The European Union's
new "European Investment
Plan" is aimed at shifting
1 trillion euros into making
the EU economy more
environmentally friendly
The investment plan
is in line with European
Commission president
Ursula von der Leyen’s
Green Deal, to make the
European continent
carbon-neutral by 2050.
Since taking office,
Von der Leyen
has made
climate change
her top priority.
European countries
have been leaders
in the fight against
CO2 emissions,
with many ranking
lowest in carbon
emissions globally,
and highest in
environmental
quality.
In 2019, Yale University
released their Environmental
Performance Index (EPI)
for 180 countries, to gauge
which countries had the
highest environmental
quality, and which had
the lowest.
The EPI measures
two dimensions,
environmental health
and ecosystem vitality,
through numerous
metrics that focus
on biodiversity, air
and water quality,
climate and agriculture.
European and North
American countries
held the highest
overall scores,
while Asian and
African countries
saw the lowest,
globally.
The index doesn’t take
into account the average
GDP per capita in each
country, or the overall
economic viability
for a country and
government to
produce a healthy
environment.
