1.24.2006
NZ Ranked Best in World Green List (Guardian.co.uk)
· International league table headed by New Zealand
· Report stirs controversy among environmentalists
John Vidal, environment editor
Tuesday January 24, 2006
The Guardian
The UK has been ranked fifth best in the world at tackling domestic and global environmental problems, according to the first performance league tables, which will be launched this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The tables, produced by international scientists and researchers from Yale and Columbia universities in the US, ranked 133 countries according to how they tried to tackle 16 global and domestic problems and met domestic and world targets.
New Zealand came top, followed by Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic. The report said the world's poorest countries, mainly in Africa, came bottom largely because their governments had no resources to address the mounting problems of drinking water, indoor air pollution, sanitation and loss of forests.
The pilot list, which is based on environmental health and habitat quality indicators such as greenhouse gas emissions, park protection, and air and water quality, found major differences between countries with similar legacies of pollution, resource degradation and wealth.
"Good governance emerges as as a critical driver of environmental performance," the report said.
(More ... Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | UK ranked fifth best in world green list) ¶ 19:35
· Report stirs controversy among environmentalists
John Vidal, environment editor
Tuesday January 24, 2006
The Guardian
The UK has been ranked fifth best in the world at tackling domestic and global environmental problems, according to the first performance league tables, which will be launched this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The tables, produced by international scientists and researchers from Yale and Columbia universities in the US, ranked 133 countries according to how they tried to tackle 16 global and domestic problems and met domestic and world targets.
New Zealand came top, followed by Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic. The report said the world's poorest countries, mainly in Africa, came bottom largely because their governments had no resources to address the mounting problems of drinking water, indoor air pollution, sanitation and loss of forests.
The pilot list, which is based on environmental health and habitat quality indicators such as greenhouse gas emissions, park protection, and air and water quality, found major differences between countries with similar legacies of pollution, resource degradation and wealth.
"Good governance emerges as as a critical driver of environmental performance," the report said.
(More ... Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | UK ranked fifth best in world green list) ¶ 19:35
