India & Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2026

Syllabus: GS3/Environment

Context

• Yale University released the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2026, ranking India 176th out of 177 countries. The report highlighted India’s ongoing environmental challenges and ignited a renewed discussion about its methodology and policy implications.

Environmental Performance Index (EPI)

• It is a biennial global index developed by the Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy in collaboration with the Center for International Earth Science Information Network, Columbia University.
• Objective:
  • It measures how effectively countries protect environmental health and ecosystem vitality.
  • It offers a data-driven assessment of environmental consequences and policy effectiveness.
  • It helps governments to identify priority areas for strengthening environmental governance.

Key Findings (EPI 2026)

• Estonia is the top ranked country with 74.79 while Laos is the lowest ranked.
• Many industrialised economies fared better due to more robust environmental legislation and institutional capabilities.
• Air pollution, loss of biodiversity and climate mitigation are still key worldwide concerns.
• Environmental quality is evaluated in areas such as air quality, climate change, biodiversity, water resources, agriculture, fisheries, waste management and sanitation.

Findings Related to India (2026)

• India is 176th out of 177 countries with a score of 22.46.
  • Earlier, India ranked 141st in 2016, 177th in 2018, 168th in 2020, 180th in 2022 and 176th in 2024.
• Key Observations:
  • India has been among the five worst-performing countries since 2022.
  • India faces the challenge of reconciling economic development with energy access and environmental sustainability, the research said.
  • Air quality, biodiversity and greenhouse gas emissions continue to be pressured by growing urbanisation and industrialisation.

Areas Showing Improvement

• Climate Change (130th place): It has improved by 13.98 points over the last decade.
  • It shows progress on expanding renewable energy, improving energy efficiency and implementing regulations on climate change.
• Waste Management (Rank 141st): Progress in municipal trash management programmes and Swachh Bharat Mission.
• Sanitation (Rank 141st): Expansion of sanitation infrastructure and improved access to toilets contributed positively.

Major Areas of Concern

• Air Quality (Rank 174th): The air quality score has slipped a bit in the last decade despite the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
  • Major sources include emissions from vehicles, coal-based power generation, industrial pollutants, construction-related dust and biomass burning.
• Biodiversity (Rank 174): Major issues continue with habitat destruction, deforestation, infrastructural growth and ecosystem fragmentation.
• Tree Cover: Performance declining in the decade due to diversion of forest and land-use changes.
• Fisheries: Sustainability indicators are going down because of overexploitation and degradation of aquatic habitats.
• Pesticide Pollution: The continued dependency on chemical-intensive agriculture has led to poor environmental performance.
• Urban Environmental Management: In many towns the treatment of waste water and the control of pollution are still inadequate.

Related Efforts in India

• Constitutional Provisions:
  • Article 48A: Protection and improvement of the environment.
  • Article 51A(g): Duty to protect the natural environment.
• Government Initiatives:
  • National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)
  • National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)
  • Swachh Bharat Mission
  • Namami Gange Programme Green India Mission National Biodiversity Action Plan
  • CAMPA Fund
  • Jal Jeevan Mission
  • The Plastic Waste Management Rules – Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
  • Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment)

Related Global Efforts

• Paris Agreement (2015)
• UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with special emphasis on SDGs 6, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15
• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
• Global Biodiversity Framework Kunming–Montreal (2022)
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
• Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
• The Montreal Protocol and the Kigali Amendment
• UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030)

Way Forward

• Enhance monitoring and enforcement to improve the enforcement of environmental regulations.
• Speed up the shift to clean energy and decrease dependence on fossil fuels.
• Cleaner transport, regulation of industrial emissions and dust management to improve urban air quality
• Enhance wastewater treatment and integrated urban waste management.
• Promote sustainable agriculture . Reduce the excessive use of pesticides and promote natural farming practices .
• Expand ecosystem restoration, afforestation and biodiversity conservation activities.
• Enhanced environmental data quality, transparency and outcome-based monitoring.
• Integrate environmental sustainability into development planning to guarantee balanced and inclusive growth.

Source: DTE