Environmental Performance Index 2024: A Global Assessment
The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2024 is a prestigious indicator developed by Yale and Columbia Universities, with the support of the McCall MacBain Foundation. It provides a comprehensive summary of the state of sustainability around the world, based on 58 performance indicators across 11 categories.
Assessing National Performance
The EPI ranks 180 countries according to their performance in addressing climate change, environmental health, and ecosystem vitality. These indicators enable the evaluation of national progress towards environmental policy goals, identifying leaders and laggards in environmental performance and providing practical guidance for countries seeking to transition towards a sustainable future.
Identifying Challenges and Opportunities
The EPI indicators help identify problems, set goals, track trends, understand outcomes, and identify best practices in environmental policy. The index offers a granular and comparative perspective, enabling the understanding of the determinants of environmental progress and informing policy choices.
Global Findings: A Long Way to Go
Despite a record deployment of renewable energy, greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. As the world enters uncharted climate territory, there is an increased risk of crossing irreversible tipping points in the planet's climate system.
Country Performance: A Mixed Bag
Only five countries (Estonia, Finland, Greece, Timor-Leste, and the United Kingdom) have reduced their greenhouse gas emissions at a rate necessary to achieve neutrality by 2050. Emissions from the world's largest economies are decreasing too slowly, such as in the United States, or continue to increase, as in China, India, and Russia. Moreover, except for the United Kingdom, all countries identified in the 2022 report as being on track to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 have since fallen off track.
Tunisia's Performance
Tunisia ranks 88th globally, with a score of 48.1. It occupies the 5th position in the Arab world, after the United Arab Emirates (53rd), Oman (54th), Jordan (74th), and Qatar (79th). Similarly, in Africa, Tunisia ranks after Zimbabwe (55th), Seychelles (70th), Mauritius (78th), and Zambia (85th). While Tunisia is improving its score, the pace is slower than expected, highlighting the need for a new economic model.
