Azernews.Az

Azerbaijan ranks second in the world among 132 countries on efforts aimed at environmental protection over the past decade, according to a report released by two leading US universities in January, the country’s environment ministry said.

Produced by researchers at Yale and Columbia Universities, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) ranked nations on the plight of the environment and the results of their 10-year environmental protection efforts.

The survey concluded that though Azerbaijan occupies 111th place for 2012, Baku has made the second-best progress on environmental standards of all countries surveyed in this period. 

The South Caucasus republic topped the rankings on reducing the rate of environment-related diseases.

On efforts to counter climate change, Azerbaijan ranked first, while on the overall situation in this area – 67th.

The EPI ranks nations across 10 environmental policy categories, including air and water pollution, climate change, biodiversity, forest management, and fisheries management. Based on data from the World Bank, the UN, and other institutions, the EPI is meant to highlight countries' environmental achievements as well as shortcomings.