Thousands protest inaction over climate crisis in Switzerland

LAUSANNE, Switzerland – Several thousand people marched in the Swiss cities of Geneva and Lausanne on Sept 19 to protest government inaction in the face of global warming.They were answering a call by a coalition of more than a hundred associations and political parties under the common banner: “No 50-degree summers!”People of all ages took part in the marches, carrying placards with slogans such as “No Planet B” and “We’re cooked!”, AFP journalists noted.The larger demonstration was at Lausanne, where organisers said at least 8,000 had taken part.One marcher, 31-year-old union activist Guillaume Matthey, told AFP he hoped this was the start of “a new cycle of widespread popular mobilisation” to put pressure on the country’s political and financial leaders for their lack of response to the climate crisis.Already in 2024, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Switzerland was not doing enough to fight climate change – the first time an international court ruled against a country on this matter.“This is about telling our authorities that it’s really the time to act,” said one marcher in his 60s, Yves Froidevaux.“We can’t just finance weapons and then not care about the rest of it – that’s not on,” he added.Vincent Fontannaz, a 47-year-old actor dressed up as a giant drop of water, said: “There’s been a real lack of water this summer.”A demonstrator dressed as a drop of water holding a placard reading “Water help!” during a protest in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Sept 19. PHOTO: AFP“It’s not just about swimming pools, it’s most of all about agriculture – and for our survival in fact,” he added.One marcher, 55-year-old architect Laurent Guidetti, wore a gas mask made out of plastic bottles. He was one of the lucky ones to have a well-insulated apartment “that stays cool at night”, he said.This summer, however, he had thought about people who were not so lucky. “It’s going to be very tough for them,” he added.And even if they got through this summer’s heatwaves, he did not know how they would manage against the higher temperatures expected in future summers.After the demonstrations on Sept 19, other protests have been called in several Swiss cities in the coming weeks until Oct 2.Switzerland’s summer heatwaves forced the closure of a nuclear power station and caused record low water levels in Lake Zurich. AFP