The Global Green Economy Index Winners And Losers

The authors of the latest Global Green Economy Index have raised concerns about the “perceptions” of developed countries such as Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United States, suggesting that “perceptions of their green economic performance dramatically exceed their actual performance on the [Global Green Economy Index].”

First published in 2010 by analytics company Dual Citizen, the GGEI provides an in-depth look at how 60 countries are performing in the global green economy. Countries are measured on four separate scales: leadership and climate change; efficiency sectors; markets and investment; and environment and natural capital. There is also a difference between the perception of a country and its actual performance, as seen below.

According to Dual Citizen, the perception values offer “unique insights into how communications and information exchange can be leveraged to further advance green economic growth.”

The Winners

Dismissing those at the top of the perception rank, the winners from the 2014 Global Green Economy Index are Sweden, Norway, and first-time entrant into the GGEI, Costa Rica.

“It is difficult to find a weak spot in the Sweden results,” write the authors, adding that “what is most impressive about Sweden’s GGEI result is that the country does so well on both the Efficiency Sectors dimension and the Environment & Natural Capital one.”

Sweden acts as a “best practice case for how to translate a genuine commitment domestically to green economy into a strong global green reputation.” However, unlike Germany, another of the GGEI’s best practice cases, Sweden has some work to do on the Markets & Investment dimension.

Norway has similar placing as Sweden, with a bit more work to do in terms of Markets & Investments, whereas Costa Rica “shines in all aspects of the GGEI, providing a useful case study for how a small, upper middle income nation can both perform well in the green economy and build a vibrant green country brand around it.”

The Losers Not So Winners

One of the ‘Emerging Trends’ the authors highlight at the beginning of the report (PDF) is the “concerning results related to more developed countries” such as Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United States — “where perceptions of their green economic performance dramatically exceed their actual performance on the GGEI.”

Respectively, the Netherlands, United States, Japan, and Australia, fall at 5th, 6th, 7th, and 11th on the Perception Rank, but fall much lower on actual Performance — 21st, 28th, 44th, and 37th respectively.

The full details are found in the report, as well as summaries for each of the 60 countries.