Türkiye, host of this year’s UN climate conference COP31 in Antalya, has slipped one place to 53rd in the 2027 Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) and remains in the index’s "very low" group, according to the index’s own country assessment and reports by Euronews Türkçe, Turkish Minute and bianet.
The index, published on Wednesday by Germanwatch and the NewClimate Institute, assesses 64 countries and the European Union, Germanwatch and Euronews Türkçe reported. Its release coincided with the start of the COP31 leaders’ summit in Antalya, according to Turkish Minute and The Associated Press (AP).
How Türkiye was rated
Türkiye was rated "low" for greenhouse gas emissions and for energy use, "medium" for renewable energy and "very low" for climate policy, according to the CCPI country page, Euronews Türkçe and Turkish Minute.
The assessment says Türkiye’s current national climate pledge (NDC) does not put the country on track for its goal of net-zero emissions by 2053, and that it foresees emissions rising until 2035, the CCPI page and Euronews Türkçe reported.
Solar capacity grew from about 9.5 gigawatts (GW) in 2022 to 28 GW by September 2026, according to the CCPI page and Turkish Minute. At the same time, electricity generation from fossil fuels rose from 186 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2022 to 201 TWh in 2025, Euronews Türkçe and Turkish Minute reported. Coal still supplied 34 percent of Türkiye’s electricity in 2025, according to the CCPI page and Euronews Türkçe.
No country in the top three
The first three places in the ranking were left empty because no country performed well enough to earn an overall "very high" rating, Germanwatch, Euronews Türkçe and bianet reported. Denmark was ranked fourth, followed by Lithuania and Luxembourg, according to Germanwatch and Euronews Türkçe; Euronews Türkçe and bianet named the United Kingdom and Morocco among the other leading performers.
Our earlier report covers the opening of COP31 and the presidency’s electrification pledge.
Sources
- Climate Change Performance Index 2027: Türkiye (CCPI / Germanwatch, NewClimate Institute)
- The Climate Change Performance Index 2027: Results (Germanwatch)
- 2027 İklim Performansı raporu: COP31’in ev sahibi Türkiye gerileyerek 53. sırada yer aldı (Euronews Türkçe)
- COP31 host Turkey rated ‘very low’ in climate performance index (Turkish Minute)
- COP31’e ev sahipliği yapan Türkiye’ye "çok düşük" iklim notu (bianet)
- World leaders urge stronger and faster action at UN climate talks (AP via CP24)
Photo: awu kado / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
