Did you know besides climate change, food waste matters to climate change. I mean and not just plastic pollution. Because four out of five of the top global risks in the next 10 years are related to climate change? Moreover besides the World Economic Forum reporting; finally, Reuters reported. I mean that Germany will shut down all of its coal-fired power plants by 2038 at the latest. That came from a government-appointed commission. All proposing at least 40 billion Euros ($45.7 billion) in aid to regions affected by the phase-out.

Then as the Guardian reports and by January 2017, Britain banned all new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040. Al amid fears that rising levels of nitrogen oxide pose a major risk to public health. Yet also to deal with climate change because it stares us in the face!

The commitment, which follows a similar pledge in France, is part of the government’s much-anticipated clean air plan. All which has been at the heart of a protracted high court legal battle.

So this means it more important than ever that communities and ecosystems become more resilient. Especially to the extreme impacts that could occur. So deal with your food management and cars!

Because reducing greenhouse gases is not enough. Adaptation – how to live with a warming world. That is now also key; especially with waste management and storm water engineering!

Drayton Controls uncovered how different countries have ranked in climate adaptation since 2000. All by using the University of Notre Dame’s ND-GAIN Index, which ranks countries on vulnerability. Especially to extreme events such as droughts and storms. That’s as well as readiness to withstand the shocks and stresses of these events.

Yet, waste management is key to survival. As ABC News reported Since April 14, New Year’s Day on the Nepalese calendar, teams of volunteers have picked up an estimated 6,600 pounds, most of it simple trash or human waste. But more than a ton of non-biodegradable waste — oxygen canisters, torn-up tents, plastics and left-over mountaineering gear — has been flown to the capital of Kathmandu by Nepali Army helicopters for disposal.

Their goal is to pick up 22,000 pounds of trash by the end of their 45-day campaign on May 29, the 66th anniversary of the first successful summit of Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. The campaign is estimated to cost 23 million Nepalese rupees, about $206,540, according to Nepal’s Department of Tourism.

You can check out the interactive content here: https://wiser.draytoncontrols.co.uk/blog/surviving-climate-change-which-countries-are-most-prepared?return=/blog/

Here are a few items that we found interesting

Norway is the most prepared of all countries, and has been for over two decades. That’s all because of thanks to its high scores. In food stability, healthcare, access to clean water and energy infrastructure.
New Zealand, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland make up the rest of the top 5 countries best prepared for climate change.

Moreover, and as the Independent reports, Sweden is so good at recycling that, for several years, it has imported rubbish from other countries to keep its recycling plants going. Less than 1 per cent of Swedish household waste was sent to landfill last year or any year since 2011.

We can only dream of such an effective system in the UK, which is why we end up paying expensive transport costs to send rubbish to be recycled overseas rather than paying fines to send it to landfill under The Landfill Tax of 1996.

Most countries across Europe will not be severely affected by climate change.

Yet again according to the World Economic Forum, Germany has the best recycling rate in the world. Austria comes in second, followed by South Korea and Wales. All four countries manage to recycle between 52% and 56% of their municipal waste. Switzerland, in fifth place, recycles almost half of its municipal waste as the World Economic Forum adds.

Image: Eunomia

According to Eunomia, the environmental consultancy that compiled the report, these countries all have in common government policies that encourage recycling. Waste management tools such as making it easy for households to recycle waste. I mean good funding for recycling; and financial incentives. They also set clear performance targets and policy objectives for local governments.

Some countries, such as Wales, have ambitious recycling targets. Wales aims to achieve zero waste by 2050, and the EU is looking at adopting a new target for 2030, thought to be at least 65%.

The report singles out Wales, which it says outperforms many larger European countries because of its “political leadership and investment”. It says that Wales is a “global leader” in recycling and could outdo Germany, as early as 2018.

Interestingly the UK and US haven’t even made the top 10, ranking 12th and 15th respectively.

Asia has a wide range of scores for different countries, owing to the vastly different climates and levels of infrastructure in various countries.

Yet some recent stats show the World Economic Forum that the world wastes more than 1.3 billion tonnes of food each year. The planet’s 1 billion hungry people could be fed on less than a quarter of the food wasted in the US and Europe.

Image: UN FAO

In a recent report, the World Economic Forum identified cutting food waste by up to 20 million tonnes as one of 12 measures that could help transform global food systems by 2030.

Now South Korea is taking a lead, recycling 95% of its food waste

As they add, certainly it wasn’t always this way in the country. The mouth-watering array of side dishes that accompany a traditional South Korean meal – called banchan. They are often left unfinished, contributing to one of the world’s highest rates of food wastage. South Koreans each generate more than 130 kg of food waste each year.

By comparison, per capita food waste in Europe and North America is 95 to 115 kg a year, accordingto the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. But the South Korean government has taken radical action to ensure that the mountain of wasted food is recycled.

Australia comes out fairly well in the map, despite being a notoriously hot country. Thereby coming in at 9th place!

The countries most at risk and least prepared are in Africa. Most have a lack of agricultural and medical resources combined with infrastructural and political insecurity. Therefore, the index highlights the need for richer, more technologically advanced nations to help less developed countries.

The good news is that overall, the world is better prepared than it was in the 1990s but as a whole we need to help communities most at risk by taking more action to prevent global warming.