Uruguay ranks 3rd in the world in environmental sustainability out of 146 countries according to the latest Environmental Sustainability Index 2005 (ESI) produced by a team of environmental experts at Yale and Columbia Universities. This index was released at the World Economic Forum in January 2005 in Davos. Finland and Norway ranked 1st and 2nd respectively.

High ESI scores are attributed to substantial natural resource endowments, and successful management of environment and development issues.

Finland and Norway occupy the top ranks and have consistently done so in previous ESI rankings (ESI 2001; ESI 2002). Other than Uruguay, these nations are highly developed countries endowed with natural resources, strong economies, and low population densities.

As industrialized countries, they have substantial pollution stresses, but generally manage their environmental challenges well. Uruguay stands in the top tier for a slightly different reason.

It is not very industrialized and thus faces relatively low environmental stresses. It does, however have some economic strengths and reasonably good political and social institutions and capacity.

Uruguay grew in this index from the 6th position in 2002 to the 3rd position in 2005. The lowest ranked countries are North Korea, Iraq, Taiwan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Esty said these countries face many challenges, both natural and manmade, and have poorly managed their policy choices. The United States places 45th in the rankings.

The ESI ranks countries on 21 elements of environmental sustainability covering natural resource endowments, past and present pollution levels, environmental management efforts, contributions to protection of the global commons, and a society’s capacity to improve its environmental performance over time.

“The ESI provides a valuable policy tool, allowing benchmarking of environmental performance country-by-country and issue-by-issue,” said Daniel C. Esty, professor at Yale University and the creator of the ESI. “By highlighting the leaders and laggards, which governments are wary of doing, the ESI creates pressure for improved results.”

The ESI demonstrates that environmental protection need not come at the cost of competitiveness. Finland is the equal of the United States in competitiveness but scores much higher on environmental sustainability and outperforms the U.S. across a spectrum of issues, from air pollution to contributions to global-scale environmental efforts. Analysis of the ESI data also makes it clear that developed countries face environmental challenges, particularly pollution stresses and consumption-related issues.

Gus Speth, dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies said “we’ve all got something to learn from those at the leading edge. And the ESI offers a mechanism for identifying best practices across the spectrum of environmental issues.”

The full 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index is available at:

www.yale.edu/esi/ESI2005_Main_Report.pdf

More information related to the Environmental Sustainability Index is available at:

www.yale.edu/esi

Source: Yale University