On June 07, 2020, According to the biennial Environment Performance Index (EPI ) 2020 released jointly by Yale University and Columbia University, India has ranked 168 out of 180 countries with a score of 27.6 out of 100.While the Denmark has been topped the list with a score of 82.5.
- In EPI 2018 , India’s rank was 177 with a score of 30.57 out of 100.
Here’s the list of top 3 nations in EPI 2020:
| Rank | Country Name | EPI score |
| 168 | India | 27.6 |
| 1 | Denmark | 82.5 |
| 2 | Luxembourg | 82.3 |
| 3 | Switzerland | 81.5 |
Key Points:
i.The EPI provides a quantitative basis for comparing, analyzing, and understanding environmental performance of the countries based on 32 key sustainability indicators across 11 categories & also gives a snapshot of the 10-year trends in environmental performance at the national and global levels.
Performance by South Asian region:
- Among the South Asian countries, Bhutan topped in the list and Afghanistan was at the bottom.
Road ahead:
- The Index stressed India to re-double national sustainability efforts on all fronts & needs to focus on key issues such as air and water quality, biodiversity and climate change.
- This can also be complemented by the proper determination of the price of more polluting fuels, such as petrol and diesel, besides subsidizing the rapid transition to solar energy.
India’s rank in Category wise at EPI 2020:
| Rank | Category |
| 35 | Fisheries |
| 93 | Eco-System Service |
| 94 | Water Resources |
| 103 | Waste Management |
| 106 | climate change mitigation |
| 108 | Agriculture |
| 139 | Sanitation & Drinking water |
| 145 | Pollution Emissions |
| 148 | biodiversity and habitat |
| 174 | Heavy Metals |
| 179 | Air Quality |
For more detail about other countries- click here
Recent policy efforts by the government for environmental protection:
- Decision to implement Bharat Stage-6 (BS-VI) emission standards directly, leaving India Stage-5 (BS-V) with effect from April 1, 2020.
- A framework for the production and sale of electric vehicles is under construction by 2030.
- To accelerate the transition to renewable energy sources, the National Solar Mission has revised the target of installing 20 GW of solar capacity by 2021-22 to 100 GW.
About Environmental Performance Index:-
EPI index was developed from the Pilot Environmental Performance Index and it was first published in 2002.The EPI was preceded by the Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI).
This index was developed by Yale University (Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy) and Columbia University (Center for International Earth Science Information Network) in collaboration with the World Economic Forum and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission.
GGEI(Global Green Economy Index) utilizes EPI data for the environmental dimension of the index.
About Yale University:
Location– New Haven, US
President– Peter Salovey
About and Columbia University:
Location– New York, United States
President– Lee Bollinger
