Publication
The Green Future Index is a ranking of 76 countries and territories on their progress and commitment toward building a low carbon future. It measures the degree to which their economies are pivoting to clean energy, industry, agriculture, and society through investment in renewables, innovation, and green finance. Methodology The
The Green Future Index is a ranking of 76 countries and territories on their progress and commitment toward building a low carbon future. It measures the degree to which their economies are pivoting to clean energy, industry, agriculture, and society through investment in renewables, innovation, and green finance.
The Green Future Index measures the green performance of countries and territories across five pillars, each with a number of indicators:
Carbon emissions
Energy transition
Green society
Clean innovation
Climate policy
The rankings show business leaders, policymakers, and societies whether their country is making the right investments in building a green future and whether it is likely to emerge as a green leader or a laggard in tackling humanity’s greatest challenge—the global climate emergency.
The index is weighted toward trends and future-looking indicators that show whether an economy is moving in the right direction. This recognizes the efforts that more industrialized economies are making to pivot and decarbonize. Smaller, less developed economies are recognized for their commitment to embrace renewable technologies and drive economic development without the previously accompanying environmental footprint.
Climate policy is the most significant pillar in the index methodology. It measures state-level activities and overall policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gases, as well as the degree to which pandemic recovery stimulus programs will be oriented toward sustainable projects and promoting carbon neutral practices.
This last point is significant, for the green future of every nation will not only be determined by the speed and precision with which each reduces its own carbon footprint, but by the steps it takes to make its economy more robust and resilient through sustainable activity and policy. Just as a biodiverse ecosystem cultivates stability and resilience through a complex network of adaptive species, a green economy is powered by multiple sources of renewable energy, a low-carbon food industry, clean transport and industry, and a flexible, responsive, and innovative society.