Dr. Sarah Gomm ist Postdoktorandin an der Universität Zürich und der ETH Zürich, wo sie das Swiss Environmental Panel koordiniert. Im Rahmen ihres umweltpolitischen Forschungsschwerpunkts befasst sie sich insbesondere mit Dynamiken der öffentlichen Meinung auf individueller Ebene. In ihren bisherigen Arbeiten untersuchte sie anhand von Umfragedaten individuelle Hindernisse und Wege zur Unterstützung von Klimapolitik und umweltfreundlichem Verhalten.

Sie ist derzeit Gastwissenschaftlerin am artec Forschungszentrum Nachhaltigkeit. Zu ihrem folgenden Gastvortrag laden wir herzlich ein: 

Polarization or backlash? Public opinion dynamics in Swiss climate support, 2019-2026
Dr. Sarah Gomm, Universität Zürich & ETH Zürich

Public support for climate action across Europe, including Switzerland, has stalled or declined since a peak in the late 2010s, raising concerns about policy rollbacks. This paper asks whether this trend is driven by a general decline in climate policy support across the population or if it is a consequence of deepening societal polarization. Specifically, we test three competing explanations: a general decline in issue salience across the population, reflecting a shift in priorities; deepening societal polarization where ideological divisions drive opposition in specific subgroups; or a backlash among previously supportive groups due to, e.g., disillusionment with policy efficacy or fairness. To disentangle these trends, we use a unique country-representative panel survey (N = 4000), tracking support for various climate policies and green vote intentions in Switzerland from 2019 until 2025. We estimate within-subject changes in support and test for diverging patterns among population subgroups. Identifying whether shifts are parallel across the population or driven by specific groups is essential for policymakers aiming to sustain public engagement and build consensus for climate change mitigation efforts.

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