Environmental Performance Index (EPI) research from data collected within several environments in order to determine the cleanest countries in the world.

European nations have always ranked among the top 14 cleanest countries in the world according to the EPI.  This year, Costa Rica broke into the top 5 cleanest ranked countries becoming the top Latin American country in the overall rank.

The study, which was recently published by Forbes, points out that should Costa Rica continue to put into practice all of its decrees, laws and incentives to improve its environment, it can easily accomplish its goal to become the first Carbon Neutral country by the year 2021.

Costa Rica has been able to obtain an overall EPI score of 90.5 out of 100 thanks to its ongoing reforestation and therefore its contribution to forests, clean air and the fight against global warming.

However, one of the areas that Costa Rica didn’t score well in the EPI was in the marine protection category.   Government authorities and other officials have gradually been including plans and projects to keep Costa Rica’s incredible marine biodiversity regulated and protected.

Costa Rica hotels along with the rest of the tourism industry play an important role in assuring that the country’s ecosystem is well protected and preserved.  Costa Rica’s ecosystem represents one of the main reasons tourists from around the globe choose Costa Rica as their vacation destination.

The first 4 places in the EPI country rank went to Switzerland in 1st place with a score of 95.5, Sweden and Norway tied in 2nd place with a score of 93.1 and Finland in 4th place with an overall score of 91.4.

Article originally posted here

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