– Well you might ask what an Environmental Performance Index is?
– It’s a report created by the Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy and the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University.
It’s a massive document. The part I like the best is the Summary for Policymakers Brochure ➡ which boils its findings down.
Here’s the Executive Summary to give you the flavor:
By identifying specific targets for environmental performance and measuring how close each country comes to these established goals, the Pilot 2006 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) provides benchmarks for current national pollution control and natural resource management results. The issue-by-issue and aggregate rankings facilitate cross-country comparisons both globally and within relevant peer groups. The EPI thus provides a powerful tool for improving policymaking and shifting environmental decisionmaking onto firmer analytic foundations.
The EPI centers on two broad environmental protection objectives: 1) reducing environmental stresses on human health and 2) protecting ecosystem vitality. Derived from a careful review of the environmental literature, these twin goals mirror the priorities expressed by policymakers, most notably the environmental dimension of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. Environmental health and ecosystem vitality are gauged using sixteen indicators tracked in six established policy categories: Environmental Health, Air Quality, Water Resources, Biodiversity and Habitat, Productive Natural Resources, and Sustainable Energy.Here’s a link to the entire document in PDF form: ➡
– A side note here. This report ranks New Zealand #1 in the world in its overall Envoronmental Performance Index score. That relates back to what I was saying here about New Zealand as a destination: ➡ & ➡
– Thx Brian C. for the tip about this report!