Showing papers on "Environmental Performance Index published in 2013"

Is Environmental Sustainability Influenced by Socioeconomic and Sociopolitical Factors? Cross-Country Empirical Evidence

Abstract: The current study attempts to understand the relationships among Environmental Quality (EQ), Human Development (HD) and political and governance regimes in a cross-country framework through secondary data analysis. The underlying hypothesis is that in addition to income, as reflected from the literature on the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis, several other factors, including socioeconomic (e.g. human development and corruption) and sociopolitical (e.g. ability to exercise democratic rights) factors, may influence environmental policy-making, and thereby environmental sustainability, in a country. The EQ (i.e. environmental sustainability) of the countries in the current study is denoted by their Environmental Performance Index (2008). Human development is represented by Human Development Index (2007). Democracy Index (2008) and Corruption Perceptions Index (2008) are considered as proxies for political transparency in a country and its susceptibility to rent-seeking activities, respectively. The cross-country empirical findings confirm the closer association between the socioeconomic and sociopolitical factors and sustainable development. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Benchmarking countries’ environmental performance

Abstract: Environmental performance assessments are often conducted using environmental indicators. Although these indicators provide a starting point for performance assessments, they do not provide guidelines that countries should follow to improve performance. This paper develops an enhanced Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model that provides a single summary measure of countries’ environmental performance, based on the aggregation of the indicators that underlie the estimation of the Environmental Performance Index (EPI). The DEA model used is based on a novel specification of weight restrictions. The main contribution of the methodology used in this paper is to enable benchmarking in such a way that it becomes possible to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each country, as well as the peers with similar features to the country under assessment. These peers provide examples of good environmental practices that countries with worse performance should follow to improve performance.

How do trade and investment flows affect environmental sustainability? Evidence from panel data

Abstract: The inter-linkage between trade and investment flows and environmental sustainability is a widely researched area. It has been noted that FDI is increasingly being directed to the LDCs and developing countries in recent period, whose export basket is generally more intensive in primary and manufacturing products. In this background, the current study contributes to the existing pool of research by conducting a panel data empirical analysis over 2000–10 for 114 countries to understand the relationship between trade and investment flows and environmental performance index (EPI) for countries at various income levels. The regression results indicate that while environmental sustainability of countries is negatively related with merchandise export orientation and FDI inward movements, it is positively influenced by service exports and FDI outward movements. The findings also confirm a positive relationship between several politico economic factors (e.g. liberal democratic setup and lesser corruption) and environmental performance of countries. Interestingly, the EPI variable displays a negative coefficient for lower income countries, while a positive relationship is noted for their higher income counterparts. The empirical findings lend proof to the contention that trade and investment flows significantly influences environmental sustainability of countries. It also raise serious concerns over the interface between environmental sustainability and economic and trade policy choice of developing countries and LDCs.

Economic Growth and Environmental Sustainability: Empirical Evidence from East and South-East Asia

Abstract: This study investigates the relationship between economic growth and environmental sustainability in the East and South-East Asian countries focused on the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis, using data from environmental performance index (EPI) in 2010. Both pollution and eco-efficiency measures, two components of environmental sustainability, are considered as dependent variables while GDP per capita is used as an independent variable. Besides independent variable, the study also considers population density and civil and political liberty index (CIVLIB) as control variables and East and South-East Asia as a dummy variable. By using ordinary least square (OLS) method, this study reveals that while the increase of the GDP per capita appears to have positive impact on the pollution measures, it is found mix (both positive and negative) results on eco-efficiency measures. These findings prove the hypothesis of environmental Kuznets curve partially but not entirely. We conclude the paper by suggesting that the policy makers should give priority to the eco-efficiency measures along with pollution measures in order to ensure environmental sustainability in the process of economic development.

Economic Growth and Environmental Sustainability: Empirical Evidence from East and South-East Asia

Abstract: This study investigates the relationship between economic growth and environmental sustainability in the East and South-East Asian countries focused on the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis, using data from environmental performance index (EPI) in 2010. Both pollution and eco-efficiency measures, two components of environmental sustainability, are considered as dependent variables while GDP per capita is used as an independent variable. Besides independent variable, the study also considers population density and civil and political liberty index (CIVLIB) as control variables and East and South-East Asia as a dummy variable. By using ordinary least square (OLS) method, this study reveals that while the increase of the GDP per capita appears to have positive impact on the pollution measures, it is found mix (both positive and negative) results on eco-efficiency measures. These findings prove the hypothesis of environmental Kuznets curve partially but not entirely. We conclude the paper by suggesting that the policy makers should give priority to the eco-efficiency measures along with pollution measures in order to ensure environmental sustainability in the process of economic development.

