Denmark is currently the most climate-friendly country in the world, with the most efficient policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent climate change. It has ranked first in the 2020 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), which measures the environmental performance of 180 countries around the world. This includes facts such as Denmark’s reduction of CO2 emissions by more than half since peaking in 1996 and that 47% of electricity was sourced from wind power in 2019. Researchers also emphasized on current plans of at least tripling offshore wind capacity by 2030 through the construction of two energy islands with an initial capacity of 2GW each, and Denmark’s 70% reduction targets by 2030 enshrined in the new climate act.
Luxembourg, Switzerland, the UK and France form the rest of the top five countries with the highest environmental performance, while the US ranked 24th in the annual index. “The fact that Denmark is now number one on an index as celebrated and influential as the EPI is a testament to the fact that even a small country is capable of great change. We want to be a global source of inspiration and hopefully, influence others to follow the same path we have taken. I am pleased to see that the experts also highlight our recent commitment to reduce emissions by 70% by 2030,” said the Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities, Dan Jørgensen.
What is the Environmental Performance Index?
The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) ranks 180 countries on 32 performance indicators across 11 issue categories covering environmental health and ecosystem vitality. The 2020 EPI features new metrics that gauge waste management, carbon dioxide emissions from land cover change, and black carbon emissions – all-important drivers of climate change.
