New Zealand is the best place to escape the fall of civilization, study results | Science and Ecology | DW

New Zealand, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Tasmania and Ireland are among the places where world civilization could escape, according to a new study.

British researchers have studied which countries can withstand the catastrophe caused by climate change, natural disasters, epidemics worse than COVID-19, the collapse of global financial structures and international agreements, or a combination of all of these.

By studying the trends of natural disasters, limited resources, and population growth, researchers have found that New Zealand is more flexible than Iceland, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia.

Research conducted by the Institute for Global Sustainability at the University of Anglia Ruskin, and Published in Magazine Stability, He identified five of the 20 countries as the best place to keep civilization within their borders.

Islands are more likely to survive

To assess which countries would resist such a decline, countries were rated according to their ability to grow food for their populations, protect their borders from unwanted mass migration, and maintain the power grid and some productivity.

Islands located in temperate zones and, for the most part, with low population density, came first; Despite the effects of climate change, relatively stable conditions are more likely to persist, according to the study.

The authors believe that New Zealand is best prepared for such a decline, whether on all the islands, during the “long descent”, for many years or decades, or very fast, less than a year in space.

Educators say this could happen due to a possible supply chain collapse with climate change acting as a “risk magnifier”. The effects can spread rapidly due to the increasing high-connectivity and interdependence of the globalized economy.

“Significant changes are possible in the coming years and decades,” says Professor Alet Jones, director of the Anglia Ruskin Institute for Global Sustainability.That is a statement. “The impact of climate change, including increasing frequency and intensity of droughts and floods, extreme temperatures and increased population displacement, may dictate the severity of these changes.”

Energy self-sufficiency, abundant land and sparse population

New Zealand tops the list for its ability to produce geothermal and hydroelectric power, allowing its vast agricultural lands and its sparse population to live relatively without problems.

For its part, the UK, which generally has fertile soil and varied agricultural production, does not have much agricultural land due to its population density, which raises questions about its future self-sufficiency, the researchers added.

“Our study aims to demonstrate which countries are best prepared to manage such a decline and which will no doubt be a profound and life-changing experience – highlighting measures to address the interrelated drivers of climate change, agricultural efficiency and domestic energy., Productivity and complexity. Over-confidence in character is essential to improving the regression of countries that do not have the most favorable start-up conditions, ”Jones said.

Some (Consistency, Anglia Ruskin University, Defender)