India ranks at the bottom of a list of 180 countries in the Environmental Performance Index, an index of US-based institutions. Denmark topped the recently published 2022 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) by the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and Columbia University’s Center for International Earth Science Information Network. It is followed by Britain and Finland. These countries received the highest marks for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in recent years.
Environmental Performance Index 2022
EPI provides a data-based summary of the state of sustainability around the world. The EPI scores 180 countries based on climate change performance, environmental health and ecosystem status using 40 performance indicators across 11 categories.
The report said that India (18.9), Myanmar (19.4), Vietnam (20.1), Bangladesh (23.1) and Pakistan (24.6) got the lowest marks. Most of the low-scoring countries are those that prioritize economic growth over stability or are reeling under unrest and other crises.
India at the bottom of the ranking for the first time
It said that with increasingly dangerous air quality and rapidly rising greenhouse gas emissions, India has slipped to the bottom of the ranking for the first time. China is ranked 161st with 28.4 points. Researchers claim that China and India are projected to become the largest and second largest emitters of greenhouse gases in 2050, despite recent promises to curb emissions growth.
US ranked 43rd in the list
The US is ranked 20th out of 22 wealthiest democracies in the West and 43rd on the overall list. The EPI report said that the relatively low ranking is due to the retreat from environmental protection measures during the administration of former US President Donald Trump. At present, only a handful of countries, including Denmark and the UK, are set to reach greenhouse gas reduction levels by 2050, the report said.
It said that greenhouse gas emissions are rising rapidly in major countries such as China, India and Russia and many other countries are moving in the wrong direction. Russia ranks 112th on this list. EPI projections indicate that only four countries – China, India, the US and Russia – will be responsible for more than 50 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2050 if current trends continue.