Climate change: Switzerland must commit to a just resilience

The climate is warming in Switzerland at nearly twice the global average. Heatwaves, droughts and extreme precipitation events are now recurring manifestations of the climate risks facing our country. In this context, adaptation policies are essential, in addition to efforts to reduce our emissions.

However, to be effective they cannot be limited to technical or economic considerations. Principles of climate justice must also apply. This is what the European Union has begun to formalize through the notion of "just resilience", which appears explicitly in its adaptation strategy. It aims to ensure that adaptation measures are implemented equitably and that no one is left behind.

Climate risks and inequality

This approach is relevant, because climate risks inherently involve a number of inequalities. Indeed, they result from the combination of climatic hazards and differentiated levels of exposure and vulnerability. Being exposed to a climate risk means being located in an area likely to be affected by certain, most often meteorological, hazards.

Take, for example, people living in a flood-prone area or exposed to landslides in the event of heavy rainfall. Another possible case: you live downtown, in a heavily paved neighborhood or in a poorly insulated building that can reach very high temperatures during a heatwave. In both situations, the conclusion is the same: suffering drastically the impacts of climate change.

These inequalities of exposure are reinforced by vulnerability factors, which determine the extent of the damage suffered in the face of the same hazard and comparable level of exposure. Elderly people and young children are thus more affected by heatwaves, their bodies being less able to withstand extreme heat. Similarly, a person with a disability is more threatened in the event of a flood and by the need to evacuate quickly.

These vulnerabilities must imperatively be taken into account in the development of future adaptation policies, so that we can all be duly protected. Switzerland should pay particular attention to this, its topography generating a wide diversity of climate risks to which the population is exposed in very different ways.

The polluter-pays principle requires that the costs of prevention and repair be borne by those who cause the damage. Will it be applied?

Polluter-pays principle

The question of fair financing for adaptation measures also arises. It is naturally thought of on an international scale, since the countries most exposed and most vulnerable to climatic hazards often have lesser responsibilities in terms of CO2 emissions. Yet they bear the full force of the impacts of a phenomenon they did not cause and pay a high price.

This question is, however, just as relevant at the Swiss level, where adaptation measures require substantial investments. This is notably the case when it comes to protecting built-up areas or infrastructure located in the mountains, or securing watercourses.

But who will foot the bill? The principle of causation, also known as the polluter-pays principle, requires that the costs of prevention and repair be borne by those who cause the damage. Will it be applied? How much are we collectively willing to invest to guarantee, for example, the habitability of certain particularly threatened Alpine valleys? In Switzerland, the fair financing of adaptation measures could well raise delicate issues of national solidarity.

The European Union considers that just resilience must be based on principles of procedural justice. This implies that decisions regarding adaptation measures are taken in a transparent and participatory manner, in order to involve as many concerned people as possible. In Switzerland, we have voted several times on the climate, but the question of adaptation has provoked little debate.

The consideration of different interests takes place more at the local level, within the framework of cantonal and municipal climate plans, which often include a participatory component. In cities, adaptation to climate change notably reveals tensions between densification requirements and the need to establish green and blue corridors to combat heat islands. These tensions must be subject to explicit and collective arbitration.

It is preferable to involve stakeholders upstream to develop the most consensual solutions possible and avoid much more costly blockages downstream.

Stop "energy poverty"

The voice of people facing what is now called "energy poverty", particularly those living in housing unsuitable for the effects of climate change, must be better heard. Admittedly, participation entails financial, organizational and time costs.

However, adaptation projects generally have significant repercussions on territories and can provoke opposition. It is therefore preferable to involve stakeholders upstream to develop the most consensual solutions possible and avoid much more costly blockages downstream.

This notion of just resilience also incorporates a dimension of justice of recognition. This implies that adaptation measures fairly take into account the diversity of identities, knowledge and value systems. Indeed, we do not all perceive the ecological transition, nor its adaptive component, in the same way. Some value systems attach particular importance to the intrinsic value of nature and consider that biotopes should be preserved for their own sake.

Need for a common reflection

How far should we go on this question of adaptation? Taking into account the diversity of knowledge appears essential, particularly in the fight against heat islands. Many "low tech" solutions or those derived from traditional knowledge exist. It is important to consider them, even if we tend today to spontaneously favor various technological avenues. As for respect for different identities, it should constitute a major issue in Switzerland in debates concerning the habitability of certain mountain regions.

Our country is currently revising its climate change adaptation strategy, the first version of which dates back to 2012. This revision would benefit from drawing on the reflections undertaken at the European level around the concept of just resilience.

The publication of a technical report devoted to indicators allowing its implementation to be measured would today help to better operationalize this approach. Some pioneering cantons have already taken this path. This is notably the case of the canton of Vaud, which formally integrated, in 2025, principles aimed at promoting a just transition in the second generation of its Climate Plan.

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