Top Greenest Countries in the World

1. Iceland - Said to be one of the most beautiful countries in the world, featuring glaciers, volcanoes, and even waterfalls, Iceland tops the list of being the greenest country. Though a pretty small island, said to be the size of Kentucky, Iceland has found a way to ensure that despite its size, it would be making a huge impact on becoming eco-friendly.

2. Switzerland - Though the leader in 2008, Switzerland has fallen to second place on the Environmental Performance Index. Switzerland has a long, proven record of being eco-friendly and protecting the environment. For instance, in 1914, the country created the first Alpine park located in the Alps, and the tradition has carried on, as the country plans to build at least 20 more of these parks.

3. Costa Rica - Coming in at third on the list, Costa Rica is a country that has set very high goals in order to go green, and stay that way. By 2021, Costa Rica hopes to be one of the few, if not the only country in the world that is carbon neutral. At this point in time, the country already utilizes plenty of renewable resources, which is very eco-friendly as there are less greenhouse gases that are polluting the air and even the water.

4. Sweden-While the rest of the world deals with continuously fluctuating oil prices, Sweden has decided to make things a little easier for the country and its people by making a plan to phase out the use of fossil fuels by 2020; however, these efforts didn’t just begin. The change really started in the 1980s during the oil crisis. Efforts towards this new 2020 goal have already started and 28% of the energy and resources used in Sweden are renewable and eco-friendly.

5.Norway - By 2030, Norway hopes to be a country that is carbon neutral. This means that the country plans to find ways so that there are no greenhouse gases emitted. This seems like a very steep goal as Norway is heavily reliant upon its oil rigs for export as well as for a source of energy. To achieve their goal, the government will be making big purchases of carbon offsets.