Bangladesh's environmental performance has seen further degradation, causing the country to plummet to the third-lowest position among 177 nations on the 2026 Environmental Performance Index (EPI).
This marks a steep decline from the previous edition of the global report, where the country fared slightly better as the sixth-lowest performer among 180 countries, according to the new ranking, which was produced by researchers at Yale and Columbia universities.
Bangladesh was placed 175th out of 177 countries, making it the third-lowest ranked nation globally, ahead of only India (176th) and Laos (177th). Mali and Vietnam also featured among the bottom five.
The report said Bangladesh continues to face severe environmental degradation that poses a direct threat to public health and critical ecosystems.
The biennial index assessed 177 countries using 47 indicators across 12 environmental issue categories, including environmental health, ecosystem vitality and climate change.
According to the report, few countries are fully on track to meet the global commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, and progress has slowed on a range of other pollution control and natural resource management challenges.
According to the report, overall, European countries hold all but one of the top 20 positions in this year's comprehensive ranking, driven by high marks on environmental health and climate change mitigation, with Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, Finland, and the Netherlands rounding out the top five.
The researchers said Estonia's top ranking was driven by sharp reduction in greenhouse gas emission from electricity generation, supported by rapid renewable energy expansion and the phase-out of fossil fuel production.
The report pointed out that although European countries lead this year's ranking, even the highest ranked countries face ongoing sustainability challenges, with agricultural sustainability representing a lagging category for many European countries. Other countries are also pulled down by low scores in agricultural sustainability.
For example, Japan, in the 16th slot, is the sole non-European country in the top 20. But it ranks 139th in agricultural sustainability, as per the report.
The report noted that Bangladesh, India, Laos, Mali and Vietnam face serious environmental challenges, including ecosystem degradation and pollution, underscoring the urgent need for stronger environmental policies and sustainable resource management.
India ranked 176th, the report said, adding that it's very weak performance reflects critical air quality problems, continued reliance on coal-fired power, and lack of biodiversity protection.
The report also found that China and the United States -- the world's two biggest greenhouse gas emitters -- look likely to fall far short of the global target of net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.
The United States ranked 27th, while China sits in the bottom third of the Index at 129th place, owing to poor outcomes on climate change measures despite improvements in indoor air pollution, water sanitation, and solid waste management.
The 2026 EPI also demonstrates the promise of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to rapidly transform environmental metrics and sustainability tracking. Over half of the EPI's 47 indicators now use some form of AI -- including better techniques for analyzing satellite data -- to unlock new insights about the state of the planet.
The report said both Botswana and Costa Rica have experienced strong economic growth alongside strong sustainability outcomes.
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