India slams Environment Performance Index 2022, calls it 'unscientific'
What's the story
The Centre rebutted the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2022, which rated India last out of 180 nations on Wednesday. The Union Environment Ministry claimed that some of the measures it used were "extrapolated" and based on "unscientific methods". The Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and Columbia University recently produced an index that used 40 performance metrics to evaluate nations' environmental performance.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Despite measures like Sashakt Bharat, Swachh Bharat-Swasth Bharat, Satat Bharat-Sanatan Bharat, and many more, India was rated last in Environment Performance Index (EPI) 2022. For a long time, the Centre has been working relentlessly toward the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, India would require at least $2.64 trillion to fulfill the SDGs, as per the report by Standard Chartered SDG Investment Map.
Rebuttal
How did the Environment Ministry rebuts the EPI 2022?
While terming some EPI indicators as "unscientific", the ministry says 'projected Green House Gases (GHG) emissions levels in 2050' is the authentic technique for measuring a country's environmental performance. "The new indicator is computed based on the average rate of change in emission of the last 10 years instead of modeling that takes into account a longer time period," the minister said.
Details
EPI-2022 ignored some of the key factors: Centre
According to the Ministry, forests and wetlands are important carbon sinks that have been ignored by EPI 2022. The study was rejected because historical data on the lowest emission trajectory was disregarded in the computation, it said The weight of the metrics in which India scored well has been lowered, according to the ministry, and the reasons for this shift are not explained.
India
What did EPI 2022 say about India?
As per EPI 2022, India has fallen behind the rest of the world in terms of environmental performance. The country is ranked lowest among 180 nations in the EPI, which is an international evaluation methodology that examines a country's environmental health and sustainability. The report has given India a score of 18.9, which is even lower than Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Myanmar.
India
The report suggested India to focus on sustainability, prioritize environment
The report says India's low EPI score suggests that the country has to pay more attention to sustainability and prioritize air and water quality, biodiversity, and climate change. It says India also ranks poorly in terms of rule of law, corruption control, and government performance. In 2020, India was rated 168th with a score of 27.6, while Denmark was ranked first.
EPI
What does EPI indicate?
In partnership with the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and Columbia University, the World Economic Forum launched the EPI, a biennial index, in 2002. EPI uses 40 performance measures across 11 issue areas to rank 180 nations. These indicators show how efficiently countries could establish environmental policy targets. Overall, EPI indicates which country is best in addressing environmental challenges.