The United States jumped from 40th to 21st in the rankings after the election of Democratic President Joe Biden, who has pumped new investment into green infrastructure and research, while China jumped from 45th to 26th due to its clean energy and commitment to phase out coal-fired power generation as part of its 2060 carbon neutrality pledge.

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The Green Future Index ranks 76 countries and territories on their progress and commitment toward building a low carbon future by measuring, “the degree to which their economies are pivoting to clean energy, industry, agriculture, and society through innovation, policy, and investment in renewables”.

The publishers, MIT Technology Review, note research for this year’s ranking was completed before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which it expects will have “far reaching” implications for global sustainability efforts.

They assess each nation based on five sets of criteria ranging from carbon emissions compared with GDP to support for green innovation.