Biodiversity & Environment
Environmental Performance Index
- 09 Jun 2020
- 3 min read
Why in News
India secured 168th rank in the 12th edition of the Environment Performance Index (EPI) 2020.
- India’s rank was 177th in 2018.
Environmental Performance Index
- EPI is a biennial index prepared by Yale University and Columbia University in collaboration with the World Economic Forum.
- It offers a scorecard that highlights leaders and laggards in environmental performance and provides practical guidance for countries that aspire to move toward a sustainable future.
- This index was first published in 2002 designed to supplement the environmental targets set forth in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
Key Points
- EPI 2020:
- EPI Index 2020 measured the environmental performance of 180 countries.
- The index considered 32 indicators of environmental performance and included 10-year trends in environmental performance at the national and global levels.
- Denmark topped the index with a score of 82.5.
- India’ Performance:
- India scored 27.6 out of 100 in the 2020 EPI index and its performance was worse than all South Asian countries, except Afghanistan.
- India scored below the regional (South-Asia) average score on all five key parameters on environmental health, including air quality, sanitation and drinking water, heavy metals and waste management.
- These findings resonated with the concerns raised by the ‘State of India’s Environment 2020 in Figures’, published by the Centre for Science and Environment.
- It has also scored below the regional average on parameters related to biodiversity and ecosystem services too.
- India was at second position after Pakistan on ‘climate change’ among the South-Asia countries.
- Pakistan’s score (50.6) was the highest under the climate change category.
- A ten-year comparison progress report in the index showed that India slipped on climate-related parameters.
- The report indicated that black carbon, carbon dioxide emissions and greenhouse emissions per capita increased in ten years.
Environmental Conservation Programmes in India
- Climate Change: National Action Plan on Climate Change
- Desertification: National Action Programme to Combat Desertification
- Pollution Control: National Clean Air Program
- Environmental Impact Assessment: Environment Management Plan
- Forest Protection: National Afforestation Programme
- Animal Conservation: Project Elephant, Project Tiger
Way Forward
- India needs to re-double national sustainability efforts on all fronts.
- It needs to focus on a wide spectrum of sustainability issues, with a high-priority to critical issues such as air and water quality, biodiversity and climate change.
