U.S. Ranks Low in 2006 Environmental Performance Index

In an effort to better define the Environmental goals of the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals, the Environmental Performance Index was released ranking 133 countries. With New Zealand leading the index, Europe follows with Sweden, Finland, The Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Austria, Denmark and Ireland all in the top ten. Canada's environmental efforts put it at number 6 and the only Asian country in the top ten, Malaysia, ranked 9th. Far below the European nations, as well as Japan and several South American countries is the United States ranking 28th.

The full EPI report indicates the index can serve as a tool of comparative studies showing why some countries perform better than others and what the lowest ranking countries are in need of. Data on regions in much of Africa and countries like Pakistan and Yemen reflect the lowest ranking countries, but also that those countries lack statistics. One factor evident is that in the top performing regions of Europe, Canada, and New Zealand with Australia (ranking 18th), "good governance appears highly correlated with environmental success", according to the full report.

As environmental factors become more important in determining a country's economic future, the U.S. can be hopeful next to other top economies such as China, which ranked 94th and India at 118th. The index is not necessarily a competitive system, but an analytical data collection developed for the World Economic Forum held in Davos Switzerland. What this ranking could mean for the U.S. is, as Dean of the Yale School of Environmental Studies, Gus Speth said, "a wake up call to the American public and particularly to leaders in Washington."