Scotland second most likely to survive climate change?

Professor John Robertson OBA

In the Herald today, a report from the Royal Scottish Geographical Society making the above claim but apparently suggesting the Scottish Government’s ‘scrapping’ (changing) its 2030 climate change target is key.

So, 0.06% of the world’s population and 0.01% of the land mass area and we are key to climate change?

What’s the wider, bigger picture?

Which countries are most likely to survive climate change?

To assess which countries are best prepared for climate change, we used data from the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative. Its ND-Gain Index measures the vulnerability and ability of a country to adapt to climate change, using more than 40 indicators to measure this.

For example, a country’s vulnerability score will be assessed by its ability to mitigate the impact on food supply, water, health, ecosystem services, human habitat, and infrastructure.

Using the data from the ND-Gain Index, here’s our list of the countries most likely to survive climate change:

  • Norway
  • Finland
  • Switzerland
  • Denmark
  • Singapore
  • United Kingdom

https://heatable.co.uk/solar/advice/countries-most-likely-to-survive-climate-change

How did the UK make the list?

Geography obviously but also:

It was the first country to create a legally binding framework to reduce emissions, which set the benchmark for other countries to follow. And in 2019, the UK became the first major economy to pass into law a domestic requirement for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. At COP29, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced that the UK plans to slash 81% of emissions by 2035 — an ambitious target considering the UK’s current emissions (see above), but an admirable one for sure.

Starmer also announced plans to boost the UK’s climate finance by £11.6 billion until March 2026. The UK is definitely putting its money where its mouth is — as of 2024, annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have halved since 1990.

Wait, ‘The UK is putting its money where its is?‘

Is that the whole UK or is one part doing more, much more? Well yes. See:

Climate change targets in the country with 76% of the UK’s new tree planting – ‘Why don’t they do it as well as the Scots?’
Scotland’s climate targets and achievements – beware of rhetoric’s negative influence
News you won’t hear on climate change – actually doing something?

And we’re at the same latitude on the same current climate as much of populated Norway.

14 thoughts on “Scotland second most likely to survive climate change?”

  1. Another Herald clickbait headline ‘Exclusive’ – ” Climate change could leave Scotland ‘bankrupt’, says report “, clarified in the opening line by ” An economic report had laid out the devastating impact climate change could have on the Scottish economy if mitigation measures are not pursued “. https://archive.ph/Qhc9B

    Richard Dixon on X ” Report I helped write for @RoyalScotGeoSoc in today’s Herald. “Not tackling climate change could leave Scotland between £30 billion and £140 billion poorer by 2035, and “bankrupt the Scottish economy” – Richard kindly links to the full report in the tweet….

    There is so much more that could have been done decades ago had UK governments not been dancing to the tune of oligarchic lobby groups….

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    1. Yep, just have to look at what Rachel Carson and of course Carl Sagan, both warned about impending and inevitable climate change and catastrophic planet destruction due to ignoring the impact of oil and gas and other pollutants etc on the land and in the seas. Even the great William Blake was very sceptical about the industrial revolution because of the impact on the planet’s flora and fauna. He was a visionary after all, imo, as an artist 🙂
      Watch this and look at the audience…they clearly do not like what Sagan is saying at all…
      That guy who stood for president on a platform of reducing carbon emissions, (he stood nae chance!) cannot remember his name, is sat at the big table there…
      Hope ok to share this here..worth a watch.

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        1. Yep, but I’m always perplexed as to their intent on destruction of the planet if they have children or grandchildren. I know some have huge undergound bunkers akin to hotels or small towns…but who’d want to live underground…be dreadful.

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  2. Well, the good thing is that the Herald will have ceased publication due to it’s falling circulation long before then.

    Always a silver lining folks.. And that’s an Exclusive as well. 🙂

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  3. I would imagine the failure of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation will have a major effect on the climate of Northern Europe (though the gulf stream will continue but much weaker) as non-saline water flows in vast quantities from the Greenland melt. So Scotland will not roast, but we may have a very unpredictable climate. There will also be a huge upturn in migration from across the equatorial globe, and where they go and how that is dealt with will be interesting.

    Crops will fail and harvest will be lost, as our doom approaches ………..says the Ochiltree Nostradamus.

    I used to argue for green policies, but as this wont affect me at my age, I leave the idiotic climate sceptics to their well deserved fate.

    gavinochiltree

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  4. They’ll try anything to portray Scotland as an economic basket case.

    We all know that the English gov will get nowhere near any ‘target’ for reducing emissions without continuing to plunder Scotland’s resources, both clean and dirty. How does that faux target sit with the English government intent on dumping masses of toxic chemicals into the seas between Scotland and Ireland I wonder. Hmm.

