It would be the country with the greatest potential to withstand the crisis caused by climate change. Iceland, the United Kingdom, Tasmania and Ireland follow in the ranking
Where can you take refuge in case of an apocalypse? According to researchers at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, the best place in the world is New Zealand, "only" about 30 hours flight from Italy. The country on the other side of the globe than ours would be the one with the greatest potential to withstand the crisis caused by climate change. The greatest threat to humans would be global warming and in the ranking of the places with the highest probability of survival for the human species, New Zealand is followed by Iceland, United Kingdom, Tasmania and Ireland.
New Zealand as the best place to survive
The authors of the study are Nick King and Aled Jones who pointed out that "five mass extinctions" have been documented in the history of the Earth and attributed to natural causes, such as rapid climate change. According to the researchers, the sixth mass extinction is already underway, during which "islands, island archipelagos or island continents in temperate latitudes with a strong influence of the oceanic climate" will be less affected by climate change.
The research identified some factors that may contribute to survival, such as the ability of the territory to grow food and to protect borders from mass migrations, the efficiency of the power grid and the ability to maintain certain levels of production. Thanks to its ability to produce geothermal and hydroelectric energy, its abundance of farmland and its low population, New Zealand has been identified as the place with the "greatest potential" for the survival of the human species. Also in the top ranks are other islands in temperate regions and mostly with low population densities, such as Iceland, the United Kingdom, Tasmania and Ireland.
The study then highlighted what factors nations should improve to increase resilience. According to the researchers, a globalized society that values economic efficiency harms resilience. "We were not surprised that New Zealand was on our list," said Professor Aled Jones, of the Global Sustainability Institute, at Anglia Ruskin University. What did surprise scholars, however, was that the United Kingdom was also identified among the top spots. "It is densely populated, has traditionally outsourced production, has not been the fastest in developing renewable technologies, and currently produces only 50% of its own food. But it has the potential to withstand shocks," Jones explained. In any case, to avoid collapse, according to the researchers it is necessary to think about resilience in global planning.
In recent times there have been many cases that have highlighted the problem of climate change from the 48 degrees reached in the Arctic Circle to the huge frozen lake mysteriously disappeared.
Stefania Bernardini