Environmental Performance and Vulnerability to Climate Change: A Case Study of India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan

Abstract: Relatively little scholarly work has focused on a comparative evaluation of South Asian countries’ environmental performance (EP) in addressing issues of vulnerability to climate change. It is an accepted fact that climate change induced problems in South Asia have been increasing over many years, but their effects have largely been blamed on extreme poverty and uncontrolled population growth. Scholarly works and government reports indicate that the countries are both individually and collectively aware of the severity of climate change and have taken some initiative aimed at adaptation and mitigation. However, it is still unknown how effective those initiatives are and how they are being implemented. This research broadly examines these countries’ EP by modelling a comparative matrix in the global as well as in the regional context. The author is interested in how India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan actually engage in addressing environmental severity caused by climate change. This research utilises (plot) various years’ data from the public domain, e.g. Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI); Environmental Performance Index (EPI). EP is presented in the framework of comparative scores on (1) environmental burden of disease; (2) water resources for human health; (3) air quality for human health; (4) air quality for ecosystems; (5) water resources for ecosystems; (6) biodiversity and habitat; (7) forestry; (8) fisheries; (9) agriculture; and (10) climate change respectively. The specific findings of this research will reflect on the efforts of the respective countries and also provide an opportunity to evaluate the cause of success or failure.

Wild Spaces or Polluted Places: Contentious Policies, Consensus Institutions, and Environmental Performance in Industrialized Democracies

Abstract: This article contributes to the literature on environmental governance in industrialized democracies by showing that effectively conserving biodiversity requires different institutional strategies than reducing air emissions Institutional effectiveness diminishes as the politically contentiousness of the issue increases, moving from biodiversity to air pollution, and then climate change Drawing on Lijphart’s theory of consensus democracy and theories of functional and actor-centered federalism, we use the 2010 Environmental Performance Index and panel analysis on twenty-one OECD countries to show that consensus-based party systems improve performance We find that centralization generates greater improvements with respect to air pollution than biodiversity, but that decentralized strategies can improve biodiversity when implemented alongside corporatist bargaining structures

Challenges in Measuring the State of the Environment in Developing Countries

Abstract: A decent environmental quality is a necessary condition for survival of humankind in general and human development in particular. Environmental pollution is a great challenge in developing countries, where especially the poorest are most likely to suffer. Reflecting the state and the dynamics of the environment is essential for science and policy advice. Environmental indicators capture the physical, biological or chemical characteristics of the environment. Environmental composite indicators merge several environmental indicators in order to summarise the multifaceted state of the environment at national level into one single score. These composite indicators allow for cross-country comparisons. The analysis here includes four cross-country composite indicators: the Environmental Vulnerability Index, the Environmental Performance Index, its predecessor the Environmental Sustainability Index and the Ecosystem Wellbeing Index. In addition, the dimension Environmental Wellbeing of the Sustainable Society Index and the Living Planet Index are analysed. Currently, the latter has mainly been constructed at a global scale with only limited availability at national level. The principal questions addressed in this paper are: What cross-country environmental composite indicators exist? To what extent are they suited to measuring the state and the dynamics of the environment? and, How useful are they for developing countries? This analysis is the first comprehensive comparison of cross-country environmental composite indicators, evaluating their conceptual and methodological strengths and weaknesses. The conceptual assessment focuses on content-related aspects. It evaluates whether the individual indicator is an appropriate approximation suited to reflect dimension and composite, respectively. The technical assessment focuses on technical issues of constructing a composite indicator such as imputation of missing data, normalisation, weighting and aggregation as well as coherence. Third, the analysis evaluates how useful these environmental indices are within the context of developing countries. Acknowledgements The author extends warm thanks to Ines Dombrowsky, Markus Loewe, Elke HerrfahrdtPahle and Waltina Scheumann for helpful comments and suggestions on earlier drafts. I am also indebted to Michaela Saisana from the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission in Ispra, Italy, who provided very useful comments. Seminar participants at the DIE workshop on measurement and at the e-Frame workshop on environmental indicators in Venice, Italy, offered helpful advice. I am grateful to Hanna Schmole for excellent research assistance. Bonn, December 2013 Katharina M. K. Stepping

