The climate protests of the Fridays For Future movement were worth it. At least in Switzerland, they caused a change in behavior in almost a third of the population, as a study found.
According to a study by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), as many as 30 percent of Swiss people have changed their everyday behavior and habits as a result of the Fridays for Future (FFF) climate protests led by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
“We found that the Swiss public generally perceives Greta Thunberg and the FFF movement positively,” the authors summarize their study results. 30 percent of those surveyed said that Greta Thunberg had had a positive influence on their environmental awareness and behavior.
Greta Thunberg and FFF also reached skeptics with their protests
Participants most often reported “environmentally positive changes” in private behavior, particularly in the areas of mobility, consumption and waste, whereas only a few changes in behavior in the public sector were reported.
Not only people who already had a certain affinity for sensitive interaction with nature reported these changes: “Although the influence on sympathizers was stronger, some of the skeptics of the climate strike movement also reported behavioral changes, which suggests that the unconvinced to some extent were achieved,” note the authors of the study.
Most of the changes affected the areas of transport, purchasing habits and recycling. For example, around a third of those surveyed said they were now looking for alternatives to driving to get to work. They would also choose vacation destinations close to home so as not to have to fly. People would also look more for local organic products and choose a vegetarian meal more often.
Greta Thunberg
Five years of school strikes for the climate – five years of Fridays for Future
There are currently no similar studies on the effects of climate protests on Germans and their behavior. However, the scientists announced that they would follow up their current study with further research on this topic.
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Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
