EPI was launched in 2006 with the objective of measuring environmental trends worldwide and providing feedbacks for effective policymaking.
It is a joint collaboration between Yale University and Columbia University in association with World Economic Forum.
The 2018 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) ranked 180 countries on 24 performance indicators across ten issue categories covering environmental health and ecosystem vitality.
Highlights of EPI, 2018 Rankings
India was ranked 177/180 countries, the only major country behind India was Bangladesh which was placed at 179/180.
Top five countries – Switzerland, France, Denmark, Malta and Sweden respectively.
Air quality remains the leading environmental threat to public health. In 2016 the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimated that diseases related to airborne pollutants contributed to two-thirds of all life-years lost to environmentally related deaths and disabilities. Air pollution issues are especially acute in rapidly urbanizing and industrializing nations such as India and China.
The world has made great strides in protecting marine and terrestrial biomes, exceeding the international goal for marine protection in 2014.
Most countries improved their GHG emission intensity over the past ten years, reducing their emissions per unit of output. Three-fifths of countries in the EPI have declining CO2 intensities, while 85–90% of countries have declining intensities for methane, nitrous oxide, and black carbon.
EPI noticed tensions between 20 fundamental dimensions of sustainable developments namely, Environmental health and Ecosystem vitality. With increase in one, the other decreases. Good Governance is must to balance the two aspects.
