Assessment of lifestyle changes for greenhouse gas emissions reduction in Switzerland

In light of the climate change crisis, this study looks at what actions can be done by individuals in Switzerland to reduce their carbon footprint. A total of 40 actions spanned over 6 areas of consumption (food, housing, mobility, at home leisure activities, services, and mobility) are put together, and the greenhouse gas emission reduction potential of each one is assessed. This study finds that investing one’s money in sustainable funds is the most interesting action by far, with a reduction potential of about 30’000 kg CO2-eq / person / year. Second to it are the actions in the mobility domain, which are relative to reducing travels by car for a frequent car user, and reducing plane travels, and have reduction potentials around 1’000 kg CO2-eq / person / year. Findings also bring to light that mobility actions have the most variability, due to the large disparities in distance travelled (and mode of transport) within the population. The housing actions follow and are mostly between 400 and 900 kg CO2-eq / person / year. The actions in the food domain have a lower potential, with only the reduction of dairy consumption standing out with a potential of 600 kg CO2-eq / person / year. In the domain of consumer goods the results are very heterogenous; many of them are close to zero but the reduction in household waste and clothing consumption have a potential of respectively 700 and 1’100 kg CO2-eq / person / year. The ease of implementation of each action is evaluated, and some of the low hanging fruits with high reduction potential are pinpointed, such as teleworking and reducing clothing consumption. In general, the barriers are thought to be more psychological and social than anything else, and for many actions the main reason people do not do them might be because they do not know of their importance. In that regard the present study can be used to help the public identify actions to undertake and their relative reduction potential. The study also points out the necessity to take into account the diversity of socioeconomic situations. Finally, this study can be supplemented for one part by diving more precisely into the carbon footprint of individual investments, and for the other part by further investigating the restraints to taking action.