Australia's record on climate change has again been brought into question with a new report card ranking the country third-last among major emitters, ahead of only oil-rich Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia. 
Released at the Paris climate summit, the rankings by European environment groups look at 58 countries responsible for 90 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Australia fared badly - the report argues that a transition to a lower-emissions economy will require significant policy changes from the current regime.
The Climate Change Performance Index assesses countries each year on their emissions level, whether those emissions are going up or down, renewable energy development and the carbon efficiency of their economy.
Prepared by the think tank Germanwatch and the Climate Action Network Europe, the rankings are also determined, in part, by a survey of non-government organisations about their views.
In Australia, the performance index is being released by the Australian Conservation Foundation. Chief executive Kelly O'Shanassy said there was no reason for Australia to perform so badly. "We've got a strong economy and some of the best solar and wind resources in the world - we should be right up at the top of the list, not lagging near the bottom," she said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop is in Paris with other ministers working on the final sticking points towards a new global deal on climate change.
In a speech to the summit on Monday, she said Australia would beat its 2020 target, had set an ambitious 2030 goal and was transforming its electricity supply to include more renewable energy.
But a performance index fact sheet says Australia's current domestic policies are inadequate to meet the 2020 goal of a 5 per cent cut in emissions below 2000 levels.
The government says it will beat the 2020 emissions targets, and released projections before the Paris meeting showing it was on track to be 28 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions under the goal. But some analysts, such as the firm RepuTex, argue this is more about falling electricity demand and beneficial carbon accounting rules than direct government action.
The European report outlines other concerns with Australian policy, including reducing the national renewable energy target and cutting industrial energy saving programs. It notes observer complaints that the government's direct action climate policy does not have enough teeth to drive real reform.
On the above criteria, Australia scored a total of 36.5 out of 100, well below the global average. It was not all bad news - Australia moved up one spot from last year based on slight improvements in the carbon efficiency of the economy and renewable energy progress.
Denmark finished at the top of the rankings, though its new government is more hostile to climate policies and is reconsidering the country's emissions reduction targets. It was followed by Britain, Sweden, Belgium and France. Other cellar dwellers included Japan, Canada, South Korea, Singapore and Iran.