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.
The Climate Change Performance Index assesses countries each year on their emissions level, whether those emissions are going up or down over time, renewable energy development and the carbon efficiency of the economy.
Prepared by the think tank Germanwatch and the Climate Action Network Europe, the rankings are also in part determined 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.
Australian 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.
She told the summit on Monday that 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 domestic policies are inadequate to meet the 2020 goal of a 5 per cent cut in emissions below 2000 levels.
The government 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 due to falling electricity demand and beneficial carbon accounting rules than direct government action.
The European report's other concerns with Australian policy include 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 36.5 out of a possible 100, well below the global average.
It was not all bad news - Australia moved up one spot from last year's index based on slight improvements in the carbon efficiency of the economy and renewable energy progress.
Denmark was top of the rankings, though its new government is more hostile to climate policies and is reconsidering emissions reduction targets. It was followed by Britain, Sweden, Belgium and France. Other cellar dwellers included Japan, Canada, South Korea, Singapore and Iran.