Ireland is ranked as the worst-performing country in Europe in taking action to address dangerous climate change, INDEPENDENT.IE reports.
The 2018 Climate Change Performance Index, published at UN climate talks in Bonn, Germany, ranks Ireland 49th out of 56 countries, a drop of 28 places from last year.
The report has been used for the past 13 years to track countries' efforts in combating climate change, and is issued by Germanwatch, the NewClimate Institute and the Climate Action Network, with the help of 300 energy and climate experts from around the globe.
The report said no country had taken sufficient action to prevent dangerous climate change, and so the top three spots are unfilled. Sweden is fourth, followed by Lithuania, Morocco, Norway and the UK.
Ireland is ranked 49th, or "very low" in terms of taking action. The worst-performing countries are Saudi Arabia, at the bottom of the list, followed by Iran, the Republic of Korea, Australia and the US. It says that Ireland is the worst performing European country in the index.
"According to national experts, Ireland is one of the few EU countries to miss its 2020 emission reduction targets under the EU effort-sharing decision, which is one reason why the country rates very low in climate policy," it said.