Taking the pulse: are the Swiss losing interest in climate change fight?
Climate breakdown is worsening. Fossil fuel emissions are showing no signs of peaking, let alone abating. And yet Swiss turnout at last week’s global climate strike protest was down from previous years – drawing around 6,000 people across four cities. Are the Swiss losing interest in climate action?
“The oceans are rising, so are we!” Chanting in unison, a sea of climate protesters moves slowly through Bern’s historic district, brandishing home-made placards, pushing prams and sound systems, and causing trams and passers-by to stop in their tracks.
“I think it’s very important to still make a statement. Climate is still one of the biggest issues, but it’s lost among all the others,” Pauline Gonin, a young woman who works in Bern, told SWI swissinfo.ch.
Four silver-haired members of the “Swiss Grandparents for the Climate” movement also joined the protest.
“I’m very worried about the climate crisis and I try to have some solidarity with young people,” said one of them, Anne-Marie.
The warning signs are flashing red. In its latest State of the Climate reportExternal link, published last month, the Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization (WMO) noted record ocean temperatures, rising sea levels, and fast-retreating glaciers. Annual average mean temperatures were 1.55 degrees Celsius (2.79 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels last year, surpassing the previous 2023 record by 0.1°C, the WMO said. Switzerland is already suffering from hot summers, melting glaciers, and snow-poor winters.
Square only half full
Organisers said around 6,000 joined the demonstrations in Bern, Zurich, Aarau and Lucerne, of which 2,000 attended the colourful protest in the capital. Bern’s Bundesplatz in front of the parliament was half full.
The scene was very different in September 2019. That was when the climate movement peaked and tens of thousands were packed onto Bern’s main square. One month later Swiss parliamentary elections delivered a “green wave”, with historic successes for Green parties. This wave has since subsided.
>>Watch this short video on the Bern climate protest.
Campaigners have helped shape the ongoing Swiss climate debate, but the movement now appears smaller and fragmented. Climate concerns have been eclipsed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, Trump, and the rising cost of living. Radical climate protest methods have also polarised opinions on the best course of action.
“It’s not as big as in the beginning, but we’re still actively involved and we’re not giving up,” declared Silas, a student from Bern.
What do the rest of Swiss people think about the climate?
Voting trends and polls in Switzerland show mixed signals about the climate. In February, voters roundly rejected the ambitious “environmental responsibility” initiative, while 53% of voters opposed a proposal last November to expand the motorway network.
“[The motorway vote] shows that the topic of environmental protection is very much on the minds of the voting population and can create majorities,” wroteExternal link Tobias Keller, a policy analyst at the gfs.bern research institute, in February.
He noted that voters prefer incentives and voluntary measures over mandatory behavioural changes.
A central issue but…
Recent surveys point to shifting priorities.
In the 2024 UBS Worry BarometerExternal link, which measures issues of concern for Swiss residents, climate fell from 38% (in 2019) to 32%, overtaken by healthcare. Another survey this year saw climate concerns among Swiss families drop from 21% to 14%. Yet UBS insists climate change “remains a central issue”, especially among Gen Z [young adults aged between 19 and 29] – 46% list it among their top worries.
A 2024 surveyExternal link published by gfs.bern and the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) – swissinfo.ch’s parent company – found that 67% of Swiss believe urgent climate action is needed, but nearly 70% doubt politicians will act sufficiently.
Meanwhile, at the individual level, most respondents claimed they drive less (51%), fly less (55%), buy less food from abroad (56%) and avoid heating their homes above 20°C (51%).
According to another studyExternal link, this time published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) last year, almost half (49%) the population reckons Swiss people are “becoming more environmentally friendly”. But the study authors conclude that, in general, environmental behaviours “hardly changed” between 2019-2024.
“While many believe that environmental awareness has gained ground, this progress is only partially reflected in behaviour,” the authors said.
The proportion of people who say they never fly has increased from 20% in 2019 to 26% in 2023, it said. But other areas such as heating habits, attention paid to energy efficiency ratings when purchasing electronics, and the consumption of organic products remained the same.
So why fewer climate protestors?
Sarah Gomm, an environmental researcher at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich, cites the attitude-behaviour gap: many people care, but they struggle to change habits due to cost, time, or comfort.
Climate is still seen as vital but is overshadowed by other issues, she says. Doubts about the effectiveness of individual action, and that of protests more generally, also contribute to declining turnout at rallies.
At the same time, the debate about possible political regulations to limit climate change is becoming “more and more contoured”, resulting in diverging attitudes. The climate debate has become more divided, Gomm notes. The movement is fragmented, yet citizen engagement persists in various political groups beyond protests.
“It may become more difficult to rally climate protection advocates behind a unified movement,” says Gomm, who is also a member of the Swiss Environmental PanelExternal link.
Activists admit that keeping the movement in the public eye and maintaining mobilisation over a long period of time is difficult. Still, those in Bern remain hopeful.
“Dealing with the climate crisis for years is not a very motivating activity. The fact that so many people are still here is something we can be proud of,” Meret Schefer, spokesperson for Climatestrike Switzerland, told SWI.
Anne-Marie, for her part, is convinced the climate movement is “reviving”.
“With Covid-19 the climate strike movement was almost broken, and now it’s waking up again,” she declared.
Edited by Gabe Bullard/dos
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