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INDIA FAILS GREEN TEST

UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS | INDIA FAILS GREEN TEST, FINISHES AT BOTTOM | 08TH JUNE | INDIAN EXPRESS

/ June, 2022, UPSC Daily Current Affairs

SYLLABUS SECTION: GS III (ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY)

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Recently, Environment Performance Index (EPI), an analysis by Yale and Columbia University has been released in INDIA FAILS GREEN TEST.

ENVIRONMENT PERFORMANCE INDEX PROJECTIONS AND HIGHLIGHTS:

  • China and India are projecting to be the largest and second-largest emitters of greenhouse gases in 2050, despite recently promising to curb emission growth rates.
    • The United States will be among the four largest greenhouse gas emitters in 2050, alongside China, India, and Russia.
    • Very few countries including the United Kingdom and Denmark, are on track to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
    • The report has found that good policy results are associate with wealth (GDP per capita).
    • The lowest scores overall go to countries that are struggling with civil unrest or other crises or nations that have prioritized economic growth over environmental sustainability.
    • Urbanization and industrialization in these and other countries continue to emit dangerous levels of air pollution, presenting a challenge to policymakers as they aim to develop sustainability plans for cities.

    EPI:

    • EPI is a biennial index.
    • It starts in 2002 as Environmental Sustainability Index by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with the Yale Centre for Environmental Law and Policy and the Columbia University Centre for International Earth Science Information Network.
    • It uses 40 performance indicators across11 issue categories.
    • These indicators provide a gauge at a national scale of how close countries are to establishe environmental policy targets.
    • EPI ranks 180 countries on climate change performance, environmental health, ecosystem vitality, etc.
    Top Performers:
    • Denmark topped the EPI 2022.
    • Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Finland earned high scores for slashing greenhouse gas emissions in recent years.
    • Most wealthy western democracies ranked:  France (12th), Germany (13th), Australia (17th), Italy (23rd), and Japan (25th).
    • The United States is place at 43rd (It is place at 20th out of 22 wealthy democracies in the Global West.)
    • Russia is ranked 112th on the list.
    • China is placed 161st, with an overall EPI score of 28.4.

     

    Bottom Five Countries:
    • India (18.9), Myanmar (19.4), Vietnam (20.1), Bangladesh (23.1), and Pakistan (24.6).
    • Most low-scoring countries are those that have prioritized economic growth over sustainability, or those that are struggling with civil unrest and other crises.
    • India has also scored low on rule of law, control of corruption, and government effectiveness, according to EPI.
    • EPI rankings indicate which countries are best addressing environmental challenges.

     

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Source: Indian Express