Philippines slides to 19th in Climate Change Performance Index
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ performance in climate policy and mitigation has dropped sharply in the latest Climate Change Performance Index, falling 12 places to 19th.
The CCPI now ranks the country as a "medium" performer, down from last year’s "high" rating, citing weaknesses in renewable energy policies, targets and overall climate policy implementation.
While the Philippines ranked lower in the 2026 CCPI Ranking, it is still a top performer in Southeast Asia, particularly compared to Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
The CCPI ranks countries across several indicators, giving the highest weight of 40% to efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Philippines received a score of 29.97. Its emissions remain far below the global average, with an estimated climate footprint of 2.35 metric tonnes per person in 2024. However, carbon dioxide emissions per capita have been rising over the past five years.
Why the drop? CCPI’s country experts for the Philippines attributed the drop in ranking to the absence of a net-zero target, intermediate goals and a long-term strategy, despite the push for the proposed Low Carbon Economy Investment Act, which aims to help reduce emissions.
"The effectiveness of policy measures against the backdrop of weak national targets raises particular concern among the experts about decarbonisation efforts' credibility," the report read, adding the absence of sufficient environmental and social safeguards.
Other indicators, each weighted at 20%, include renewable energy, energy use and climate policy. Renewable energy is assessed based on its current share in the total primary energy supply, past trends, and alignment with the global climate goal of limiting warming to below 2°C under the Paris Agreement.
It primarily reflects how effectively a country is transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The Philippines ranked second in the region in this indicator, with a score of 6.41.
Meanwhile, energy use is assessed based on the average amount of energy consumed per person, while climate policy is evaluated by experts who review a country’s policy framework, goals, consistency and implementation, along with its participation in global climate efforts.
The Philippines scored 15.82 in energy use and 10.58 in climate policy.
The country experts include Aksyon Klima Pilipinas national coordinator John Leo Algo, and Manila Observatory’s associate director for climate policy and international relations Tony La Viña, along with technical adviser Jameela Joy Reyes.
What experts noted
They, however, still praised several policies, including the Renewable Energy Act and the Green Energy Auction Program, saying the former has "finally started to fulfill its purpose" of ensuring consumers benefit from the cost advantages of the energy transition.
The experts also observed a decline in the country’s use of coal and coal-fired power in 2025. But they stressed that the shift away from coal remains too slow, especially as growing energy demand is increasingly being met by imported liquefied natural gas — without any plan yet for phasing out gas use.
Human rights issues linked to some renewable energy projects also contributed to the drop in the country’s climate ranking. The experts pointed to hydropower projects in the Cordillera that threaten indigenous communities’ water sources, and floating solar farms in Laguna de Bay that disrupt the livelihoods of fisherfolk.
On the international front, the report also noted how the Philippines has been actively positioning itself in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), particularly as it hosts the Loss and Damage Fund Board, which finances climate mitigation and disaster risk reduction efforts for vulnerable nations.
Recommendation
Experts recommend the Philippine government follow a coordinated approach that includes protecting tropical forests, committing to net zero, fully phasing out fossil fuels and enforcing a coal moratorium.
Overall, the CCPI has continued to keep the top three spots in the ranking vacant, saying "no country is strong enough in all categories to achieve an overall very high rating." The top-ranked country is still Denmark, followed by the United Kingdom, Morocco and Chile.
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