China's Rise and Environmental Degradation: The Way Out

Abstract: China's remarkable economic success is accompanied by environmental degradation. Without a doubt, some of the most profound environmental changes are under way in China, but China's environmental problems are still severe. Nevertheless, scholars around the world have different perspectives on the major causes of China's environmental degradation, the domestic and global implications of environmental degradation, and how China should cope with its environmental issues. This paper will re-assess China's environmental problems and analyze its main causes in a global context, and argue that the current environmental degradation of China is actually an unavoidable result of China's modernization during globalization. Coping with China's environmental problems is a comprehensive project, and it may take a long time to accomplish the project's goal. Either ignorance of environmental problems or unrealistic expectations could damage the battle fighting China's environmental degradation.Keywords. China, Environment, Chinese Economy.; Chinese Foreign Policy, China-US RelationsJEL classification . Q01, 053, 056, 057(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)1. IntroductionChina has achieved remarkable economic success in the post-Mao era and its economy has grown tenfold since 1978. However, China's rise parallels environment degradation. Today, China faces looming environmental issues, as it is becoming one of the largest and most polluted countries in the world. According to the 2010 Environmental Performance Index released by Yale University and Columbia University at the World Economic Forum, China ranked 121 out of 163 countries on the list.1 The Chinese government realized the serious consequences of the environmental degradation and has launched a campaign on environmental protection. Some of the most profound environmental changes are under way in China, but its environmental problems are still severe. The dominant viewpoint in Western societies suggests that China economic growth has damaged the distribution of the earth's natural resources and energy and threatens the global economy and environment. They warn that the rest of the world cannot ignore China's environmental degradation, because, ultimately, the whole world is affected by many of the devastating catastrophes originating in China.2 To push the Chinese government to do more in improving China's environment, the U.S. Embassy in China has set up a monitoring point on the embassy roof in 2009 and posts hourly air-quality data on its popular Twitter feed. However, a senior Chinese official demanded in May 2012 that foreign embassies stop issuing air pollution readings, saying it was against the law and diplomatic conven- tions.3 This reflects the many differences between China and the Western societies on some critical issues: Do China's environmental problems threaten the international society? Is it possible for China to avoid environmental degradation while it is on rise during globalization? What are the main causes of China's environmental problems? Will China be able to solve its environmental problems in a short period of time? This paper will re-assess China's environmental problems and analyze their main causes in a global context, and argue that the current environmental degradation in China is actually an unavoidable result of China's modernization during globalization. Coping with China's environmental problems is a comprehensive project, and it may take a long time to accomplish the project's goal. 2. Environmental Degradation in China Today, China is facing almost all of the world's ecological challenges: climate change, desertification, deforestation, declining water resources, acid rain, soil erosion, air and water pollution, and biodiversity loss, etc. Pollution is the basic problem amid all other environmental problems. The pollutants are broadly divided into seven types, including contaminated water, polluted air, solid waste, radioactive substances, noise, soil pollution and others. …

Sustainable development : new research

Abstract: Preface Sustainable Development Across Europe Different Countries, Different Perspectives. An Application of Biplot Analisys to Environmental Performance Index Quality of Life in European Municipalities: A Multidimensional Approach Landscapes in Transition : A Focus on the Asia & Pacific Region Spatial Decision Support for Sustainable Land-use Decision Making: An Application for Industry Site Planning & Irrigation Use in the Surroundings of Zaragoza (Spain) Sustainable Developmente : The Brasilian Scene Sustainable Development Planning : Allowing for Future Generations, Time & Uncertainty.

Fiscal Subsidies and Environmental Sustainability: What does the Cross-country Empirical Estimates Suggest?:

Abstract: A number of developed as well as developing countries provide subsidies to domestic players, leading to overproduction and over-exploitation of natural resources, which pose a serious threat to environmental sustainability. The analysis in this article attempts to understand the role of government budgetary subsidies on the overall environmental performance index through panel data model estimation for a set of 74 countries over an 11-year period (2000–2010). The empirical findings confirm the theoretical prediction that subsidies lead to environmental degradation, which is of particular concern for developing countries.

Using environmental performance index to assess regional resilience in romania

Abstract: The paper investigates the capability of adapting the internationally recognized Environmental Performance Index (EPI), developed by Yale University and Columbia University, to Romanian realities at two geographic scales to specify spatial discontinuities in order to demonstrate similar or dissimilar resilience capacity.

