Between 2000 and 2012, India’s position among 180 nations varied between 122 and 127.
Out of 180 countries, India’s position was at 177 in 2018; 168 in 2020; 180 in 2022 and 176 in 2024.
Scientists who prepared the index, however, noted that India made certain improvements in environmental performances, but its position still remains close to the bottom, possibly due to better performances from other countries.
A country can be making progress and its rank may still fall if other countries are improving faster.
That said, India has made progress in several EPI metrics,” Sebastian Block, principal investigator of the 2024 EPI index and a researcher at Yale Centre for Environmental Law and Policy told DH.
Between 2000 and 2012, India’s position among 180 nations varied between 122 and 127. The southern journey began since 2014 and accelerated in the last eight years. Out of 180 countries, India’s position was at 177 in 2018; 168 in 2020; 180 in 2022 and 176 in 2024.
Scientists who prepared the index, however, noted that India made certain improvements in environmental performances, but its position still remains close to the bottom, possibly due to better performances from other countries.
“The rank depends on the scores of other countries. A country can be making progress and its rank may still fall if other countries are improving faster. That said, India has made progress in several EPI metrics,” Sebastian Block, principal investigator of the 2024 EPI index and a researcher at Yale Centre for Environmental Law and Policy told DH.
“For example, India improved its score on the indicator measuring fine particulate matter pollution from household solid fuels, as well as on indicators of sanitation and drinking water, acid rain precursors, and climate change.”
The four countries that perform worse than India in the 2024 index are Myanmar, Laos, Pakistan and Vietnam. Estonia leads this year’s rankings with a 40 per cent drop in greenhouse gas emissions over the last decade, largely attributed to replacing dirty oil shale power plants with cleaner energy sources.
