12 June 2020
Environmental Performance Index Results Published
The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) provides a data-driven summary of the state of environmental sustainability around the world and ranks countries in accordance with their score. 180 countries are ranked by measuring 32 performance indicators across 11 issue categories surrounding environmental health and ecosystem vitality, which provides a gauge of how close countries are to their established environmental policy targets.
EPI rankings indicate which countries are best addressing environmental challenges and European countries were found to dominate the top 10 spots. Denmark ranked first in the EPI rankings followed by Luxembourg, Switzerland, the UK and then France.
Key findings from the study found that good policy is highly correlated with wealth (GDP per capita) and that the pursuit of economic prosperity often means more pollution and other strains on the ecosystem, however this is not a set rule, and indicators of good governance were found to have strong relationships with top-tier EPI scores.
The index’s authors say that measuring performance helps identify where more work is needed and how close countries are to environmental policy targets. At IMS we consider the index to be a helpful indicator of which countries are excelling in environmental standards and to provide clarity over where enhanced sustainable development may be required. The rankings can be found here.
