Lok Sabha Question No. 3653 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-08-08
Subject: Metrics used by EPI
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Gaurav Gogoi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3653

TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.08.2022

## Metrics used by EPI

## 3653.   SHRI GAURAV GOGOI:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware that India performed poorly on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) with a score of 18.90;
- (b) whether the Government conduct its own evaluation of the metrics used by EPI, if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) whether the Government can list its plans for progress for the next five years on the metrics used by EPI?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a)  to  (c)The  report  on  Environmental  Performance  Index  2022  prepared  by  researchers  at Yale University and Columbia University has drawn conclusions about countries with respect to their environmental health, ecosystem vitality and Climate Change related policy based on metrics with several parameters that are unscientific and subjective

For  instance,  the  indicator  'Projected  Emission  levels  in  2050'  under  the  'Climate Change Policy objective' is computed on the basis of average rate of change in emission of the last 10 years instead of modelling that takes into account a longer time period, extent of renewable  energy  capacity  and  use,  additional  carbon  sinks,  energy  efficiency  etc.  of respective  countries.  Fig  1  of  the  said  report,  based  on  Global  Carbon  Budget  2021  itself shows that India has one of the lowest emission trajectories vis a vis other countries. Also, the above parameter has a weight of nearly 14% in the index vis a vis an equity based indicator like GHG emission per capita with a weight of only 1%.

This shows  that the  methodology  used  in  the  EPI ranking  suffers  from  many discrepancies including inter alia no specific rationale for weightage assigned to indicators, a flawed model to compute parameters like projected emissions where carbon removals are not accounted for and absence of important parameters of sustainability like energy efficiency or indicators that truly capture ecosystem productivity.

The government has action plans in place which aims to improve the performance of the country on many measures of policy objectives of Climate Change, Environmental Health and Biodiversity and Habitat which are covered in EPI.

The  National  Clean  Air  Programmehas  been  launched  for  prevention,  control  and abatement  of  air  pollution  with  targets  to  achieve  20  %  to  30  %  reduction  in  PM10  and PM2.5 concentrations by 2024 keeping 2019 as the base year. Under NCAP, City Specific Clean Air Action Plans focusing on short/ medium/ long term actions to control air pollution from  different  sources  have  been  prepared  and  rolled  out  for  implementation  in  132  nonattainment and million plus cities.

Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)approved by the Cabinet for submission by India to UNFCCC under the Paris Agreement include the following: -

1. To put forward and further propagate a healthy and sustainable way of living based on  traditions  and  values  of  conservation  and  moderation,  including  through  a  mass movement  for  'LIFE'-  'Lifestyle  for  Environment'  as  a  key  to  combating  climate change.
2. To adopt a climate friendly and a cleaner path than the one followed hitherto by others at corresponding level of economic development.
3. To reduce the Emissions intensity of its GDP by 45 percent by 2030, from 2005 level.
4. To achieve about 50 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from nonfossil  fuel-based  energy  resources  by  2030,  with  the  help  of  transfer  of  technology and low-cost international finance including from Green Climate Fund (GCF).
5. To  create  an  additional  carbon  sink  of  2.5  to  3  billion  tonnes  of  CO2  equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.
6. To  better  adapt  to  climate  change  by  enhancing  investments  in  development programmes in sectors  vulnerable  to  climate  change,  particularly  agriculture,  water resources, Himalayan region, coastal regions, health and disaster management.
7. To  mobilize  domestic  and  new  &  additional  funds  from  developed  countries  to implement  the  above  mitigation  and  adaptation  actions  in  view  of  the  resources required and the resource gap.
8. To  build  capacities,  create  domestic  framework  and  international  architecture  for quick  diffusion  of  cutting  edge  climate  change  technology  in  India  and  for  joint collaborative R&D for such future technologies.

****