The most and least environmentally friendly countries of 2024

The climate crisis is one of the most pressing issues facing our world today, as the effects and damages of climate change become increasingly apparent. The U.N. signed the Paris Agreement pledging carbon neutrality by 2050; however, some countries are playing a bigger part in reducing emissions than others.

Experts have used many measures to evaluate a country's impact on the environment, including the U.S. News' Green Living Ranking, the Green Future Index (GFI), which focuses on countries' transitions to clean energy, and the UN Sustainable Development Report, which tracks important goals encompassing climate, environment and human rights. One of the most comprehensive is Yale University's Environmental Performance Index (EPI), which uses 40 indicators to rank the level of sustainability for 180 countries. New EPI rankings were released in 2024, highlighting countries not known for their sustainability before.

Top 3 most sustainable countries

Estonia

Estonia ranked the highest in the 2024 EPI, jumping from 14th place in 2022. The rapid climb is because of Estonia's "40% drop in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the last decade, largely attributed to replacing dirty oil shale power plants with cleaner energy sources," said a Yale News press release. "The country is drafting a proposal to achieve by 2040 a CO2-neutral energy sector and a CO2-neutral public transport network in bigger cities." Estonia also has a "large coverage of protected areas" that are "strategically located to represent a large fraction of the country's ecosystems and biodiversity," said the EPI report.

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The country ranked highest in climate change policy in the EPI and ranked 7th in ecosystem vitality. It also ranked 15th in the UN Sustainable Development Report and 34th in the Green Living Ranking, but was not included in the GFI. While Estonia's push towards reducing emissions is significant, "the country's increasing reliance on biomass for energy, which impacts forest conservation, makes it unclear whether it will be able to maintain its fast pace of emissions reduction," said the press release.

Luxembourg

Luxembourg came in 2nd place in the 2024 EPI, jumping from 6th place in 2022. The country stood out because over 55% of its land is "covered by protected areas," and it is also a "world leader in wastewater management," said the report. The Luxembourg government has also set specific targets to hit by 2030 including "to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% compared to 2005, to achieve a 35-37% share of renewable energies in final energy consumption, to improve energy efficiency by 44% and to strengthen targets for renewable energy and energy efficiency," said the government website.

The country ranked first in the ecosystem vitality factor of the EPI and 10th in climate change policy. It also ranked 16th in the Green Future Index, 15th in the Green Living Ranking and 38th in the Sustainable Development Report. "While Luxembourg has one of the largest percentages of protected area coverage in the world, it earns among the lowest scores in the pilot indicators of protected area effectiveness," said the EPI report. "Nearly 30% of all the land under protection in Luxembourg is covered by croplands and buildings."

Germany

Germany was ranked third in the EPI, jumping from 13th in 2022. The country "outperforms other large economies thanks to its fast deployment of renewable energy (slashing its GHG emissions by almost a fifth in the last 10 years), its vast network of protected areas (which exceed 30% coverage of Germany's land and seas) and its leadership in solid waste management," said the EPI report. Germany also "pioneered pesticide-free, non-organic agricultural systems that are easier for farmers to adopt than fully organic agriculture and have smaller associated yield losses."

The country ranked 2nd in ecosystem vitality and 7th in climate change policy within the EPI. It also ranked 4th in the Sustainable Development Report, 11th in the Green Future Index and 8th in the Green Living Ranking. While Germany has had its share of sustainable successes, it also "has high rates of waste generation per capita, and has worse air quality than most other Global West countries," said the report.

Top 3 least sustainable countries

Laos

Laos ranked 178th in the 2024 EPI, dropping from 149 in 2022. The stark drop is largely attributed to the "staggering 444% increase in carbon dioxide emissions over the last decade," said the report. "Historically, Laos has relied on hydroelectric power for its energy needs," however, between 2015 and 2021, "coal-generated electricity in the country increased by 426%."

The country came in last place for climate change policy and also ranked towards the bottom in environmental health. It ranked 119th in the Sustainable Development Report but was not included in the GFI or the Green Living Ranking. Despite its energy struggles, Laos ranked 6th in agriculture in the EPI and 1st in the Asia Pacific region for agriculture, mostly due to the government "introducing land reforms to improve tenure security and policies to discourage slash-and-burn agriculture, aiming to redirect farmers to more efficient forms of production," said the report.

Pakistan

Pakistan ranked second to last at 179 in the 2024 EPI, dropping from 176 in 2022. Like Laos, Pakistan is very reliant on fossil fuels. "Coal-powered electricity generation has increased almost fivefold over the last decade, leading to a nearly 30% increase in GHG emissions and severe levels of air pollution," said the EPI report. The country has already been facing severe consequences from climate change, such as excessive flooding.

Pakistan ranked near the very bottom for both ecosystem vitality and environmental health in the EPI. The country also ranked 137th in the Sustainable Development Report and 67th in the GFI, but was not included in the Green Living Ranking. "By prioritizing the expansion of renewable energy to decrease dependence on coal and other fossil fuels, Pakistan can make big improvements in public health and mitigate further climate disasters," said the report.

Vietnam

Vietnam came in last place in the 2024 EPI at 180, dropping from 178th in 2022. "Vietnam faces a broad range of environmental challenges," said the EPI report. "Its increasing reliance on coal power generation has led to rapidly growing emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases." The country's economy has grown significantly in the past decade, causing increased use of fossil fuels. The government has recognized the need for renewable energy and aims to be carbon neutral by 2050.

The country ranked 60th in the Green Living Ranking, 54th in the Sustainable Development Report and 53rd in the GFI. "Vietnam has implemented policies to accelerate the deployment of solar and wind energy, but its electric distribution grid has struggled to adapt to these intermittent energy sources," said the report. "Severe droughts and heat waves in recent years have also impacted hydropower generation in the region, forcing Laos and Vietnam to rely more heavily on coal."

Where does the US rank?

The U.S. ranked 34th in the 2024 EPI, up from 43rd in 2022; 22nd in the Green Living Ranking, down from 20th in 2023; 46th in the Sustainable Development Report, down from 29th in 2023; and 19th in the GFI — which is lower than some may have anticipated, when compared to other developed nations.

The U.S. is the second largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, but emissions are starting to fall. However, they may not be falling quickly enough, according to the EPI report. "As the world's largest economy and largest historical contributor to climate change, the 6.4% GHG emission reduction the country achieved over the last decade is woefully insufficient," said the report.

The U.S. also still heavily relies on fossil fuels, which cause considerable damage. While the U.S. has made strides to reduce the environmental damage it causes, like passing the Inflation Reduction Act, emissions data still does not reflect the green policies of the Biden administration.

One area where the U.S. excelled was in agricultural policies, where it ranked first in the EPI. The country "has reached maximum attainable crop yields while scoring high in the phosphorus surplus indicator and in the Sustainable Nitrogen Management Index, which combines metrics of yield and nitrogen use efficiency," said the report. However, pesticide use is still high.

Are there any patterns in the data?

The rankings show that just as climate change disproportionately impacts some regions, the ability to improve or prevent it is also disproportionate. Almost all of the top-ranked countries on every list are smaller European countries, which have fewer problems with resources and more money to invest in green legislation.

On the other hand, the bottom-ranked countries were largely located in South and Southeast Asia, where "countries have increasingly relied on coal — the dirtiest fossil fuel — to power their rapidly growing economies, resulting in skyrocketing GHG emissions and some of the highest air pollution levels in the world, which harm public health and degrade ecosystems," said the EPI report. Many are also classified as developing nations that are predominantly made up of people of color, and have far higher populations than their European counterparts.