Countless containers are transferred here at the port of Basel-Kleinhüningen. | Image: Gaetan Bally/Keystone

Our ecological footprint is biggest abroad because we consume so many goods that are produced far from Switzerland. As an older survey by ETH Zurich has already shown, less than half of the Swiss population is aware of this. “People also have relatively little interest in supporting political measures that might reduce the ecological footprint of their consumption in foreign countries”, says David Presberger, a political scientist at ETH Zurich. 

“The environmental awareness is there, but as soon as something costs money, people’s willingness diminishes”.David Presberger

He and his team have now conducted a new study with more than 8,000 participants to find out if closing this knowledge gap might change people’s behaviour. It doesn’t. Despite being given additional information, there was no substantial increase in people’s support for matters such as greater trade restrictions or more development aid for environmental projects. “The environmental awareness is there”, says Presberger, “but as soon as something costs money, people’s willingness to do something diminishes”. 

D. Presberger et al.: Factual information on the environmental impacts of consumption abroad increases citizens’ problem awareness, but not support for mitigating such impacts. Environmental Science and Policy (2023)

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