Based on the 2020 Climate Change Performance Index, Sweden was ranked as the country with the highest achievement in climate protection. Sweden has established a goal to reach net zero emissions by 2045, although critics noted that the country lacks a strategy to reach this target. In this year, no country has achieved enough to be placed into the top three.

Greenhouse gas emissions

After three years of carbon dioxide emissions stabilization, emissions have risen again along with primary energy demand. Emission intensity can act as a measurement of how economic growth is linked is to carbon dioxide emissions. For example, North America has a much higher emission intensity than sub-Saharan Africa. To achieve a reduction in emissions, societies must strive for decarbonization, where we reduce the amount of carbon inputs into greenhouse gas emissions, which can in turn allow for more resilience to climate change.

Energy industry and renewables

The energy industry is one of the largest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions. Shifting towards using primarily renewable power is key to mitigating emissions. However, decreasing energy use can also reduce emissions, although, traditionally low energy using countries have rapidly increased their energy use over the last few years.