Stewart Patrick is a senior fellow and Terrence Mullan assistant director in the international institutions and global governance program at the Council on Foreign Relations. The views expressed in this commentary are their own. View more opinion articles on CNN.

(CNN) In a world of troubles, the battle against climate change must take priority. That is the clear message of the 28 leading global think tanks that together comprise the Council of Councils (CoC). The CoC's 2018-2019 Report Card on International Cooperation, released today, designates global warming as the top international priority for the first time in the report card's five-year history. Alas, those same experts see little opportunity for progress in the coming year.

Stewart Patrick

Terrence Mullan

Each year since 2015, the Council on Foreign Relations has asked the heads of CoC institutes to answer three questions: First, how would you grade international cooperation in the previous year, both overall and across 10 major issue areas? Second, how should world leaders prioritize these 10 global challenges? Third, which of these issues offer the most hope for progress in the coming year?

This year's results leave much to be desired. The world earned a gentleman's "C" for its overall performance. While this was a small improvement over last year's discomfiting C minus, and the first time the grade had increased since the survey began, a little context puts the result into perspective. The passing mark came after a frightening 2017 that saw the United States and North Korea bandying about threats of nuclear war, underscoring the need for further improvement.

International cooperation on individual issues areas was also mediocre. The highest individual grade, for promoting global health, was a B minus. The biggest disappointment was in mitigating climate change. Less than four years after the Paris Agreement, the Earth is poised to overshoot the 2 degrees Celsius rise in average temperatures that negotiators set as a fallback target. Moreover, recent reports on ocean warming, collapsing biodiversity, and natural disasters paint a dire picture of the planet's future. Mitigating and adapting to climate change received a C in 2018.

The world also earned lackluster marks on expanding global trade, improving cyber governance, stemming nuclear proliferation, and managing internal conflict. This uninspiring performance reflects the fraying international and domestic foundations of world order. Abroad, geopolitical tensions and regional rivalries are deepening. At home, surging populism, protectionism, and nationalism are reducing the appetite for compromise.

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