Yahoo Finance Green Economy Index: Australia's leadership on climate change abysmal
Australia is trailing behind when it comes to leadership on climate change, a new report has revealed.
The latest Global Green Economy Index (GGEI), which rates countries and cities on their efficiency sectors, investments, natural capital and leadership, ranked Australia last out of 60 countries.
Dual Citizen Inc, the American consultancy behind the report, measured each country based on the role of political leaders in promoting a green economy, media coverage, international forums and climate change.
Related: Canada, Australia PM say economy trumps climate change
The authors revealed that when it came to Australia, and other developed countries such as Netherlands and Japan, the findings were concerning.
“This result suggests a lack of understanding about the underlying challenges these countries still face moving towards more low carbon growth pathways,” the report said.
The study found Australia had significant room to improve, particularly through investment, as our domestic economy is already seen as attractive for green ventures and related products.
“Translating this appeal into actual performance improvements will be critical,” the report stated.
Related: Business, investors want action on climate change
It wasn’t just the area of political leadership that Australia performed poorly in.
Overall Australia’s ranked 37 out of 60 for its action on supporting clean energy and tackling climate change.
Australia was ranked fourth in the same study just two years ago.
We now trail behind developing countries such as Philippines, Zambia, Kenya Mauritius and Ethiopia.
Shadow Environment Minister Mark Butler says Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s ‘climate change denialism’ has pushed Australia further behind the rest of the world.
"Tony Abbott's international reputation for climate change inaction is growing, to the detriment of Australian businesses who are trying to retain and attract overseas investors," Butler said.
But he says he is hardly shocked by Australia’s poor ranking when it comes to climate change leadership.
"This is not in the least bit surprising given Tony Abbott's vocal opposition to clean energy, his mendacious scare campaigns against the Renewable Energy Target and carbon tax and his refusal to attend the UN Climate Summit in September or include climate change on the G20 agenda," Mr Butler said.
Related: Corporate Australia 'in denial over climate change'
Germany and several Scandinavian countries were at the head of the pack, both in terms of reputation and their actual performance.
Sweden, Norway and Costa Rica got top marks for their actions towards climate change while Germany Denmark and Sweden and topped the rankings for reputation.
2014 GLOBAL GREEN ECONOMY INDEX OVERALL RANKING:
1. Sweden
2. Norway
3. Costa Rica
4. Germany
5. Denmark
6. Switzerland
7. Austria
8. Finland
9. Iceland
10. Spain
11. Ireland
12. New Zealand
13. France
14. Colombia
15. Portugal
16. Peru
17. Kenya
18. Brazil
19. Chile
20. United Kingdom
21. Netherlands
***
37. Australia
