2012 Global Ranking of Countries by Environmental Performance

The 2012 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) (99 page pdf, Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, Yale University, Center for International Earth Science Information Network, Columbia University, 2012)

Also discussed here: New Rankings on Environmental Performance (The Dirt, ASLA, Jun. 5, 2012)

 The Environmental Performance Index assesses the relative progress of 132 countries with 22 performance indicators. The 2012 ranking showed Switzerland, Latvia and Norway at the top, Canada in 37^th position and the USA, 49^th. Rising greenhouse gas emissions are a particular challenge for developed countries while safe drinking water is the biggest one for developing countries. Major data gaps exist for monitoring air pollution and greenhouse gas with the notable exception of the European Union(which had 20 of the top
  ranked 22 countries overall).
   
Key Quotes:

 “Some issues arise from the resource and pollution impacts of industrialization, such as greenhouse gas emissions and rising levels of waste. These impacts largely affect developed countries”

 “Other challenges are commonly associated with poverty and underinvestment in basic environmental amenities, such as access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. These problems primarily affect developing nations”

“We are particularly distressed by the lack of global, accurate, and comparative data on waste management, recycling, toxic exposures, and several other critical policy concerns”

“Switzerland (with an EPI score of 76.69) leads the world in addressing pollution control and natural resource management challenge... ranks first in the categories Air Pollution (effects on human health) and Air Pollution (ecosystem effects)”

 “Air quality monitoring systems vary significantly between countries, often producing fundamentally dissimilar data. In addition, many countries have too few monitoring stations to produce representative samples”

 “An ideal performance measure for ecosystem vitality and air pollution would include time-specific emissions quantities, the mapping of pollutant movement, the ecological sensitivity to pollutants by area, and the level of clear policy commitments to emissions reductions. The European Union is a model in this regard because it meets all of these monitoring goals”

 “CO2 emissions correspond strongly to GDP. However, in 2010, CO2 emissions grew faster than real GDP.. By 2035..projects demands for electricity will be approximately three-quarters higher than current levels, and demands for transport fuel may grow by approximately 40%”

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