The Environmental Performance Index (EPI), produced by Yale and Columbia universities in the United States, provides a data-based summary of the state of sustainability around the world. And according to the PPE, Colombia ranked 87th of the 180 countries evaluated in its latest edition.
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According to educational entities, the country decreased by -0.5 Regarding the data reported for 2020, it was 52.9, which led it to obtain a result of 42.4, with 100 being the maximum score and sharing position with the eastern country of Kuwait.
This program uses 40 performance indicators in 11 thematic categories, ranking 180 countries on climate change performance, environmental health, and ecosystem vitality.
In this way, according to the results, Colombia scores below the average of the rest of the countries, which has not contributed to the average result with the other regions.
Regarding the evaluation categories, in terms of ecosystem vitality, which includes biodiversity, ecosystem services, fishing, acidification, agriculture and water resources, the nation ranked 63rd, obtaining an EPI score of 49.6 , increasing 1.1 points in the last 10 years.
With regard to environmental health, which includes subcategories such as air quality, drinking water sanitation, heavy metals, and waste management, the country ranked 54th, resulting in an EPI score of 50, 3, increasing in the last 10 years, 6.7.
For climate policy that encompasses everything related to climate change, Colombia ranked 129th, with an EPI score of 30.2 and a decrease of -6.2 in the last 10 years.
Likewise, for the lawyer from the firm M&M (Mining and Environment, Law Firm), Marcela Bayona, the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic was one of the factors that most affected the fall in the ranking for the country.
However, according to the lawyer, Colombia has other factors that could determine the result such as “those related to deforestation, whose main sources are the illegal extraction of minerals, illicit crops that have increased tragically for several years, and livestock in places where these activities should not be carried out”.
Also, “the indiscriminate logging that affects the Amazon rainforest and other sensitive ecosystems, which have an impact on the rates of loss of biodiversity, ecosystem services,” says the lawyer.
According to Global Forest Watch, an application responsible for monitoring forests globally, and data carrier for the EPI report, Colombia obtained 16 points out of 100, decreasing by -4.0, which indicates the high levels of forest loss in the country.
The first 10 places on the list are occupied by: Denmark with 77.9 points, followed by the United Kingdom with a score of 77.7, Finland in third place with 76.5 and Malta with 75.5 points.
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The EPI is followed by Sweden and its score of 72.7. Likewise, Luxembourg obtained 72.3, occupying the position number six. Slovenia achieved 67.3, compared to Austria which reached 66.5. For its part, Switzerland with 65.9, and in tenth place Iceland with 62.8.
DIANA K. RODRIGUEZ
