Almost a third of Swiss people changed their daily habits as a result of Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future climate strikes, new research has found.
Now, a study by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) has examined the wider impact of these strikes on people’s environmental choices.
To examine the wider impact of the school climate strikes, EPFL researchers surveyed Swiss residents in the wake of the protests in October and November 2019.
“Our findings showed that people have become more aware of how their behaviour affects the environment and that significant shifts are under way at an individual level,” says Livia Fritz, a researcher and the study’s lead author.
Changes in transport habits included looking for alternatives to driving to work, such as walking or cycling, and avoiding flying by choosing holiday destinations closer to home.
Survey participants also reported seeking out local, organic produce, eating more vegetarian meals, and making a bigger effort to reduce plastic waste following the climate protests.
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Changes in transport habits included looking for alternatives to driving to work, such as walking or cycling, and avoiding flying by choosing holiday destinations closer to home.
Survey participants also reported seeking out local, organic produce, eating more vegetarian meals, and making a bigger effort to reduce plastic waste following the climate protests.
Positively surprised to see effective measures, like avoid flying and meat.
IIRC Switzerland also has quite an exemplary carbon pricing scheme. I'm totally unaware how much flights and meat are encompassed. The general point I'm trying to make: It's probably hard to say wether people changed their habits due to FFF, or due to policy changes. Of course, FFF likely influenced policy changes.
Either way, thanks for the uplifting news :)
Now I'm waiting for the more serious news how Swiss companies have changed their business practices ;)
If it were exemplary, our greenhouse gas emissions would go down like Prigozhin's aeroplane. They don't. Just like every other country we're pretending to do something about the climate crisis but it's too little, too late.
If you mean we're better at it than say the US or other major powers then yes, but that's not because we're doing well, it's because we're doing less catastrophically terrible than them.
Yeah I agree, what I meant is that as a Swiss citizen there are really no policies driving you towards producing less carbon. Or if there are you do not really notice them in your day to day life. So I am pretty sure the people did this on their own accord.