India drops to the bottom of environmental performance index
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India has ranked at the bottom of a list of 180 nations in terms of environmental performance. The increasingly dangerous air quality and rapidly rising greenhouse gas emissions are behind India's low score of 18.9. This is the first time India dropped to the bottom of the list.
Four other Asian nations with low EPI scores - Myanmar (19.4), Vietnam (20.1), Bangladesh (23.1), and Pakistan (24.6) - are also at the bottom of the list published by the Yale Centre for Environmental Law and Policy and the Center for International Earth Science Information Network, Columbia University.
The EPI ranks nations on climate change performance, environmental health, and ecosystem vitality using 40 performance indicators across 11 categories. The report analyses how close these 180 nations are to establishing environmental policy targets.
The report noted that India and China are likely to be the largest and second-largest emitters of greenhouse gases by 2050 even though both nations have pledged to curb emission growth rates. China is ranked 161st with a score of 28.4.
Researchers claimed that most low-scoring countries have either prioritised economic growth over sustainability or struggling with crises like civil unrest. Russia is ranked 112th on the list
The US is ranked 43rd on the list and is placed 20th out of 22 wealthy democracies in the Global West. Experts blamed the low ranking on the rollback of environmental protections during the Trump administration.
Many nations are headed in the wrong direction. Four countries - China, India, the US, and Russia will be emitting over 50% of the residual global greenhouse gases in 2050 if the current trend continues.
Denmark topped the list followed by the UK and Finland for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in recent years.
Some areas analysed in the report are household solid fuels, drinking water, sanitation, lead exposure, marine protected areas, tree cover loss, fish stock status, methane emissions intensity, and sustainable nitrogen management.