According to a recent report by Yale and Columbia University, India scored the lowest among 180 countries around the world in the 2022 Environment Performance Index (EPI), which gives a data-driven analysis of sustainability. It ranks countries on the basis of climate change, environmental public health, and biodiversity, among others.
While Denmark was the top scorer in the world, India, unfortunately, occupied the bottom-most spot with a sad score of 18.9. “For the overall performance and ranking EPI, each country’s performance is viewed across numerous (18) categories like ecosystem vitality, biodiversity and habitat, ecosystem services and grassland loss. Unfortunately, India is consistently ranking either at the bottom or close to the bottom in almost all the categories, both regionally and globally,” read a statement by EPI.
This means countries like India and Nigeria, which scored badly in the report, should focus more on issues such as air and water quality, biodiversity and climate change. The report also pointed out that if the trends continue, China, India, the United States, and Russia will together make up 50 per cent of residual global greenhouse gas emissions in 2050.
The analysis also suggests that efficient results are associated with GDP per capita. Economic elevation can equip countries to invest in policies that can give the outcomes they aim for. However, industrialisation has also been posing a danger to our ecosystem.
The study asserts that a developing nation need not choose between sustainability and economic safety. The steps can be taken by policymakers and stakeholders that help protect nature and make human activities more eco-friendly.