Compare
What do G7 choices cost the rest of the world?
A country can meet targets at home while pushing pollution, deforestation and tax losses onto others. On SDSN’s international spillover score, every G7 country ranks between 128th (Japan) and 161st (United Kingdom) of 169 countries. Canada is 139th.
The rich-country paradox
Doing well at home, harming others abroad?
Each dot is a country. Right: higher SDG Index score. Up: fewer harmful spillovers. G7 countries are labelled.
Spillover indicators for the G7
Spillover indicators for the G7
Latest value, with the rating colour and trend arrow. Hover a cell for the year of the data. ◆ marks indicators about effects on other countries (spillovers); † marks OECD dashboard indicators that are not in the SDG Index score.
| Indicator | Green threshold | Canada | France | Germany | Italy | Japan | United Kingdom | United States |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goal 2: Exports of hazardous pesticides (tonnes per million population) | 1 | 2.58 | 3.48 | 0.886 | 2.83 | 20.4 | 17.7 | 12 |
| Goal 6: Scarce water consumption embodied in imports (m³ H₂Oeq/capita) | 800 | 3,135 | 2,707 | 3,394 | 2,610 | 1,810 | 2,127 | 2,125 |
| Goal 12: Air pollution associated with imports (DALYs per 1,000 population) | 2 | 9.35 | 8.36 | 12.4 | 7.29 | 6.53 | 9.43 | 10.1 |
| Goal 12: Nitrogen emissions associated with imports (kg/capita) | 10 | 33.7 | 31.6 | 48.3 | 32.8 | 26 | 35 | 26.6 |
| Goal 12: Exports of plastic waste (kg/capita) | 1 | 4.69 | 5.19 | 8.98 | 3.65 | 4.88 | 12 | 1.25 |
| Goal 13: GHG emissions embodied in imports (tCO₂equiv/capita) | 1 | 6.45 | 5.16 | 7.35 | 4.42 | 4.07 | 4.99 | 5.53 |
| Goal 14: Marine biodiversity threats embodied in imports (per million population) | 0.2 | 0.902 | 0.443 | 0.282 | 0.301 | 1.01 | 0.215 | 0.455 |
| Goal 15: Imported deforestation (m²/capita) | 10 | 19.8 | 14.4 | 19.6 | 12.2 | 19.9 | 16.1 | 18.6 |
| Goal 16: Exports of major conventional weapons (TIV per 100,000 population) | 0.04 | 0.568 | 4.64 | 2.09 | 2.68 | 0.017 | 1.55 | 3.77 |
| Goal 17: For high-income and all OECD DAC countries: International concessional public finance, including official development assistance (% of GNI) | 0.7 | 0.32 | 0.42 | 0.56 | 0.3 | 0.35 | 0.43 | 0.09 |
| Goal 17: Corporate Tax Haven Score (best 0-100 worst) | 60 | 0 | 65 | 55 | 48 | 0 | 86.3 | 45 |
| Goal 17: Shifted profits of multinationals (US$ billion) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 89.2 | 0 |
| Goal 17: Index of countries' support to UN-based multilateralism (worst 0-100 best) | 75 | 59.5 | 48.5 | 68.1 | 63.7 | 67.8 | 54.9 | 1.65 |
Workshop questions
Is there a relationship between a country’s SDG Index score and its spillover score? Describe the pattern and name two exceptions.
Explain the difference between production-based and consumption-based accounting using one G7 example from the table. Which approach should a national target use?
Choose one spillover indicator on which Canada is rated red or orange. Propose a trade, procurement or financial policy that would reduce it, and describe how you would monitor the effect.
Should spillovers be part of a country’s SDG score at all? Argue for and against including them in the index.