Britain Trails World League on Its Green Credentials

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Full story: Britain Trails World League on Its Green Credentials

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BRITAIN has scored poorly in a new league table of countries' green credentials.

A study examining 141 countries put Britain 93rd in the world for energy efficiency, including conservation efforts and renewable energy use, and 77th for its greenhouse gas emissions.

But overall Britain was ranked 25th in the list of greenest and best places to live.

According to the analysis, Britain was beaten by its neighbours Ireland, which came seventh, and France, which was in 16th place.

The country that came top in the poll - which is based on nations' green credentials and other indicators of how desirable they are to live in, such as education and income - was Finland, followed by Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Austria.

Ethiopia came bottom of the league table.

Britain scored quite highly for water quality, coming in 15th, but did not do so well for air quality, for which it received a ranking of 41st.

Glasgow was ranked as the 13th greenest city in the world - with Stockholm taking the top spot.

The worst cities were all in Asia, with Beijing at the bottom of the table.

The analysis was commissioned by Readers' Digest.

It was carried out by the US environmental economist Matthew Kahn using the United Nations' 2006 Human Development Index and the 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index.

• Source: Scotsman.com

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Britain Give Disappointing Green Rating

LONDON - Britain is languishing near the bottom of a league table that grades countries green credentials, according to a study published on Friday.

The Reader's Digest table of 141 countries places Britain in a disappointing 93rd spot for energy efficiency -- including conservation efforts and renewable energy use -- and 77th for its greenhouse gas emissions.

Britain also comes out a lacklustre 25th in the overall list of greenest and best places to live.

US environmental economist Matthew Kahn compiled the survey using the UN 2006 Human Development Index and the 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index.

Eight of the top ten countries are in Europe, with Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden leading the way.

All of the top ten cities are European with Stokholm finishing top of the study.

Glasgow (13th) is the highest ranking British city, with Manchester finishing in 30th place.

The report states of Britain's performance: "Greenhouse gases are major culprits. In 2004, per-capita carbon dioxide emissions were more than twice the worldwide per capita figure, and it's a trend heading in the wrong direction: total carbon dioxide emissions in the UK actually increased slightly between 2000 and 2005."

Reader's Digest editor-in-chief Katherine Walker said the study will come as a blow to a government which is attempting to be a world leader on climate change.

"What is clear from this research is that Britain is far from being a green and pleasant land. Our ranking in terms of energy efficiency in particular should send a message to the government that much more needs to be done.

"Public awareness is high and the demand to make homes more energy efficient is there, but all the indications are that the grant system has been so chaotic that people who want to install solar panels and wind turbines are being put off," she added.

• Source: AFP

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Britain's Low Rank in Eco-friendly Countries List (5-Oct-07)

Britain could manage only 25th place on the list of countries considered to be the most desirable to live, according to the survey.

Newcastle beat London in the list of eco-friendly cities Finland topped the list of 141 countries while Ethiopia came last.

Eight of the top 10 countries are in Europe, according to the Reader's Digest survey.London also fared badly managing only 27th place in a similar league table of cities ranked for their eco-friendliness.

The top 14 cities in the table were all European with Glasgow coming 13th and Manchester 30th.

The survey was carried out by American environmental economist Matthew Kahn based on statistics from the UN 2006 Human Development Index and the 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index.

A country's green credentials were based on a variety of factors including education and income which gave an indication of how desirable they were to live in,

The top five countries, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Austria, were all in Europe, and the five nations at the bottom of the table were all African.

advertisement Britain was beaten by near neighbours Ireland (7th position), France (16) and the Netherlands (17th place).

The country fell down on its carbon footprint. In 2004 Britain's per capita carbon dioxide emissions were more than double the worldwide average and were still rising. Britain ranked around mid-table - 77th place -on greenhouse gas emissions.

Britain was 41st in terms of air quality; Moldova took first place.

While Norway topped the league table for water quality, Britain was in a respectable 15th position.

Austria was first for environmental health – taking childhood mortality, disease and deaths from intestinal infections into account – with Britain 35th.

Britain was a lowly 93rd in the world for energy efficiency, including conservation efforts and use of renewables.

But even the top ranked country, Finland, which won high marks for air and water quality, low incidence of infant disease and protecting its people from water pollution and natural disasters fared badly on some counts.

It had a high ecological footprint -based on the amount of land and water it needed to sustain consumption - and had the highest industrial-energy consumption rate of all five Nordic countries.

The greenest city out of the 72 major centres analysed was Stockholm, followed by Oslo.

Germany's long-standing environmental commitment paid off, with no fewer than four cities in the top ten – Munich (3rd place), Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Düsseldorf.

France had three, Paris (4th place), Lyon and Nantes.

Glasgow (13th position) and Newcastle (19) both beat London in terms of local environmental laws, refuse management and parkland. Manchester was in 30th place.

The worst cities were all in Asia. Beijing, which suffered badly from air pollution, was considered to be the dirtiest, followed by Shanghai, Mumbai, Guangzhou and Bangkok.

The survey concluded that Britain had a lot of clean-up work to do.

"Again, greenhouse gases are major culprits. In 2004, per-capita carbon dioxide emissions were more than twice the worldwide per capita figure. And it's a trend heading in the wrong direction: total carbon dioxide emissions in the UK actually increased slightly between 2000 and 2005," it said.

To fight global warming, the survey said, the government had to make grants available for people to make their homes more energy efficient through wind and solar power. The £18.6 million originally allocated for the 2005–06 had run out after just six months.

Katherine Walker, editor-in-chief of Reader's Digest, said: "What is clear from this research is that Britain is far from being a green and pleasant land.

This is a disappointing result. Our ranking in terms of energy efficiency in particular should send a message to the Government that much more needs to be done. Public awareness is high and the demand to make homes more energy efficient is there, but all the indications are that the grant system has been so chaotic that people who want to install solar panels and wind turbines are being put off."

The survey concluded that "an engaged, educated public" was a powerful antidote to environmental destruction.

On a more encouraging note the survey said that even China, which finished in 84th place on the list, was beginning to show a commitment to the environmental improvements in the run-up to next year's Olympics in Beijing.

The results of the research are published in the October issue of Reader's Digest and full country and city rankings are available on www.rdmag.co.uk.

• Source: Telegraph.co.uk

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