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Canada has ranked close to last on an annual index that evaluates and compares the climate protection performances of 56 industrialized and emerging countries.

The 56 countries are together responsible for more than 90 per cent of global energy-related CO2 emissions.

Canada placed 53rd on the index, down two spots from 2006.

The , compiled by the environmental organization Germanwatch, compares the countries in three different ways, and then calculates a combined Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI).

Canada ranked 46th for its emissions levels, 43rd for its emission trends, and 55th for the effectiveness of its national government policies.

The report comes as officials from nearly 190 countries are in Bali for a massive UN conference on climate change. The focus of the conference is to begin negotiations on an international agreement to fight climate change after 2012 -- when the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol expires.

Matthew Bramley of the Pembina Institute, who contributed to the study, said Canada's credibility on the issue is being questioned.

"The government is still not making a serious effort to cut greenhouse gas pollution, and that leaves Canada at the back of the pack," Bramley said in a press release.

"The gap between the government's rhetoric and its action to date severely weakens Canada's credibility here in Bali."

China turnaround

The United States and Saudi Arabia ranked the worst on the list, at 55th and 56th.

Meanwhile, China was heralded as a leader on environmental initiatives even though it ranked in the 40th spot.

While still low on the list, the ranking is an improvement of four places from last year, mostly due to new policies to promote renewable energy use and slash industrial energy consumption.

"China's relatively positive political assessment gives hope that emission growth will slow down in the future," Germanwatch's Christoph Bals said in a press release.

Historically, China has maintained a defensive position over its environmental policies, but that seems to have given way recently to a more proactive stance at the Bali talks, according to delegates.

"China has made up its mind about a year ago that it was going to get serious," Hans Verolme, director of WWF International's Global Climate Change Program, told The Associated Press.

"They want to show to the world it understands and it wants to do what is necessary to stop dangerous climate change."

However there's little disagreement that China, which many believe has now surpassed the U.S. as the world's largest emitter of GHGs, still has a long way to go.

Sweden had the best record on the Germanwatch list but still only achieved two thirds of the total score.

According to reports from Bali, one of the major snags in the negotiations is over developing nations. Many nations, including Canada, have said they will only sign onto an emission reductions plan if developing countries such as China and India also take on binding targets.

But those countries say industrialized nations should take the lead since they are responsible for the majority of emissions.

UN climate chief Yvo de Boer said hope is ebbing away.

"Nothing has been ruled out," de Boer said. "Binding commitments from developing countries is not off the table, but is crawling toward the edge."

Environment Minister John Baird will attend the conference in Bali next week.

Index ranking of the 10 largest CO2 emitters:

With files from The Associated Press