DATA STORY: India beats China at climate change protection measures

No conversation on global economy is complete without the mention of India and China. Such is the might of the two nations that be it workforce, trade or even manufacturing, they can't be ignored. Add to that climate change. While the neighbours are neck and neck in a number of parameters, India trumps China by a long margin on battling climate change.

India is performing way better than China on climate change protection measures deployed, a Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) report by Germanwatch states. With a performance score 59.08 India ranks 20th while China is placed way lower down at 48 with at score of 47.49, according to the CCPI.

Over all, India's performance in areas of efficiency and emission levels puts the country far ahead of China. According to the score, India's performance was categorised as "moderate" while that of China was categorised "poor".

CCP Index 2017 | Germanwatch | Statista

Interestingly, India pips China in climate change measures despite both the countries being among of the largest carbon dioxide emitters.

The 2017 report compares 58 of the top carbon dioxide (CO2) emitting countries.

The report notes that India's per capita emissions are "relatively low" despite the fact India is one of the ten largest CO2 emitters.

It also states that India's 25 percent of the energy supply is covered by renewable energy and that the Indian government is running "one of the largest renewable capacity expansion programmes in the world".

The performance was analysed on parameters such as emissions levels, development of emissions, renewable energies, efficiency and climate policy.

Over all, India's performance in areas of efficiency and emission levels puts India far ahead of China.

France tops the index with a score of 66.17 while Japan and Saudi Arabia finished 60th and 61th respectively with scores 35.93 and 25.45.

India has also outperformed China in other parameters too. India's performance has been called "good" while China's "poor" when it comes to 'emission levels'.

When it comes to energy efficiency, India's performance has been categorised as a "poor". However, China trails India with a "very poor" performance in terms of energy efficiency too.

Both India and China have performed almost equally when it comes to development of emissions, climate policy and renewable energies.

Within the G20 economies, India's climate change performance is ranked 4th, while China is ranked 12th.

According to the Paris Agreement signed at the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP 21) in December 2015, taking action on climate change was anchored in the context of international law and requires countries to make an effort to the prevent climate change.

The Conference had adopted the goal to limit global warming to "well below" 2 degree Celsius and pursue efforts to limit warming of the planet to 1.5 degree Celsius.

Note: According to the Germanwatch report, top three ranks in CCP index have been left vacant as "no country is doing enough to prevent dangerous climate change".