Environment Performance Index

As per the study conducted by Yale University on environment performance, Switzerland, Latvia and Norway came up as the strongest  performers and Iraq, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan emerged as the weakest performers, for the year 2012. EPI ranks countries based on various indicators, covering environment, human health, ecosystem vitality etc. As seen from the graph, ( EPI Vs GDP per capita), the top performers, come from European countries with high per capita income levels ( with the exception of Costa Rica, Rank 5, a middle income country, investing heavily into ecosystem based development). Developing countries and low income countries, on an average, fared poorly due to lack of basic infrastructure like access to safe drinking water, poor sanitation and environmental burden of disease. The study triggered various policy measures across the globe like “Going Green Initiative”  adopted by companies in India, investments in safe drinking water and modern sanitation techniques  taken up by some of the developing economies, and a check on carbon emissions by airline and other automobile industries.