Morocco has ranked fourth in the world in terms of its efforts to combat climate change, according to the 2021 Climate Change Performance Index.
The index positioned Morocco seventh globally, but only three countries scored better than the Kingdom: Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Denmark. The top three spots of the index are vacant because “no country is doing enough to prevent dangerous climate change.”
Compared to the 2020 Climate Change Performance Index, Morocco fell one rank due to the United Kingdom’s improved score. The European country overtook Morocco and Denmark this year, climbing from the fourth position globally (seventh according to the index) to the second (fifth in the index).
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The Climate Change Performance Index measures the climate mitigation efforts of 57 countries around the world, which make up 90% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The index gives each country a score on a scale from 0 to 100 based on four main criteria: GHG emissions, renewable energy, energy use, and climate policy.
Morocco earned an overall score of 67.59. The country scored best in energy use (16.06 out of 20), GHG emissions (29.35 out of 40), and climate policy (14.1 out of 20). Meanwhile, the Kingdom ranked 22nd globally (25th according to the index) in the renewable energy criterion, with a score of 8.08 out of 20.
Only three other African countries appeared on the 2021 Climate Change Performance Index, but none of them earned a “high” rating like Morocco. Egypt ranked 22nd according to the index, South Africa 37th, and Algeria 43rd.
The index also featured only three countries from the Middle East. Turkey ranked 42nd with a “low” score. Meanwhile, Iran and Saudi Arabia ranked 59th and 60th, with a “very low” score. Only the United States scored worse, standing at the bottom of the ranking with 19.75 points out of 100.
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