Canada ranked second-to-last among "Global West" countries and 29th in the world on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), scoring 57.78 out of 100. According to the EPI, Canada's lowest ranking was in climate change policy, where it scored 24.26, significantly lower than the average score for "Global West" countries. The country's greenhouse gas emissions trend per capita ranked 133rd globally. Environmental Performance Index lead researcher Zach Wendling said Canada showed small improvements in some areas, such as habitat protection and emissions trends, indicating that change is possible.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-14,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Is Canada flunking climate?
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Canada → flunk → climate
Also: Sunken Nazi warships resurface
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warships → resurface → ?
Welcome to our weekly newsletter where we highlight environmental trends and solutions that are moving us to a more sustainable world.
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that → welcome → world
Hey, it’s Mitchell.
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it → ’ → ?
I think it’s fair to say Canadians are the type to check our grades against our classmates — we love comparing ourselves.
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we → think → ourselves
So when I saw Yale University’s Environmental Performance Index rankings in July, it felt like a bad report card.
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it → see → card
A bit surprised, I thought I should look into how Canada’s doing on environmental scorecards and its capacity to improve.
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Canada → think → scorecards
We certainly aren't getting an A.
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- Is Canada flunking climate?
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Canada → flunk → climate
The Big Picture: Sunken Nazi warships resurface
- How the tourism industry is adapting to smoky summers in B.C.
Is Canada flunking climate?
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Canada → resurface → climate
Canada ranked second last in climate and environmental performance among "Global West" countries and 29th in the world, according to the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), released in July by the Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy, the Yale Center for Geospatial Solutions and Columbia University.
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Canada → rank → Solutions
The ranking uses 47 environmental indicators from growth of carbon emissions to rates of habitat protection compiled from datasets published between 2022 and early 2026.
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ranking → use → 2022
EPI lead researcher Zach Wendling told CBC News the index aims to arm people with data to spark deeper conversations and hold their governments accountable.
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governments → tell → conversations
Why Canada ranked so poorly
Canada scored 57.78 out of 100.
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Canada → rank → 100
The highest score went to Estonia, at 74.79, helped by significant cuts to greenhouse gas emissions from shale oil power generation.
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score → go → generation
Wendling said Canada was weakest in climate change, protected lands and fishing.
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Canada → say → change
Canada ranked 45th on the EPI’s overarching category for climate change policy, which includes indicators related to emissions trends, such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen monoxide.
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which → rank → dioxide
Canada ranked 133rd in greenhouse gas emissions trend per capita.
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Canada → rank → capita
The score of 24.26 was well below a “Global West” average of 44.87, but was 7.65 points better than Canada would have done 10 years ago, according to the EPI’s calculations.
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Canada → do → calculations
Wending said many of Canada's scores in marine and terrestrial habitat protection and emissions trends have increased.
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many → say → protection
Though the improvements were small, he said this “shows that change is possible."
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change → say → ?
How other countries are doing better
Estonia earned top honours on the EPI due mainly to cutting down shale oil power generation, which brought down the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent, according to the EPI’s report.
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which → do → report
The country has set a target to use only renewables for electricity by 2030 and be carbon neutral by 2050.
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country → set → 2050
“For years, we've been pushing countries to pick the low-hanging fruit,” Wendling said.
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Wendling → push → fruit
“Shutting down your dirtiest and oldest generation technology would be like an apple the size of a beach ball right at your knees.”
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Wendling said Estonia’s massive climb — equivalent to 23.22 points over 10 years — is a one-time outlier, so they need to reach higher.
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they → say → years
Their lowest scores came in fishing, agriculture and forestry-related indicators.
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scores → come → fishing
Other strong performers include Denmark (eighth on the EPI) and Norway (11th).
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performers → include → EPI
Denmark scored well on most emissions indicators while Norway was a leader in environmental health and preventing grassland conversion.
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Norway → score → conversion
Debora Van Nijnatten, a professor in environmental and net zero policy at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont., said EU countries likely fare better on scorecards because they have strong statutory frameworks and regulatory standards surrounding the environment.
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they → say → environment
The European Green Deal includes a Climate Law that mandates carbon neutrality by 2050 and goals to reduce emissions by 35 per cent by 2030 and 90 per cent by 2040.
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that → include → 2040
The EU also has an emissions trading system and a Net-Zero Industry Act.
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EU → have → system
‘A lof of room for improvement’
Wendling pointed out two-thirds of countries listed on the EPI have made improvements over the past 10 years.
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thirds → point → years
This is the latest in a run of bad climate results for Canada, which came 61st out of 76 countries on the 2026 Climate Change Performance Index and scored a rating of "highly insufficient" in Climate Action Tracker’s November 2025 report.
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which → come → report
Since the data was compiled for the latest EPI rankings, Prime Minister Mark Carney has nixed the consumer carbon price and said emissions will rise.
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emissions → compile → price
According to the Canadian Climate Policy Inventory, more policies ended or allocated their funding than were introduced in 2025.
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policies → accord → 2025
Van Nijnatten said she would not be surprised to see Canada’s scores fall on the EPI and other scorecards in the next few years.
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scores → say → years
She added Canada was a leader on climate change previously but now, it needs to set new goals.
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it → add → goals
“We're in a climate policy transition period,” she said.
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she → say → period
“We get some faint outlines of what the Carney government would like to focus on, but it's not clear what that new strategy is going to look like yet.”
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strategy → get → what
…and 57 more, not listed.
