Canada falls near bottom of climate rankings, but experts see paths to improvement
Canada placed second-last among Western nations in the Yale-backed Environmental Performance Index, highlighting weak climate policy and habitat protection, though modest gains suggest change is possible.
In the latest Environmental Performance Index, Canada earned a 57.78 rating, placing it 29th worldwide and second-last among "Global West" nations. The index, which aggregates 47 metrics from 2022-early 2026, identified climate-change policy, land and marine protection, and fishing as the country's poorest performing sectors, with a climate-policy rank of 45th and a per-capita emissions trend rank of 133rd. Despite these low marks, the report recorded modest gains in habitat protection and emissions trends, suggesting incremental progress is feasible.
Estonia topped the rankings after slashing shale-oil power generation, while Denmark and Norway also performed well. Canadian expert Debora Van Nijnatten linked stronger EU results to robust statutory frameworks, and warned that recent policy rollbacks, such as ending the consumer carbon price under Prime Minister Mark Carney, could further erode Canada's standing. Researchers emphasized that data-driven policymaking remains the most universal remedy for improving future scores.
Why it matters
Canada's lag in climate metrics signals policy gaps that could affect global emissions targets and domestic environmental health.
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