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hatrack

(59,583 posts)
Thu Jun 18, 2020, 07:52 AM Jun 2020

'Murca!! #24 Among World's Nations On Environment; Well Behind Other Developed Nations

The US is far behind other industrialized nations on environmental performance and now ranks 24th in the world, according to a new analysis by Yale and Columbia universities. Denmark came in first place, followed by Luxembourg and Switzerland. The United Kingdom ranked fourth.

The findings come as the Trump administration has continued to weaken environmental protections in a quest to relax rules on industry and expand fossil fuel development which threatens to put the country even further behind its peers.

EDIT

The index ranks 180 countries on 32 performance indicators across 11 categories covering environmental health and ecosystem vitality. The US is near the back of the pack for developed nations. China, which is plagued by poor air quality, has made investments that have helped it climb to 120th place, ahead of India’s 168th-place ranking. China is still a big polluter but has made “much more dramatic progress than other countries”, Esty said.

The US ranked 15th on climate. It is currently the second-biggest contributor to the climate crisis, after China. Over time, it has put more heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere than any other nation. But Trump has consistently questioned climate science and the severity of the problem. He has vowed to leave an international agreement to curb emissions, which the US joined under President Barack Obama. Other countries have also seen major changes in governance but are nonetheless doing well on climate, including the UK, which comes in second on the issue.

EDIT

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/04/us-ranks-24th-in-the-world-on-environmental-performance

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