2026 was the hottest summer in Europe since records began. A quarter of a million people had to be evacuated in France and Spain due to fires. Countryside that is usually green with vegetation now looks like steppe regions, farmers face huge crop failures and many animals have had to be slaughtered due to a lack of feed. In the political arena, however, climate change no longer seems to be a major issue and if it is ever raised, the discussion centres on air conditioning. Measures to adjust to changing circumstances are undoubtedly important, but what we experienced in 2026 is not the new normal to which we must now adapt. Rather, it is an intermediate stage in an escalating process that will not stabilise until we stop pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. We are constantly lagging behind with the changes required and will eventually reach a point when it will no longer be possible to adapt.
The need to resolve our dependence on fossil fuels is now more urgent than ever before. In this context, geopolitical factors are playing an increasingly important role alongside environmental arguments. Just as drug addicts are at the mercy of unscrupulous dealers, our dependence on fossil fuels leaves us vulnerable to violent autocrats. This vulnerability has been painfully exposed by the military exploits of Putin and Trump. On top of this, low water levels caused by climate change (for example, in the Rhine) are making the transport of oil difficult, even in the absence of hostilities.
The need to resolve our dependence on fossil fuels is now more urgent than ever before. In this context, geopolitical factors are playing an increasingly important role alongside environmental arguments. Just as drug addicts are at the mercy of unscrupulous dealers, our dependence on fossil fuels leaves us vulnerable to violent autocrats. This vulnerability has been painfully exposed by the military exploits of Putin and Trump. On top of this, low water levels caused by climate change (for example, in the Rhine) are making the transport of oil difficult, even in the absence of hostilities.
Jakub Samochowiec
Senior Researcher und Speaker am GDI
The social psychologist explores societal and technological developments and their interplay. He is particularly interested in the stories we tell about the future and the underlying views of humanity and power dynamics..
Learn more
The good news is that breaking free from our dependence on fossil fuels is now a realistic possibility. A historic energy revolution is well under way. The share of renewable energy in the overall energy mix is rising exponentially. China’s CO₂ emissions have not risen since March 2024. The International Energy Agency estimates that renewable energy production will increase by 4600 gigawatts by 2030 – roughly equivalent to an extra 4000 nuclear power plants (there are around 400 nuclear power plants in operation worldwide, unless shut down due to low water levels and high water temperatures). Alongside the great advancements in power generation, the revolution in energy storage is in full swing too, in turn relieving the strain on the electricity grid – previously a bottleneck in the drive towards electrification. The price of batteries has fallen dramatically in recent years too. For example, a funding scheme in Australia enabled the installation of 100,000 batteries within a four-month period. Priority is being given to the development of batteries that require less or no lithium, nickel or cobalt, making them less harmful to the environment and more readily available.
One in four new cars worldwide is an electric model. Although one in three vehicles on Swiss roads is electric, Switzerland is slowly falling behind when compared with other countries – and not just with Norway, where almost every new car is electric. Even less prosperous countries, such as Albania, Vietnam, Ethiopia and China, have overtaken us. When it comes to heat pumps, too, the Nordic countries are well ahead of us, while progress here seems to be slowing down. One in two people in Switzerland would choose an electric car when buying their next vehicle. However, this requires adequate infrastructure, which is often lacking. Progress is certainly being achieved in Switzerland, but far too slowly – the real headway is being made elsewhere. If Switzerland continues along this path, it will fall well short of its own climate targets.
It appears we are being relegated to the role of bit-part players in the energy revolution. The future is being shaped elsewhere. In Europe, by contrast, warnings have been issued for decades against acting too hastily, and the buzzword ‘technological openness’ has seen the ‘old continent’ miss out on an energy revolution of historic proportions. At the same time, the phase-out of internal combustion engines is being delayed and the term ‘vegetarian sausage’ is being banned. More anger is being directed at climate protesters than at the destruction of the very basis of our existence. This may partly be explained by how the fossil fuel industry protects its interests, investing vast sums since the 1960s to thwart progress in the development of renewable energy. However, the political apathy has deeper, more structural roots.
There is also a sense of resignation amongst the general public. People are becoming less willing to take action on a personal level to help tackle climate change. This is reflected by the fact that more Swiss people are flying again. This behaviour is also understandable as people start to feel they are the only ones who care: “Why should I make an effort when nobody else does?” In social sciences, this phenomenon is known as the ‘collective action problem’, which requires a collective framework for managing resources. Appeals to personal responsibility alone are not enough to resolve the issue.
In fact, various studies show that in principle lots of people would be willing to make a collective effort to do more for the climate. According to a study conducted by gfs.zürich at the end of 2025, around two-thirds of Swiss respondents were in favour of an air travel levy. In 2022, around 90% of 130,000 people surveyed worldwide said they wanted to see more political action to tackle climate change. Respondents also significantly underestimated the number of like-minded people. In French citizens’ assemblies, on the other hand, randomly selected citizens have drawn up relatively extreme proposals (by political standards) for tackling climate change – for example, a ban on domestic flights. In the GDI study “The Age of Biology”, 90% of people said that the destruction of natural habitats made them feel sad. Almost half were in favour of bold ideas, such as granting enforceable legal rights to oceans, rivers and forests, and regulations mandating the exclusive use of recycled materials. However, over 90% of respondents also recognise – at least to some extent – the risk that the blind faith placed in technology could prevent socially necessary changes, such as a ban on internal combustion engines. So it is not just new technologies that are needed, but also regulations for phasing out old ones.
