Davos report “Air quality is the leading environmental threat to public health.”

The 2018 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) reports that air quality is the leading environmental threat to public health worldwide.  The report presented at Davos is produced every 2 years by Yale and Columbia Universities in collaboration with the World  Economic Forum.  This is the 10th EPI report which ranks 180 counties on 24 performance indicators, including environmental health, air quality, sustainability, climate protection and ecosystem vitality.

Switzerland leads the world, ranked at number 1 followed by France, Denmark, Malta, Sweden and the UK.  America is at 27 with strong scores on sanitation but weak scores on deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions.  Emerging economies, China at 120 and India at 177 reflect the strain that rapid change and economic growth can have on the environment however Brazil, another recognised emerging economy is ranked at 69.