Greece ranks 25th in the global Environmental Performance Index (2020), falling from the 22nd position in 2018. The index, released on Friday on the occasion of World Environment Day, is compiled every two years by scientists at the American universities Yale and Columbia and ranks 180 countries based on 32 environmental criteria, such as pollution, biodiversity, climate change, etc.
Denmark ranks first, followed by Luxembourg, Switzerland, Britain, France, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Germany. The top 10 most environmentally-friendly countries in the world are European. The USA is 24th, Cyprus is 31st and China is in the 120th place.
Greece in 2020 had an overall score of 69.1 (out of 100) compared to 73.6 in 2018. In terms of individual categories, our country ranked 28th this year in both “environmental health” and “ecosystem vitality”. In individual indicators in 2020, its position and score (given in brackets) were as follows: air quality 31st (67.5), drinking water quality 11th (98.2), heavy metals in the environment 40th (69.4), waste management 31st (83), biodiversity protection 54th (72.6), ecosystem services 52nd (43.9), climate change 32nd (66.5), emissions 58th (78.9), water resources 18th (81.7).
Source: ANA-MPA