Climate change: ranking of the best and worst positioned countries

A Nigerian city could disappear in this century 0:36

(CNN) -

Fires, droughts, torrential rains and devastating floods show, according to experts, the impacts that climate change is already having across the globe.

Not all countries face the same risks or are equally prepared for the climate crisis.

An index prepared by the University of Notre Dame allows to visualize which ones are better and worse positioned.

Although the most recent extreme weather events hit developed countries with force, leaving hundreds of deaths and demonstrating that the effects of climate change are also felt there, in general terms the richest countries are better positioned in the face of climate change, while those with the worst prospects are, without exception, low-income countries.

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Norway, at the top of the ranking

Norway tops the ranking of the ND-GAIN country index, which analyzes the vulnerability and preparedness to climate change of 182 countries.

They are followed by New Zealand, Finland, Switzerland and Sweden.

The top 10 list is completed by Austria and Denmark, who share sixth place, Iceland and Singapore, who share eighth, and Germany.

Of the 10, eight are from Europe and the Nordic region stands out.

All the countries that top the ranking have high incomes.

The United States, meanwhile, is ranked 19th.

The opposite extreme is dominated by African countries, except for one case.

The worst positioned in the ranking is Chad, followed by the Central African Republic, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Sudan and Niger, who have the same position, Afghanistan, Somalia and Liberia close the bottom of the list.

They all have a low income.

• Africa's most populous city battles floods and rising sea levels.

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The largest number of countries worst positioned in this ranking is in Africa, followed by the Middle East and parts of Asia.

At the other extreme, Europe, North America and Oceania have the best results.

In Latin America the results are variable, but the vast majority of countries are in the middle of the table.

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A Nigerian city could disappear in this century 0:36

The index is constructed taking into account two dimensions: vulnerability and the preparation of the countries.

Vulnerability seeks to measure a country's exposure, sensitivity and capacity to adapt to climate change considering six sectors that are key to life: food, water, health, ecosystem services, human habitat and infrastructure.

On the other hand, the index takes into account the preparation of countries based on three dimensions: economic, governance and social.

The objective is to measure the capacity of a nation to "take advantage of investments and convert them into adaptation actions."

Which countries are better and worse positioned in Latin America in the face of climate change?

Chile is the country with the best score in Latin America: it is in position number 28 in the ranking.

They are followed, within the region, by Uruguay (position 58) and Costa Rica (position 60).

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The worst positioned are Haitó (168th place), Venezuela (138) and Honduras (136).

Venezuela, in fact, is one of the three worst rated in the world ranking when it comes to preparedness for climate change.

Across the region, countries perform worse in preparedness (that is, in the ability to generate adaptation actions) than in risks themselves.

Link between climate change and toxic pollution

A study published days ago by researchers from the University of Notre Dame and Princeton also concludes that there is a "strong and statistically significant relationship" between risk from climate change and toxic pollution.

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The research evaluated the risk of toxic emissions, such as particulate matter, and non-toxic emissions, such as greenhouse gases, and found that the countries that are most at risk from climate change are, in general, those that are also most at risk of toxic pollution.

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There is also a link between risk and population size: "The third part of countries with the highest risk of toxic pollution and climate impacts represents more than two thirds of the world's population, which underlines the magnitude of the problem and the unequal distribution of environmental risk "say the researchers in the study published in PLOS ONE.

Climate change