<![CDATA[Background: Environmental degradation and the urgency of achieving global sustainability targets have increased attention to institutional factors affecting environmental outcomes. However, evidence regarding the contribution of individual governance dimensions to environmental performance across countries remains inconclusive. Objective: This study examines the effect of country governance on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) across countries. Methods: The study used biennial panel data from 102 countries covering 2006–2022 and applied a Fixed Effects Model for estimation. Results: Country governance generally had a positive effect on environmental performance. Specifically, Control of Corruption, Government Effectiveness, and Regulatory Quality had positive and statistically significant effects on EPI, demonstrating the importance of strong institutions in supporting effective environmental policies. Among the control variables, economic growth had a negative and significant effect, suggesting that increased economic activity may intensify environmental pressures. The service sector also showed negative effects at certain significance levels. Conversely, energy intensity had a positive and significant effect, indicating that higher energy consumption does not necessarily worsen environmental performance when supported by effective governance and efficient technologies. Conclusion: Country governance is an important institutional determinant of environmental performance, particularly through corruption control, government effectiveness, and regulatory quality. Strengthening institutional capacity and regulatory effectiveness is therefore essential for improving environmental outcomes and supporting long-term sustainable development and net-zero emission targets.]]>