Challenges in Measuring the State of the Environment in Developing Countries: A Literature Review

Abstract: A decent environmental quality is a necessary condition for survival of humankind in general and human development in particular. Environmental pollution is a great challenge in developing countries, where especially the poorest are most likely to suffer. Reflecting the state and the dynamics of the environment is essential for science and policy advice. Environmental indicators capture the physical, biological or chemical characteristics of the environment. Environmental composite indicators merge several environmental indicators in order to summarise the multifaceted state of the environment at national level into one single score. These composite indicators allow for cross-country comparisons. The analysis here includes four cross-country composite indicators: the Environmental Vulnerability Index, the Environmental Performance Index, its predecessor the Environmental Sustainability Index and the Ecosystem Wellbeing Index. In addition, the dimension Environmental Wellbeing of the Sustainable Society Index and the Living Planet Index are analysed. Currently, the latter has mainly been constructed at a global scale with only limited availability at national level.The principal questions addressed in this paper are: What cross-country environmental composite indicators exist? To what extent are they suited to measuring the state and the dynamics of the environment? and, How useful are they for developing countries? This analysis is the first comprehensive comparison of cross-country environmental composite indicators, evaluating their conceptual and methodological strengths and weaknesses. The conceptual assessment focuses on content-related aspects. It evaluates whether the individual indicator is an appropriate approximation suited to reflect dimension and composite, respectively. The technical assessment focuses on technical issues of constructing a composite indicator such as imputation of missing data, normalisation, weighting and aggregation as well as coherence. Third, the analysis evaluates how useful these environmental indices are within the context of developing countries.

Globalization as a Driver or Bottleneck for Sustainable Development: Some Empirical, Cross-National Reflections on Basic Issues of International Health Policy and Management

Abstract: Background: This article looks at the long-term, structural determinants of environmental and public health performance in the world system. Methods: In multiple standard ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models, we tested the effects of 26 standard predictor variables, including the ‘four freedoms’ of goods, capital, labour and services, on the following indicators of sustainable development and public health: avoiding net trade of ecological footprint global hectare (gha) per person; avoiding high carbon emissions per million US dollars GDP; avoiding high CO2 per capita (gha/cap); avoiding high ecological footprint per capita; avoiding becoming victim of natural disasters; a good performance on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI); a good performance on the Happy Life Years (HLYs) scale; and a good performance on the Happy Planet Index (HPI). Results: Our research showed that the apprehensions of quantitative research, critical of neo-liberal globalization, are fully vindicated by the significant negative environmental and public health effects of the foreign savings rate. High foreign savings are indeed a driver of global footprint, and are a blockade against a satisfactory HPI performance. The new international division of labour is one of the prime drivers of high CO2 per capita emissions. Multinational Corporation (MNC) penetration, the master variable of most quantitative dependency theories, blocks EPI and several other socially important processes. Worker remittances have a significant positive effect on the HPI, and HLYs. Conclusion: We re-analysed the solid macro-political and macro-sociological evidence on a global scale, published in the world’s leading peer-reviewed social science, ecological and public health journals, which seem to indicate that there are contradictions between unfettered globalization and unconstrained world economic openness and sustainable development and public health development. We suggest that there seems to be a strong interaction between ‘transnational capitalist penetration’ and ‘environmental and public health degradation’. Global policy-making finally should dare to take the globalization-critical organizations of ‘civil society’ seriously. This conclusion not only holds for the countries of the developed “West”, but also, increasingly, for the growing democracy and civil society movements around the globe, in countries as diverse as Brazil, Russia, China, or ever larger parts of the Muslim world.

Evaluation and Analysis on the Environmental Performance of Marine Economy in the Coastal Areas of China

Abstract: For promoting the development of marine economy more sustainable, based the data envelopment analysis method and combined with the impact of the marine environment, the environmental performance of marine economy was evaluated for Chinese coastal provinces. Firstly the classical CCR model was used. Then a model considered undesirable outputs was made to suit to Chinese marine economy. Made use of the two models, the economic efficiencies without environmental consideration and the environmental performance index were calculated and compared. According to the results, the empirical relation between EPI and EE,per capita GDP and the industrial structure was analyzed.