The devil is always in the detail and reaching agreement in principle does not necessarily mean signing up to specific measures. As part of the process to convert general consensus into tangible measures, it is important to allow people to have a say in decision-making about their local environment, to take principles of fairness into account and not simply to portray adjustments as sacrifices, instead also highlighting the immediate benefits they would bring to people’s everyday lives – and not just in abstract climate statistics. For example, this may mean communicating that a heat pump can also be used as an air-conditioning system, or that air quality can be significantly improved through electrification. Needless to say, the challenges involved in implementing such schemes can also be used as an excuse for inertia and disparaging proposed solutions. After all, people who want to contribute will always find a way – while those who don’t will always find excuses.
Hopefully, the heat, the general willingness to tackle the climate crisis and the technological revolution facilitating the transformation needed will provide the impetus to rise to this challenge and iron out the details. The alternative is to give up or to hope that someone else will do all the legwork for us – and to remain mere bit-part players in an energy revolution that is taking place elsewhere. Participating in this revolution is not just a matter of protecting our climate – it will also determine whether we share in the technological and economic success of the future.
One in four new cars worldwide is an electric model. Although one in three vehicles on Swiss roads is electric, Switzerland is slowly falling behind when compared with other countries – and not just with Norway, where almost every new car is electric. Even less prosperous countries, such as Albania, Vietnam, Ethiopia and China, have overtaken us. When it comes to heat pumps, too, the Nordic countries are well ahead of us, while progress here seems to be slowing down. One in two people in Switzerland would choose an electric car when buying their next vehicle. However, this requires adequate infrastructure, which is often lacking. Progress is certainly being achieved in Switzerland, but far too slowly – the real headway is being made elsewhere. If Switzerland continues along this path, it will fall well short of its own climate targets.
It appears we are being relegated to the role of bit-part players in the energy revolution. The future is being shaped elsewhere. In Europe, by contrast, warnings have been issued for decades against acting too hastily, and the buzzword ‘technological openness’ has seen the ‘old continent’ miss out on an energy revolution of historic proportions. At the same time, the phase-out of internal combustion engines is being delayed and the term ‘vegetarian sausage’ is being banned. More anger is being directed at climate protesters than at the destruction of the very basis of our existence. This may partly be explained by how the fossil fuel industry protects its interests, investing vast sums since the 1960s to thwart progress in the development of renewable energy. However, the political apathy has deeper, more structural roots.
There is also a sense of resignation amongst the general public. People are becoming less willing to take action on a personal level to help tackle climate change. This is reflected by the fact that more Swiss people are flying again. This behaviour is also understandable as people start to feel they are the only ones who care: “Why should I make an effort when nobody else does?” In social sciences, this phenomenon is known as the ‘collective action problem’, which requires a collective framework for managing resources. Appeals to personal responsibility alone are not enough to resolve the issue.
In fact, various studies show that in principle lots of people would be willing to make a collective effort to do more for the climate. According to a study conducted by gfs.zürich at the end of 2025, around two-thirds of Swiss respondents were in favour of an air travel levy. In 2022, around 90% of 130,000 people surveyed worldwide said they wanted to see more political action to tackle climate change. Respondents also significantly underestimated the number of like-minded people. In French citizens’ assemblies, on the other hand, randomly selected citizens have drawn up relatively extreme proposals (by political standards) for tackling climate change – for example, a ban on domestic flights. In the GDI study “The Age of Biology”, 90% of people said that the destruction of natural habitats made them feel sad. Almost half were in favour of bold ideas, such as granting enforceable legal rights to oceans, rivers and forests, and regulations mandating the exclusive use of recycled materials. However, over 90% of respondents also recognise – at least to some extent – the risk that the blind faith placed in technology could prevent socially necessary changes, such as a ban on internal combustion engines. So it is not just new technologies that are needed, but also regulations for phasing out old ones.
The devil is always in the detail and reaching agreement in principle does not necessarily mean signing up to specific measures. As part of the process to convert general consensus into tangible measures, it is important to allow people to have a say in decision-making about their local environment, to take principles of fairness into account and not simply to portray adjustments as sacrifices, instead also highlighting the immediate benefits they would bring to people’s everyday lives – and not just in abstract climate statistics. For example, this may mean communicating that a heat pump can also be used as an air-conditioning system, or that air quality can be significantly improved through electrification. Needless to say, the challenges involved in implementing such schemes can also be used as an excuse for inertia and disparaging proposed solutions. After all, people who want to contribute will always find a way – while those who don’t will always find excuses.
Hopefully, the heat, the general willingness to tackle the climate crisis and the technological revolution facilitating the transformation needed will provide the impetus to rise to this challenge and iron out the details. The alternative is to give up or to hope that someone else will do all the legwork for us – and to remain mere bit-part players in an energy revolution that is taking place elsewhere. Participating in this revolution is not just a matter of protecting our climate – it will also determine whether we share in the technological and economic success of the future.