Thousands march for the climate in Geneva and Lausanne

On Saturday afternoon, thousands of people marched through the streets of Geneva and Lausanne to demand stronger measures against climate change. The marches were organised after a summer marked by intense heatwaves, under the slogan «Soffocare non è inevitabile» (Suffocating is not inevitable).

Placards carried by demonstrators read messages such as «Non c'è un pianeta B» (There is no planet B), «L'aereo del futuro è il treno» (The plane of the future is the train) and «Siamo fritti» (We're toast). The mobilisation was organised by a coalition of more than a hundred associations, organisations and parties. Its demands cover two fronts: speeding up measures to cut CO2 emissions and, at the same time, strengthening measures to adapt to the effects of global warming, already visible in increasingly hot summers and periods of drought.

According to the organisers, current climate plans are not moving fast enough given the urgency of the situation. The coalition «Pas d'été à 50 degrés» (No summer at 50 degrees) warns that, without a change of course in public policy, Switzerland could reach summer temperatures of 50 degrees by 2050.

New demonstrations until October

The protests do not end with this weekend. New demonstrations are already planned in several Swiss cities, including Fribourg, Bellinzona, Bern, Zurich and Chur, running until 2 October. The Bellinzona stop brings the mobilisation to Ticino as well, drawing Italian-speaking Switzerland into the protest calendar.

Increasingly frequent heatwaves place an unequal burden on the population: they hit hardest those who work outdoors, those who live in poorly insulated housing or cannot afford air conditioning, and they put hospitals and public services under pressure during summer heat peaks. The demonstrators' demands leave open questions that will also concern Ticino and federal politics in the coming weeks: how quickly announced measures will translate into concrete decisions, and who will bear the costs of an adaptation that, according to the coalition behind the movement, can no longer wait.