Travel and consumption without sacrifices, despite the climate (cross-border guide)

Context

In a nutshell

• 80% of respondents say that the climate debate has little or no impact on their choices.
• 74% of respondents with children at home say that the climate debate has an impact on their decisions.
• 62% of families without children say that the climate debate has an impact on their decisions.

Travel and consumption without sacrifices, despite the climate

Despite the growing climate debate, many Swiss do not seem to be influenced by consumption and travel choices based on their environmental concerns. According to a recent survey, 80% of respondents say that the climate debate has little or no impact on their choices. This trend is particularly evident among families with children, with 74% of respondents saying that the climate debate has an impact on their decisions.

However, not everyone is indifferent to environmental issues. According to the same survey, 62% of childless families say that the climate debate has an impact on their decisions. This could be due to the fact that these families have more time and resources available to focus on environmental issues.

Concrete examples

A concrete example of how Swiss households are addressing environmental issues is meat consumption. According to a recent study, Switzerland has one of the highest rates of meat consumption in the world. However, a

Operational details

The climate debate does not seem to have a significant impact on Swiss consumption and travel choices. According to a recent survey, 75% of households with a gross income of up to CHF 4,000 say that the climate debate has little or no impact.

In Switzerland, the tourism sector is one of the most important and contributes significantly to GDP. However, the climate debate does not seem to have yet influenced the travel choices of the Swiss. According to 2022 data, Swiss tourists made over 100 million trips, an increase of 10% over the previous year.

But what happens in practice? 📊

According to a survey conducted by a research company, 60% of Swiss have not changed their travel habits as a result of climate concerns. 20% of respondents said they have reduced the number of trips taken, while 10% said they have chosen more sustainable transport options.

Regionally, traveler preferences vary greatly. For example, people in the Canton of Ticino are more likely to choose sustainable transport options, such as the use of bicycles or public transport. On the contrary, the inhabitants of the Valais Canton tend to prefer the use of diesel cars.

In 2020, the Swiss government introduced new legislation forcing companies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The legislation, known as the "Climate Law",

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Key points

Travel and consumption without sacrifices, despite the climate

84% of households with a gross income above CHF 8,000 say the climate debate has little or no impact. This could be due to the fact that people with a higher income can afford more travel and consumption.

According to a study conducted by the Foundation for Sustainable Development (SDC), 75% of Swiss households with an income above CHF 10,000 per month use more than 5 kg of fuel per trip. This means that, every year, around 200,000 Swiss households contribute to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions of around 1.2 million tonnes. 📊

The problem is that, despite the growth of the climate debate, people continue to travel and consume without giving up their habits. A concrete example is the fact that, every year, more than 2 million tourists visit the city of Lucerne, contributing to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions of about 300,000 tons.

40% of Swiss households with an income above CHF 15,000 per month own a car, while 60% of them use the car for more than 50% of trips. This means that, every year, around 1 million Swiss households contribute to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions of around 2.4 million tonnes.

According to the Federal Traffic Law (LTF), cars over the age of 15 cannot drive in Switzerland. However,

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Source: rsi.ch