Assets and Liabilities - How Nations Treat the Planet. Tuesday's Edition

Which Nations Make The World Better? Series 15 #2

In Kabul, residents breathe 37 micrograms of PM2.5 particulate matter per cubic meter. The fine particles lodge in the lungs, triggering asthma, strokes, and heart disease. Children develop respiratory problems before age five. In Oslo, the air carries 6 micrograms. Norwegian children run outside without parents calculating pollution indexes. Air quality determines whether your kid can play outside.

Five environmental metrics reveal which nations protect the planet and thus the people: carbon emissions, renewable energy, forest cover, air quality, and protected land. These are measurable outcomes: emissions increase or decrease, forests expand or contract, air meets health standards or does not.

The Destruction

The United States pumps 14.9 tons of CO2 per person into the atmosphere annually. Kuwait 25 tons. Qatar reaches 37 tons. These aren’t developing nations with few alternatives; they’re wealthy countries choosing to pollute when alternatives exist. Carbon emissions per capita separate deliberate policy from poverty-driven low emissions. Afghanistan’s 0.3 tons reflects poverty, not policy.

Just seven countries met WHO air quality guidelines of 5 micrograms in 2024. China averages 32 micrograms per cubic meter, India 54. These numbers kill. WHO estimates air pollution causes 7 million premature deaths annually, more than AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined.

Schwartz’s value dimensions explain this. Self-enhancement cultures pursuing material success generate higher emissions. Self-transcendence cultures, emphasizing universal welfare, show lower carbon emissions even at similar income levels.

Forests reveal similar patterns. Costa Rica increased coverage from 21% in the 1980s to 60% today by making standing forests more valuable than cleared land. Indonesia destroys forests for palm oil plantations. Afghanistan retains just 2% of its forest cover, which is shrinking as families harvest firewood because they can’t afford other fuels.

When forests disappear, watersheds fail, carbon sinks collapse, and floods replace gradual water release. Long-term oriented cultures invest in future rewards despite immediate pressure. Short-term oriented cultures prioritize next quarter’s palm oil revenue over next generation’s water security.

The Protection

Renewable energy separates nations investing in clean energy from those locked in fossil dependence. Costa Rica, Norway, Iceland, Paraguay, and Albania run on nearly 100% renewable electricity. Denmark reaches 88% through wind power backed by 50 years of community ownership requirements. The United States manages just 23% despite massive capacity.

Trompenaars’ internal versus external direction explains this gap. Internal direction cultures believe humans should dominate nature to achieve goals. External direction cultures work with environmental constraints. Norway and Costa Rica adapt energy systems to available hydro, geothermal, and wind. The United States forces fossil fuel systems onto landscapes ideal for solar and wind.

Protected areas measure conservation commitment. Costa Rica designates 26% of land for protection, Bhutan 51%, Venezuela 54%. The United States manages 14%, below the global minimum target of 17%. Afghanistan protects under 1%.

High power distance cultures where elites control resources without accountability show lower protection rates. When governments answer only to ruling elites, extraction for the enrichment of those groups is the norm. Low power distance cultures expecting accountability from leaders achieve higher conservation coverage.

These five metrics create accountability that rhetoric can’t obscure. Countries either reduce emissions or they don’t. Forests either expand or disappear. Air either meets health standards or chokes populations. The measurements expose whether nations are assets protecting the planet or liabilities making it worse

Tomorrow, we examine purely human aspects, whether nations improve lives through health, education, freedom, and basic services, or whether they allow their citizens to languish in poverty, illiteracy, and repression.

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