Effectiveness of ISO 14000 Environmental Management Systems in Malaysian Manufacturing Industries

Abstract: Malaysia ranks 54 out of the 163 countries under the Environmental Performance Index and Environmental Management System (EMS) is becoming an important requirement for the manufacturing industries and companies are obtaining the ISO14000 EMS certification. However the real benefits are not realized by manufacturing sectors. Hence this research would be addressing the need to value the environment and the critical dimensions of ISO14000 EMS leading to effective implementation thereby helping in achieving corporate sustainability and examines the mediating relationship between the dimensions and corporate sustainability by proposing a model.The research is planned as a cross-sectional survey of manufacturing firms that have obtained ISO14000 certification and will be conducted in Klang Valley of Malaysia. Questionnaire-based survey will be used to obtain information and Structural Equation Modeling will be used to analyze the data. The findings will generate an effective EMS in line with the national agenda and will generate new ideas and knowledge by identifying the problems and giving innovative solution helping the Malaysian manufacturing industries to contribute positively towards valuing the environment endowment.

Sustainability Discussion with an Example of Selected Countries in Asia and Oceania

Abstract: A systemic approach to innovative development, creation, and implementation of efficient mechanisms for innovation policy, sustainable financial sector reform, and ultimately, sustainable, balanced, and harmonious development of countries based on investment innovative models, calls for the creation and implementation of an innovative product to support strategic decision-making based on integrated indices and risks in a triune concept of sustainable ecological, social, and economic development in the global, regional, and national contexts. This chapter seeks to illustrate one approach to the indicated model, using the examples of South East Asia and Oceania, and taking into consideration the risks and opportunities for innovative development in these countries. This research incorporates the Environmental Performance Index (EPI).

Globalization as a Driver or Bottleneck for Sustainable Development: Some Empirical, Cross-National Reflections on Basic Issues of International Health Policy and Management

Abstract: Background: This article looks at the long-term, structural determinants of environmental and public health performance in the world system. Methods: In multiple standard ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models, we tested the effects of 26 standard predictor variables, including the ‘four freedoms’ of goods, capital, labour and services, on the following indicators of sustainable development and public health: avoiding net trade of ecological footprint global hectare (gha) per person; avoiding high carbon emissions per million US dollars GDP; avoiding high CO2 per capita (gha/cap); avoiding high ecological footprint per capita; avoiding becoming victim of natural disasters; a good performance on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI); a good performance on the Happy Life Years (HLYs) scale; and a good performance on the Happy Planet Index (HPI). Results: Our research showed that the apprehensions of quantitative research, critical of neo-liberal globalization, are fully vindicated by the significant negative environmental and public health effects of the foreign savings rate. High foreign savings are indeed a driver of global footprint, and are a blockade against a satisfactory HPI performance. The new international division of labour is one of the prime drivers of high CO2 per capita emissions. Multinational Corporation (MNC) penetration, the master variable of most quantitative dependency theories, blocks EPI and several other socially important processes. Worker remittances have a significant positive effect on the HPI, and HLYs. Conclusion: We re-analysed the solid macro-political and macro-sociological evidence on a global scale, published in the world’s leading peer-reviewed social science, ecological and public health journals, which seem to indicate that there are contradictions between unfettered globalization and unconstrained world economic openness and sustainable development and public health development. We suggest that there seems to be a strong interaction between ‘transnational capitalist penetration’ and ‘environmental and public health degradation’. Global policy-making finally should dare to take the globalization-critical organizations of ‘civil society’ seriously. This conclusion not only holds for the countries of the developed “West”, but also, increasingly, for the growing democracy and civil society movements around the globe, in countries as diverse as Brazil, Russia, China, or ever larger parts of the Muslim world.

Studying the Economic and Environmental Effects of Selected Irrigated Agricultural Enterprises in Iran

Abstract: 2 Abstract: It is hard to argue that water scarcity has become an important issue in the world. The figures in all over the world indicate that agriculture sector has a large share in water consumption. Due to drought seasons in recent years, irrigated agriculture has increased significantly and the depletion of underground aquifers has become serious issue. In this study the environmental performance index (EPI) was applied to measure the economic and environmental performance of main irrigated agricultural enterprises in Iran. The EPI index was computed using data envelopment analysis (DEA) techniques. The results indicated that the environmental effects of irrigated enterprises vary significantly among enterprises and across the years of study. The results showed that wheat has the most EPI score among enterprises of study that this indicates least environmental effects and high economic return and walnut has the least EPI score that this indicates greater environmental effects and low economic return.