India is Ranked Last Among 180 Countries in the Environmental Performance Index 2022

Despite launching several initiatives such as Sashakt Bharat, Swachh Bharat, Sanatan Bharat, and others, India was ranked last in the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2022. According to the report, India is the least environmentally sustainable of the 180 countries studied.

According to a report by the Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy, Yale University, the Center for International Earth Science Information Network, Columbia University, and the McCall MacBain Foundation, India has the lowest EPI — 18.9.

The report uses 40 performance indicators across 11 issue categories to provide a data-driven summary of the state of sustainability around the world. The EPI ranks 180 countries based on their progress toward improved environmental health, ecosystem vitality protection, and climate change mitigation.

While Denmark had the highest EPI score (77.90), it was followed by the United Kingdom (77.70) and Finland (76.50 score). According to the EPI 2022 report, India saw a significant drop in scores related to Ecosystem Vitality and Climate Policy. Species habitat index, loss of ecosystem services, unsustainable fishing, carbon emissions from land cover, and greenhouse gas emissions per capita account for a large portion of the drop in EPI score.