With ice caps melting at an alarming rate, worldwide coral reefs at risk of dying, and the fact that 2016 was the hottest year ever on record, we are becoming more aware of the role we play in combating global warming and saving the environment. But have you ever wondered if you’re living in a green country? Eco2Greetings World’s Greenest Countries interactive map reveals all.
Using Yale data that measures Environmental Performance Index, Eco2Greetings has created a new interactive map that reveals the world’s greenest countries. The environmental performance index (EPI) ranks performance of countries based on issues in two environmental areas: protection of human health and protection of ecosystems.
Source: eCO2 Greetings
Finland is the greenest country of us all, with an EPI rating of 90.68, leading the way with their commitment to achieve a carbon-neutral society by 2050. It’s followed closely by Iceland and Sweden, which bagged the second and third spots.
There are 196 countries in the world, and the map also reports the UK and USA are lagging behind the environmental evolution. The UK was just shy of landing a place in the top 10 world’s greenest countries, and instead took 12th place and an EPI score of 87.38. In 2016, the UK’s wind power made history and overtook coal for electricity generation for the first time.
With an EPI score of 84.72, the USA has Obama’s historic conservation to thank for its top 30 spot. Twenty-two new parks were added to the U.S. National Park System during his eight years in office, and he created the two largest marine reserves on earth.
Those lucky enough to call their country a pioneer in the World’s Greenest Countries Top 10 include (with EPI score in parentheses):
1. Finland (90.68)
2. Iceland (90.51)
3. Sweden (90.43)
4. Denmark (89.21)
5. Slovenia (88.98)
6. Spain (88.91)
7. Portugal (88.63)
8. Estonia (88.59)
9. Malta (88.48)
10. France (88.20)
It may or may not come as a surprise to some that all of the top 10 greenest countries are European. Projects including the world’s first solar panel road in Normandy, France, and plans to get rooftop gardens in buses and bus stops in Madrid, Spain, to combat CO2 emissions are original, important and revolutionary. The rest of the world should take note!