The Human Development Index ( HDI ) Uses mean education level , per capita income and average life expectancy to determine each country ’ s level of socioeconomic development .
The Happy Planet Index ( HPI ) By considering reports of wellbeing , life expectancy , inequality and per capita ecological footprint , this index assesses how effectively each country guarantees all of its citizens ’ high quality of life , without harming the planet .
Annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions Per Capita ( GGE ) This tool divides the number of metric tons of carbon dioxide , nitrous oxide , methane and other greenhouse gases each country emits by that country ’ s population . In this way , it determines how much each country is contributing to one of the most serious environmental problems of our generation .
New Solar Capacity Installed ( NSC ) This lists how many megawatts of new solar power each country installs per million people . It thus provides a proxy for that country ’ s investment in renewable energy .
A country that does well on all of these factors is able to give its citizens a high standard of living without placing a burden on the environment . The better we can identify and emulate such countries , the easier it will be for all humanity to achieve swift , sustainable development .