Survey: Swiss believe in man-made climate change but most do little to help combat it
The Local - [email protected]
Published: 30 Nov, 2017 CET.
Updated: Thu 30 Nov 2017 09:52 CET
The vast majority of people in Switzerland consider climate change a man-made phenomenon, yet only a minority say they are doing something concrete themselves to help combat it.
According to a survey by the Link market research institute, reported by news agency ATS on Thursday, 85 percent believe that climate change is real.
Of those, 72 percent think it is a man-made phenomenon, against 24 percent who think it’s a combination of man-made and natural factors.
Almost all said they felt the effects of climate change around them, such as the melting of Swiss glaciers, higher temperatures and extreme weather such as heatwaves, storms and natural catastrophes.
A majority of the 2,100 people questioned thought the issue should be tackled on an international, national and individual level, with 66 percent saying everyone should do something to help.
READ ALSO: Melting Swiss glacier makes the earth move
However only a minority said they were actually doing something on a personal level.
Some 33 percent said they used public transport to get about and 25 percent said they took the car less than before or not at all. Just over a quarter said they saved energy, 12 percent said they’d given up flying and 11 percent heated their homes less.
Though concrete actions were in the minority, the willingness was there. Some 77 percent said they were prepared to give up air-conditioning and 75 percent said they would try to take fewer flights.
This summer in Switzerland was one of the warmest on record and followed a dry, warmer than normal winter with little snow.
In October Swiss experts said glaciers in the country had lost three percent of their volume over the past year, the third biggest loss in any one year since records began a century ago.
Over the summer the shifting glaciers resulted in the discovery of the remains of people who went missing several decades ago.
And in September the tongue of the Trift glacier collapsed.
Comments
See Also
According to a survey by the Link market research institute, reported by news agency ATS on Thursday, 85 percent believe that climate change is real.
Of those, 72 percent think it is a man-made phenomenon, against 24 percent who think it’s a combination of man-made and natural factors.
Almost all said they felt the effects of climate change around them, such as the melting of Swiss glaciers, higher temperatures and extreme weather such as heatwaves, storms and natural catastrophes.
A majority of the 2,100 people questioned thought the issue should be tackled on an international, national and individual level, with 66 percent saying everyone should do something to help.
READ ALSO: Melting Swiss glacier makes the earth move
However only a minority said they were actually doing something on a personal level.
Some 33 percent said they used public transport to get about and 25 percent said they took the car less than before or not at all. Just over a quarter said they saved energy, 12 percent said they’d given up flying and 11 percent heated their homes less.
Though concrete actions were in the minority, the willingness was there. Some 77 percent said they were prepared to give up air-conditioning and 75 percent said they would try to take fewer flights.
This summer in Switzerland was one of the warmest on record and followed a dry, warmer than normal winter with little snow.
In October Swiss experts said glaciers in the country had lost three percent of their volume over the past year, the third biggest loss in any one year since records began a century ago.
Over the summer the shifting glaciers resulted in the discovery of the remains of people who went missing several decades ago.
And in September the tongue of the Trift glacier collapsed.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.