The Philippines slipped 12 spots in the 2026 Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), moving from a “high performer” to a “medium performer” in the latest global ranking.
According to CCPI, the government has implemented policies such as the proposed Low Carbon Economy Investment Act to address pollution. However, the country fell to 19th place from 7th due to the lack of a long-term climate strategy and weak policy implementation.
“The Philippine government is working on executive provisions aiming to establish a well-regulated carbon offsetting registry, with carbon markets embedded in a national emissions trading system. In conjunction with a proposed Low Carbon Economy Investment Act, the CCPI country experts welcome this initiative, as it provides a tool for effective emissions reduction distribution,” the CCPI report said.
“However, even if these proposals are strictly applied, the lack of a net-zero target, ambitious and unconditional intermediate targets, and a consistent Long-term Strategy (LTS) weaken the country’s policy performance. These factors contribute to the considerable drop in this year’s ranking,” it added.
Despite the drop, the Philippines remains one of the top-ranking countries in Southeast Asia, scoring 62.79 points, followed by Vietnam at 24th place with 60.65 points.
CCPI left the “Top 3” positions blank again, citing that no country received an “overall very high rating” in all categories.
Denmark led the list due to strong performance in renewable energy, followed by the United Kingdom and Morocco, the latter noted for “very low capita emissions,” major public transport investments, and a new climate target for 2035.
The lowest-ranked countries are the United States (65th), Iran (66th), and Saudi Arabia (67th), primarily due to continued reliance on fossil fuels.
The CCPI rankings are based on climate policies, renewable energy performance, energy use, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.