Australia drops 10 spots in Greg Hunt's most trusted climate rankings

Environment minister has described Yale's environmental performance index as 'the most credible ... in the world' but Australia performs badly in latest ratings

The index that Greg Hunt used to defend Australia's record on climate change has placed the country lower in its rankings, leaving only Saudi Arabia with a worse ranking among wealthy nations in some categories.

Yale's environmental performance index ranks countries' performance in protecting human health and ecosystems, and looks at nine areas including air quality, climate and energy, forests and water resources.