COP17 puts Armenia’s environmental record in the spotlight

The 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity opened in Yerevan, Armenia, with a lavish ceremony. Armenia is the first former Soviet republic to host the summit, but its environmental record raises questions: Yale’s 2026 index ranks the country 75th out of 177, including 164th for waste management and 165th for wastewater treatment. Although hosting the conference offered a chance to advance reforms, the authorities appear to have done little to address these longstanding problems, amid an economy shaped by mining and ageing industrial facilities.