Biennial index finds world falling behind on environment and climate goals
Denmark tops; India bottoms out; US compares poorly with other wealthy democracies
(Kevin Krajic/Earth Institute)
Global progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions is still insufficient to achieve the goal of net-zero emissions by mid-century. 2022 Environmental Performance Index (EPI). Using the trajectory of the past 10 years as the basis for forecasting emissions to 2050, researchers at Yale and Columbia University predict that the vast majority of countries will miss the target, and some are expected to fall far short of the target. Furthermore, by 2050, more than 50% of emissions are expected to come from just four countries: China, India, the United States and Russia.
Only a few countries (notably Denmark and the UK) are currently expected to achieve net neutrality by 2050. Denmark, for example, has set a national target to reduce emissions by 70 percent from 1990 levels by 2030, and has adopted a comprehensive policy agenda to deliver on this commitment, including a recently expanded emissions tax.
Unless they change their trajectories, the 24 countries — dubbed the “dirty two dozen” in the report — will account for nearly 80 percent of the remaining greenhouse gas emissions in 2050, the authors said. While U.S. emissions are falling rapidly, they won’t be falling fast enough to reach net zero by 2050 because of a very high starting point, the report said. Emissions continue to rise in China, India, Russia and some major developing countries.
Published every other year, the EPI ranks 180 countries based on 40 indicators including climate change, environmental public health and ecosystem vitality. It constitutes the world’s leading analysis of country-level sustainability trends. In addition to climate-related issues, it also includes air and water pollution, waste management, and biodiversity and habitat protection. Country rankings are based on data from international organisations and research centres around the world.
Alex de Sherbinin of Columbia University’s Columbia Climate Institute, one of the report’s lead authors, said: “Good governance, policy commitment and targeted environmental investment will Countries that are moving towards a sustainable future are distinguished from those that are not yet. Countries that score high have well-thought-out plans to protect public health, conserve natural resources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
Denmark becomes the most sustainable country in the world. Retaining its No. 1 ranking from 2020, its scores reflect strong performance on many issues tracked by EPI, with notable leadership in climate and sustainable agriculture. Other high-scoring countries include the UK and Finland, both of which have done very well on climate change, driven by policies that have drastically reduced greenhouse gas emissions in recent years. Other top-scoring countries, including Sweden and Switzerland, outperformed the rest in both air and water quality.
“If the world is to avoid the potentially damaging effects of climate change, major countries have more work to do than they might realize,” said Dan Esty, director of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and co-author of the report. Much more.”
The U.S. lags behind other countries at 43rdrd in 180 countries. The rankings reflect a country that is deeply divided on how to deal with environmental challenges and the rollback of environmental protections under Trump. Between 2016 and 2020, the government repealed or weakened nearly 100 environmental regulations, reversing the nation’s progress on climate change mitigation, air quality and habitat protection. In particular, the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, relaxation of methane emissions regulations, and lower fuel efficiency standards mean the U.S. loses time while its developed-country counterparts enact important emission reduction policies. While the data show that the U.S. has made strides in improving air quality and marine protected areas, it ranks well behind other wealthy Western democracies, including France (12th), Germany (13th), Australia (17th), Italy (23rd) and Japan (25th).
The lowest scores came from countries battling civil unrest or other crises, including Myanmar and Haiti, or those that prioritized economic growth over environmental sustainability. The latter include India, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Pakistan. India is at the bottom of the list for the first time with markedly poor air quality and rapidly rising greenhouse gas emissions. Poor air quality and rising emissions continue to impact China’s EPI ranking, 160th nationallyth.
Global trends show that over the past decade, many countries have made significant progress in environmental health issues such as sanitation, drinking water and indoor air pollution. These results show that investments in infrastructure, such as wastewater treatment facilities, and better home energy technologies, such as cleaner stoves, can translate into rapid improvements in public health. However, EPI’s air quality indicators show that most countries still breathe unsafe air. More than 8 million people are thought to die prematurely each year from exposure to indoor and ambient air pollutants. South Asian countries such as India, Nepal and Pakistan are particularly lagging behind in air quality.
Ecosystem trends represent both dramatic improvements and ongoing challenges in protecting habitat and biodiversity. Belgium, the United Arab Emirates, Croatia and Niger have significantly expanded protected habitat within their borders, scoring the highest on the biodiversity indicator. The world has also achieved its target for marine protected areas, successfully protecting 10 percent of its coastline, but marine ecosystems remain threatened in most of the world. On other issues, global performance continues to move away from sustainability. Fisheries in particular showed a downward trend, with almost all countries scoring below 50 percent on this important issue.
Analysis of the rankings clearly shows that the factors that explain environmental success include good governance, national wealth, quality of life, independent media and well-designed regulations. The researchers found strong correlations between EPI scores and government efficiency, rule of law, regulatory quality, well-being, and GDP per capita.
The push for stricter policies has gained momentum in recent years, especially after the 2015 adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris climate agreement. Still, persistent information gaps hold the world back, the authors say. There is a particular lack of good data on agriculture, freshwater quality, chemical exposure and ecosystem protection, the report said. The EPI team continues to call on world leaders and data organizations to bridge these gaps by increasing their investment in environmental information frameworks.
Adapted from a press release from the Yale Center for Environmental Policy and Law.
