Sweden and Latvia - the greenest countries in the EU

Sweden and Latvia are ranked as the greenest countries in the EU in terms of natural environment and human impact. Read full report here: https://lnkd.in/g7Enw6A

Sweden is the standout greenest country in the EU by far. It ranked in the top 3 countries for waste, greenhouse gases emissions, air quality, freshwater and forests. For example, rural and urban concentrations of PM2.5 fine particulate matter in the air of 5.4 and 6.1, respectively, mean Sweden has the cleanest air in the EU. However, while Sweden uses the highest proportion of energy from renewable sources (55%), the actual per capita consumption of nonrenewable energy is still one of the highest in the EU (3.1 tonnes of oil equivalent per person).

Where Latvia has been ranked as the second greenest country in the EU, largely due to an abundance of natural resources (freshwater and forests) as well as producing a relatively low amount of greenhouse gases per capita (6 tons per capita) and having the second lowest consumption of nonrenewable energy in the group (1.4 tonnes of oil equivalent per capita). However, Latvia's concentration of fine particulate matter (12.7) puts it in the bottom half for air quality and it has one of the worst recycling rates in the EU (25%).