METHODS
Box 3.
SELECTION CRITERIA FOR DATA IN THE EPI
A growing number of countries and regions have replicated or adapted the EPI’s methodology and framework to assess environmental performance at the sub-regional or provincial level.6 In addition to demonstrating the EPI’s reach, these indices reflect the range of priorities driving a nation’s environmental efforts, from China’s concerns about economic sustainability to the Basque Country’s drive to document its independent environmental efforts. l
Over a two-year period, China adapted the EPI framework by adding a third category on economic sustainability, reflecting the country’s green growth priorities.7 Basque Country (Spain) EPI shows how a politically contested region used environmental performance as a way to compare itself to other European countries.8 The index, released in 2013, marked the first index to compare sub-national governments to national ones.
l The
l
India launched an Environmental Sustainability Index at the state level, with a focus on critical in-country issues such as population pressures, waste management, and environmental budgets.
l
Acknowledging the key role of cities in sustainability, Malaysia integrated new indicators on urban environmental performance and governance 9 into the second version of its state-level EPI,10 launched in 2014.11 Their website offers a close look into their methodology and results.12
l
Viet Nam completed an EPI feasibility study at the provincial scale.13 Provincial pilot studies pairing on-the-ground and satellite data on air quality and forest cover are now underway.
l
In 2009, the Abu Dhabi Emirate (UAE) completed an EPI assessment, which took a deep look at key local issues including water and air quality.14
These cases demonstrate how smart-scaling the EPI framework to local contexts and scales can help countries prioritize key environmental issues. While the global EPI provides an overall picture to compare countries, the flexibility of the framework allows for wide and varied applications to capture key environmental metrics.
6 Yale Environmental Performance Index. Urban and Sub-National Applications. (n.d.). Available: http://epi.yale.edu/urban-and-sub-nationalapplications. 7 Hsu, A. and W. Miao. (2014, April 3). China’s performance on the 2014 Environmental Performance Index: What are the key takeaways? Yale Environmental Performance Index, The Metric. Available: http://epi.yale.edu/ the-metric/chinas-performance-2014-environmental-performance-indexwhat-are-key-takeaways. 8 Yale Environmental Performance Index, Indicators in Practice. (2015, February 20). Basque Country’s Environmental Performance Index. Available: http://epi.yale.edu/indicators-in-practice/basque-countrysenvironmental-performance-index. 9 Hawkins, N. (2014, May 22). Malaysia’s Environmental Performance Index. Yale Environmental Performance Index, Indicators in Practice. Available: http://epi.yale.edu/indicators-in-practice/malaysias-environmentalperformance-index-0.
30
10 Yale Environmental Performance Index, The Metric. (2015, February 15). MyEPI: Malaysia launches 2014 Environmental Performance Index. Available: http://epi.yale.edu/the-metric/myepi-malaysia-launches-2014environmental-performance-index. 11 Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy. (2015). Malaysia launches 2014 Environmental Performance Index. Available: https://vimeo. com/149734704. 12 Malaysia Environmental Performance Index. (n.d.). Available: http://www. epi.utm.my/v3/. 13 Zomer, A. (2014, December 9). Improving environmental data and performance in Viet Nam. Yale Environmental Performance Index, The Metric. Available: http://epi.yale.edu/the-metric/improvingenvironmental-data-and-performance-viet-nam. 14 Spawn, A. (2015, April 2). From Global to Regional: The Abu Dhabi EPI. Yale Environmental Performance Index, The Metric. Available: http://epi. yale.edu/the-metric/global-regional-abu-dhabi-epi.