Shafaq News / The Environmental Performance Index developed by Columbia and Yale Universities in collaboration with the World Economic Forum has placed Iraq at the bottom ranks.

According to a report, the index evaluated 180 countries using 40 indicators to assess their environmental performance in relation to climate change, environmental health, and ecosystem vitality.

The report further highlights that "environmental performance is correlated with the outcomes of good policies, indicating that economic prosperity enables countries to invest in policies and programs that yield desired results. This trend especially applies to issues under the umbrella of environmental health, where building essential infrastructure to provide clean drinking water, sanitation, curbing air pollution, managing hazardous waste, and responding to public health crises yields substantial benefits for human well-being."

Denmark secured the top spot in environmental performance, earning a score of 77.90 due to its robust performance in categories such as "Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services" and "Air Quality." The United Kingdom followed with 77.70 points, and Finland ranked third with 76.50 points. Malta claimed fourth place with 75.20 points, while Sweden attained fifth place with a score of 72.70 points. Luxembourg, Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland, and Iceland rounded out the top ten.

However, Iraq positioned itself at the lower end of the scale, occupying the 169th global rank and 14th in the Arab region, obtaining a score of 27.80 points in the Environmental Performance Index. In specific categories, Iraq secured the 102nd spot for ecosystem vitality, 105th for environmental health, and the last place, 180th, for climate policy.

The report underscores that Iraq ranks 102nd out of 180 countries in terms of ecosystem vitality, 105th in terms of environmental health, and last, 180th, in terms of climate policy.