Yahoo News 23 Jan 08;
European countries and some Latin American nations topped an environmental scorecard released Wednesday in Davos, way ahead of the United States and emerging economies like China and India.
Switzerland, host of the annual World Economic Forum gathering, led the list of top environmental performers compiled by experts at Yale and Columbia universities in the United States.
Three northern European countries -- Sweden, Norway and Finland -- came next, followed by Costa Rica. Another Latin American state, Colombia, was ranked ninth -- just ahead of France.
The scorecard ranked 149 countries according to their success in meeting broadly-accepted targets in such policy categories as environmental health, air pollution and water resources.
While acknowledging that wealth was a major determinant, the study highlighted the disparity in ranking between Costa Rica (5th) and neighbouring Nicaragua (77th) as a demonstration that "policy choices also affect performance."
It also stressed the lowly ranking of the United States, which wound up in 39th place, significantly behind other industrialised countries like Britain (14th) and Japan (21st).
"Poor scores on air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions dragged down the overall US rank," it said.
The environmental cost of soaring economic growth in Asian giants China and India were reflected in their lowly rankings. China placed 105th with Indian even further back in 120th position.
Switzerland Tops Environmental Index, US Lags
PlanetArk 24 Jan 08;
DAVOS, Switzerland - Switzerland ranks first in environmental performance but the world's largest economy, the United States, lags many industrialised nations, a report drawn up by US university experts said on Wednesday.
Switzerland scored top marks among 149 countries measured in six environmental areas including air pollution, water quality and how they control industrial pollution, according to the 2008 Environmental Performance Index released at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.
Sweden came second in the ranking, compiled by environmental experts at Yale University and Columbia University, followed by Norway, Finland and Costa Rica.
The United States, dragged down by poor scores on greenhouse gas emissions and the impact of air pollution on ecosystems, placed 39th, far behind other developed states like the United Kingdom in 14th and Japan in 21st.
"The United States' performance indicates that the next administration must not ignore the ecosystem impacts of environmental as well as agricultural, energy and water management policies," Gus Speth, dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, said in a statement.
The U.S ranking -- below Albania, Russia and Panama -- was "a national disgrace," Speth said.
(Reporting by Sam Cage; Editing by Michael Winfrey)
LINKS
Yale and ES Project on Climate Change
