Environmental Performance Index 2020
The 12th edition of the Environmental Performance Index was released in June 2020.
What is the Environmental Performance Index?
Environmental Performance Index (EPI) is a biennial report prepared by Yale University and Columbia University in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. The EPI offers a scorecard that highlights leaders and laggards in environmental performance and provides practical guidance for countries that aspire to move toward a sustainable future. EPI ranks countries on environmental health and ecosystem vitality using 32 performance indicators across 11 issue categories.
The report also includes 10-year trends in environmental performance at the national and global levels. These indicators provide a gauge at a national scale of how close countries are to established environmental policy targets. Further, it offers a powerful policy tool in support of efforts to meet the targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The 2020 Index:
- Denmark with a score of 82.5 has topped the index. This was followed by Luxembourg (score 82.3) second, Switzerland (score 81.5) third, United Kingdom (score 81.3) fourth, and France (score 80.0) fifth.
- Countries lowest in the index are – Liberia (180), Myanmar(179), Afghanistan(178), Sierra Leone(177), Cote d’ Ivoire(176).
- India is ranked 168 with Ghana (score 27.6). In 2018, India was ranked 177. Among India’s neighbors, Bhutan was ranked 107th, Sri Lanka 109th, China 120th, Pakistan 142nd, and Nepal 145th.
Quiz Time
Question: What is India’s rank in the Environmental Performance Index 2020 prepared jointly by Yale and Columbia University?
(a) 168
(b) 165
(c) 176
(d) 155
Answer:(a)