Our thinking

Climate Ready 2.0

8 November, 2023

We’re incredibly proud to be able to share the second Aviva Climate-Ready Index, launching this week with coverage in The Times, which we have been developing with Aviva over the last year. The 2023 Index reveals some fascinating findings that we hope will help drive more collaborative action to tackle climate change.

For those who missed the launch of the first report in November 2022, the Index measures how some of the world’s most influential countries (specifically the G7 nations and Ireland) are progressing on climate mitigation, adaptation, and the responses of business and society. It is designed to capture the reality that the challenges of climate change cannot be tackled in siloes: efforts to limit emissions and promote biodiversity must go hand in hand with adaptation to extreme weather, the building of a green economy and support for affected communities across the world. To achieve this, collaboration between experts, industries and nations is critical.

This year’s results show that progress among leading countries is stagnating. The easy wins of climate action are over and real commitment and acceleration is needed to build a climate-ready future. The UK remains third in the Index, with stagnating scores and a big backwards step in its emissions mitigation score due to lack of progress in decarbonisation. The reality is that no country can ever be completely ‘climate-ready’ – climate change is worsening, our understanding of its complexities is increasing, and the need for global co-operation on these issues is ever more evident. We share Aviva’s hope that this Index can play a role in encouraging us all to take the urgent action that is needed to create a better future. We were delighted with the coverage in The Times and City AM, and also interested to see it cause alarm among presenters at GB News. Make of that what you will.

By Budd Nicholson