climate change
Federal Council adopts climate adaptation plan for 2026–2031
The Federal Council has adopted a climate adaptation strategy and action plan for 2026–2031, setting objectives across 30 areas and 56 measures. The plan includes a health coordination centre and research funding focused on animal health and food security.
Switzerland’s new federal plan puts heat, drought and other climate risks on a national agenda. The Federal Council adopted its climate adaptation strategy and action plan on Wednesday, October 28, setting a programme for 2026 to 2031. It defines objectives across 30 areas and sets out 56 measures.
The decision follows a summer of record-breaking temperatures and extreme drought in Switzerland, according to The Local. It also comes as several Swiss cities have strengthened their heatwave responses, while a nationwide strategy was still lacking, Swissinfo reported in September. The federal plan now provides a framework for coordinating adaptation across the country. Its measures address climate risks that include heatwaves, drought and violent storms, part of a broader shift towards hotter, drier and less predictable conditions described in Switzerland’s 2025 climate reporting.
Put health at the centre
The health response will have a dedicated federal coordination centre. The Federal Council has tasked the Federal Office of Public Health with establishing a centre of expertise to bring relevant stakeholders together and monitor health. That monitoring is intended to help assess whether adaptation measures are effective.
The remit connects the plan’s broad climate objectives with public health oversight. Heatwaves are a central concern: the government’s announcement frames the strategy around limiting heatwave risks, while Swiss cities have already taken steps to strengthen their local responses. A federal centre is intended to coordinate the work of the stakeholders involved and track health as the measures are put into practice. The arrangement places the FOPH at the centre of that coordination effort during the plan’s 2026 to 2031 period.
Fund research on food and animal health
Research funding will target animal health and food security. The Federal Council’s action plan includes support for projects in both fields, adding research to its mix of adaptation measures. The focus reflects the plan’s reach beyond heat exposure in towns and cities: it also addresses issues tied to animals and the security of food supplies.
The strategy draws on the Federal Office for the Environment’s 2025 climate risk analysis and climate scenarios produced by ETH Zurich and MeteoSwiss. Those assessments provide the evidence base for the objectives and measures set out across the plan’s 30 areas. Funding for research projects is one part of that response, alongside the coordination work assigned to the FOPH. Together, these strands place scientific assessment, health monitoring and targeted research within the federal adaptation programme.