Survey finds Swiss heatwave has not changed consumer behaviour

A new survey reported by SRF suggests that the heatwave has not prompted people in Switzerland to change their climate-related behaviour. Four in five adults say the climate debate has had minimal or no impact on their shopping or investment decisions.

The representative survey was conducted by comparison service Comparis in July and included 1,040 people from across Switzerland. Most respondents said they were not considering reducing their consumption of meat or other animal products or booking fewer flights.

“Many Swiss people claim they would reduce air travel or meat consumption. But the facts tell a different story,” Comparis financial expert Michael Kuhn said in a statement released on Tuesday.

Higher earners report less impact

The climate debate appears to have less influence on higher-income households. Among households with a gross income of up to 4,000 Swiss francs, 75 percent said it had minimal or no effect on their behaviour. The figure rose to 84 percent among households earning more than 8,000 francs.

Kuhn said this could also be because higher earners could afford more travel and consumption.

Households with children give the issue greater importance. Seventy-four percent of respondents with children said the climate debate affected their decisions, compared with 62 percent in households without children.

Comparis has asked the question about the impact of the climate debate on consumption and investments for the 14th consecutive time. Between 2020 and 2023, between 66 and 70 percent of respondents said it had little or no effect on their behaviour. That figure has since risen steadily to 80 percent.

Kuhn attributed the trend to climate apathy caused by a combination of more immediate concerns, including rising health insurance premiums, higher rents, wars and inflation. He also cited fatigue from the constant debate, along with a sense of powerlessness and, in some cases, fatalism.

Official figures show little change

Official statistics also show no general shift in behaviour. Meat consumption has remained stable at around 50 kilograms per person since 2019, the first year of the Comparis survey, according to the Federal Office for Agriculture’s agricultural report.

Air travel has increased. The number of local passengers departing from Zurich Airport rose from 22.2 million in 2019 to 23.2 million last year, a new record.