What does Ireland share in common with the Nordic countries of Norway, Iceland, Sweden and Finland? Well, apart from being in Europe, these countries share the accolade of being the least vulnerable to climate change in the world, according to a new report from Verisk Maplecroft.
The risk consultancy ranked Norway, followed by Ireland, as the least vulnerable, judged by the country's exposure to climate change and extreme weather events, coupled with their capability to adapt to, and take advantage of any changes.
"Although Ireland is projected to experience an increase in mean annual temperature of about 1 degrees Celsius by 2050, changes in annual rainfall amounts are expected to be fairly minimal when averaged across the country as a whole," Richard Hewston, principal environmental analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, told CNBC on Friday.
"Ireland's economic reliance on climate-sensitive sectors (e.g. agriculture) is less than many European countries, with less than 2 percent of the country's GDP (gross domestic product) derived from agriculture. This off