    We can also be sure if they take control of Holyrood again, (heaven forbid) they will immediately start building several nuclear plants in and around Scotland’s coasts. The ones the EngGov forced onto Scotland in the past are highly dangerous and not fit for purpose, and what’s happening with the EngGov’s supposed clean up of Dounreay?

    I wonder what else the EngGov will pull out of the bag in the next few months, sigh. Will Scotland’s oil suddenly become Scotland’s oil again? I mean back in 2014 I had no friends, oops I mean I had friends lol, (staunch Labour voters) who said ‘aye but the oil’s dirty’, re; £’s that Scotland could have benefitted from had England’s various govs not taken the massive revenues while telling Scotland you are pathetically poor etc.

    Shame we were dragged out of the EU as well, because funding could well have been made available to repair Scotland’s vast peat bogs as well, which again the English drained in the 80/90’s and planted acid producing pine tress as a tax evasion scheme!!
    I see that The Flow Country does now have World Heritage status, having been on the list for over a decade, a massive carbon sink, but needs much more restoration…I wonder where the money will come from for that. I say massive, it’s hugely important as it’s, ‘The most intact and extensive blanket bog system in the world’!!

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  6. Scottish land mass was supposed to rise up. London to be flooded.

    Scotland is the best country in the world for renewables. Wind, wave and sun. Scottish population has been the same since 1900’’s. 5 million. Now 5.4million since Devolution 2000. Scotland is not densely populated.

    In all European countries the population is falling, without migration. The only places where women are having 6 children are in parts of Africa. No heakthcare systems or contraception.

    The world population 8billion will peak and fall. China had a ‘one child’ policy. Now it is two. In other countries people have access to contraception means. People are having less children. Some not at all. The world population will fall. The space travel investment is to harvest minerals from Mars. To envisage flights to other countries through space. A shorter time to connect the world. .

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  8. Jackie Baillie recent tweets

    “A warm welcome from party members in Stornoway. If you want improved public services in our rural and island communities, we need a new direction with @scottishlabour“

    “Thought-provoking conversation with the local community in Barra who are struggling to access healthcare. Next stop, Eriskay”.

    “The SNP’s stealth cuts have created a sinkhole under social care. It’s time for a new direction”

    “Our heroic ambulance workers are being failed. Scottish Labour will make fixing the NHS our number one priority”

    Then in response to a Daily Record story on “Scots children with Muscular Dystrophy denied free new life saving drug” Baillie tweets

    “This decision is wrong. These young people should get this new help now”

    But wait there is news relating to the NHS, the UK and Brexit. (and also another story too relating to a life extending cancer drug being denied in NHS England).

    “NHS cancer patients denied life-saving drugs due to Brexit costs”

    “Brits found to have ‘lost out’ while the rest of Europe benefits from a golden age of research and treatments”

    Now which party is supporting Brexit, is continuing to implement it as a policy for their UK and is currently the new and existing UK government ?

    That would be Jackie Baillie’s party the Labour party.

    The Guardian newspaper has an article that states “Brexit has damaged the practical ability of Doctors to offer NHS patients life saving new drugs via international clinical trials”.

    On March 2025 the BBC website also had this story as an article

    “Men denied life-extending prostate cancer drug”

    “A cancer charity has said it is “angry and frustrated” that ministers and health officials have not approved the provision of a life-extending prostate cancer drug through the NHS in England”.

    NHS in England ?

    That would be under Jackie Baillie’s party once again as Labour UK are now the Labour UK government and so they are in charge of NHS England.

    But there is more to this story…….

    “The drug, abiraterone, has been available in Scotland and Wales for two years for high-risk patients whose cancer has not yet spread, but not in England and Northern Ireland”

    You will not see Jackie Baillie tweet about either the Brexit related negative consequences for NHS life saving drugs that then impacts the whole UK and where her own party, Labour UK, need to take the blame for this as they are the new and the latest Brexit supporting UK government.

    Nor indeed will Jackie Baillie tweet about the story relating to a Cancer Charity’s “anger and frustration” that “(Labour UK government) ministers and health officials have not approved the provision of a life-extending prostate cancer drug through the NHS in England” (but it has, as a drug, been available in Scotland for two years).

    Jackie Baillie once again still “Playing politics” while her Labour UK party is continuing to implement Brexit and so they are playing with people’s lives via the NHS.

    I have highlighted words above in bold where I see Jackie Baillie is being once again a political hypocrite, as she tries to place all of the UK’s #NHSBAD onto the SNP as the Scottish government , while reality and facts expose her Labour UK party as the new UK Brexit government are no ‘angels’ when it comes to the NHS.

    Liz S

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