For the last 25 years, the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) has collaborated with the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) — essentially, an evidence-based and multi-faceted sustainability scorecard.
The EPI offers a summary of sustainability around the world by ranking 180 countries based on climate change mitigation, ecosystem vitality and environmental health. The index uses 58 different performance indicators within 11 categories to score each country, track trends and identify successful policy interventions.
For the first time, the 2024 EPI also introduced new metrics to calculate how well countries protect essential habitats, as well as indicators to measure how effectively protected areas have been regulated by individual countries. These metrics are a direct response to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’s goal of safeguarding 30 percent of lands and seas by 2030. These new indicators show that while many countries may have reached their area protection goals, the loss of natural ecosystems continues to be a major challenge.
The EPI offers a warning to developing countries to avoid the mistakes made by wealthier nations on their path to industrialization. It also includes an important reminder to wealthier countries to beware the over consumption that leads to environmental degradation and to help invest in developing nations to ensure a better and more sustainable future for the entire planet.
Adapted from a News item release from the Columbia Climate School
