| Country | Environmental performance according to literature | Environmental performance according to EPI | Conclusion |
| Brazil | Negative | Positive | Mixed |
| Hungary | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed |
| India | Negative | Positive | Mixed |
| Peru | Mixed | Positive | Slightly positive |
| Tunisia | Negative | Positive | Slightly negative |
| Turkey | Negative | Mixed | Slightly negative |
| Ukraine | Negative | Positive | Mixed |
| Venezuela | |||
| Zambia | Negative | Negative | Negative |
As the table indicates, the environmental performance according to the literature tends to be negative, while the environmental performance according to the EPI tends to be more positive. This may be because, as mentioned in the Methodology section, it takes time for policies to translate into actual impact on CO2 emissions. A country’s CO2 trend is a long-term process, so it is difficult to study the direct effect of policies on CO2 performance.
When it comes to the literature, certain trends can be identified regarding policies and rhetoric:
- Reduced environmental regulations or enforcement. In Peru, the requirement to obtain state authorization to convert forested land to other uses was abolished, potentially deligitimizing illegel deforestation. And in Brazil, environmental policies and enforcement became less strict, which may have contributed to the substantial increase in deforestation in the Amazon rainforest during his presidency. In India, laws on environmental protection have been diluted.
- Continued reliance on fossil fuels. In Turkey, the government has made an effort to increase fossil gas production and for Turkey to become a fossil gas hub. There are also subsidies on coal, as well as in Venezuela. Peru also continues to invest in fossil fuels, has approved new oil extraction projects and planned to increase oil and gas production in 2025.
- Ideological framing. Hungary’s prime minister Orbán privately called environmental protection a “left-wing issue”. Under Bolsonaro, Brazil’s foreign minister called climate change a “Marxist conspiracy” (REF). Venezuela’s former president Chávez has framed the climate crisis as a consequence of capitalism, and has stated that socialism is the solution to it (REF).