With current policies, by 2030 we would only reach -42 per cent. On the renewables side, the situation is merciless: in 2023 the share stopped at 19.6 per cent of final consumption, while PNIEC calls for reaching 39.4 per cent. To hit that target, ISPRA warns, we would have to run four times as fast as today.
If the problem were only delay, it could be called inefficiency. But the knot is political. As Mauro Albrizio of Legambiente, envoy to COP30, observes, the Italian plan “hides behind pragmatism and technological neutrality” to justify a phase-out of coal postponed even to 2038 and new bets on CCS and nuclear power. Two recipes that absorb resources, take a very long time and do not address the crisis of the present.
Global photography: the world is advancing, but not enough
The Climate Change Performance Index 2026 analyses 63 states plus the European Union, which together account for more than 90 per cent of global emissions. The index evaluates four parameters: emissions trends (40 per cent), renewables (20 per cent), energy efficiency (20 per cent) and climate policies (20 per cent). Well, no country meets the 1.5°C compatible performance threshold. But some are advancing.
Denmark continues to cut emissions and push on renewables, especially offshore. The UK benefits from coal exit and more determined policies. Morocco is growing thanks to investments in public transport and some of the lowest per capita emissions in the world.
Amongst the big emitters, China is showing early signs that emissions may have peaked. In contrast, India, despite an expanding renewable sector, slips to 23rd place due to rising coal and lack of a credible plan to overcome it.
The European Union as a whole falls to 20th place, slowed by Germany’s decline (22nd), held back by choices on new gas plants.
