Transparency International: Corruption is a climate  problem
Several countries, including Germany, have received their lowest  scores on the global watchdog's "Corruption Perceptions  Index."
A silhouetted man  pulls a  wad of US  bills from his suit  pocket

Corruption is threatening global efforts to  combat climate change,  corruption watchdog Transparency International warned in a report  published on  Tuesday.
"Corruption hinders effective climate action by  preventing the adoption of ambitious policies," the watchdog  said in a statement.
Transparency International's  2024 Corruption Perceptions  Index shows that many countries, whether they are  facing rising temperatures or  hosting UN climate summits, have  lower scores than  before.
For example, Brazil, which  is hosting this year's COP30 climate talks, scored  34 points, its  lowest ever, indicating a higher  level of corruption.
Forest fire in  Brazil Forest fire in Brazil

"Corrupt forces not only shape but often dictate policies and dismantle checks and balances,"  said Maira Martini, CEO of Transparency  International. Germany is lagging behind
Germany  has been lagging behind in  the fight against corruption. In this  year's ranking  of corruption  perceptions, Germany  has fallen to 15th place out of 180 countries surveyed.  In the previous  survey, Germany  was ranked 12th. The lack of transparency in  the financing  of political parties  is cited as the main  problem.
At the presentation of the report in Berlin, Alexandra Herzog,  the president of Transparency  Deutschland, pointed the finger at the far-right populist  party Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the new populist  alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) and their large  donations, some  of them from abroad. She cited  as an example the donation of one million euros by an Austrian  businessman to the  AfD. According to Herzog, this has jeopardized fair political competition and  damaged citizens' trust in democracy ahead of  Germany's general  elections on February 23.
"These countries have the greatest responsibility to lead  towards ambitious climate goals, reduce emissions at scale and build resilience worldwide," according to Transparency  International.
What are the causes  of corruption?
The annual report gives  countries with a higher risk of public sector corruption a lower score on a scale  of zero to  100. According to the 2024  ranking, 85% of the  world's population  lives in countries  with a score below 50.
The countries that received the lowest scores are  mostly involved in conflicts, such as Sudan, Venezuela, Somalia, Syria, Eritrea and Yemen. South Sudan  fell to the bottom of the list, while Denmark  was the  highest.
The report also found that 47 of the 180  countries surveyed had their lowest  scores since the watchdog  began using its current methodology for its global  rankings in 2012.  These countries  include Germany, Austria, Brazil, France, Haiti and  Hungary. Over the past five years,  several countries, including Kosovo,  the Maldives, and Kuwait, have  significantly improved their corruption  scores.