New Global Environmental Performance Rankings Released

The Dirt reports on findings disclosed by this year's iteration of the Yale and Columbia University produced Environmental Performance Index (EPI). A new metric unveiled this year tracks the trend in each country's environmental performance.

2 minute read

June 8, 2012, 9:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


This year marks the seventh iteration of efforts by the two Ivy League universities to "provide science-based quantitative metrics as an aid to achieving long-term sustainable development goals." The EPI "ranks 132 countries on 22 performance indicators spanning ten policy categories, which track performance and progress on two broad objectives: environmental health and ecosystem vitality. The index is heavily weighted towards indicators of ecosystem vitality (70 percent), with the rest of a country's performance determined by numbers from environmental health indicators."

Switzerland came out on top of this year's index due to its leadership in "addressing pollution control and natural resource management challenges." The big surprise in the top ten, which is filled with "European countries with high per-capita income levels" is the ranking of 5th place Costa Rica, "a middle-income country that has made significant investments in sustainable development, preserving its natural resources, and reducing pollution."

"The U.S., which ranked a sad 61st place in 2010, is now 49th, which is still much lower than it should be."

The inaugural trend report indicated that most countries have trended upwards between 2000 to 2010. Of those headed in the opposite direction, "Estonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Russia were countries with the worst negative trends. Russia, at the very bottom of the Trend EPI ranking, has suffered a severe breakdown in environmental health as well as performance declines related to over-fishing and forest loss. It shows declines in every category except for slight improvements in sulfur dioxide emissions, though levels are still far below target."

Tuesday, June 5, 2012 in THE DIRT

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 9, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Map of Haussmann's redesign of Paris in the 1850s through 1870s under Napoleon III.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking

Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

June 30, 2025 - Tom Sanchez

Green bike share bikes parked in a row on a commercial street with outdoor dining and greenery.

Making Shared Micromobility More Inclusive

Cities and shared mobility system operators can do more to include people with disabilities in planning and operations, per a new report.

15 minutes ago - Cities Today

View from inside car's driver seat while driving.

Car Designs Make it Harder to See Pedestrians

Blind spots created by thicker pillars built to withstand rollover crashes are creating dangerous conditions for people outside vehicles.

1 hour ago - Bloomberg CityLab

Red and white "Wildfire Evacuation Route" sign on signpost.

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions

An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.

July 10 - The Markup

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Home and Land Services Coordinator

Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners

Associate/Senior Planner

Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development

Senior Planner

Heyer Gruel & Associates PA