26.4331 – Super El Niño – declining purchasing power and threatened security of supply in Switzerland?

On 30 September 2026, Jon Pult submitted interpellation 26.4331 entitled «Super-El Niño – schwindende Kaufkraft und bedrohte Versorgungssicherheit in der Schweiz?» (title translated from German: "Super El Niño – declining purchasing power and threatened security of supply in Switzerland?"). He addresses the interpellation to the Federal Council and requests information about the expected consequences of an exceptionally strong El Niño for Switzerland.

Warning of a record-breaking El Niño

The submitted text states verbatim (original German): «Die Weltorganisation für Meteorologie warnt vor einem rekordbrechenden El Niño und damit verbunden stark erhöhten Risiken für Dürren, Starkregen und Hitzewellen. Damit drohen weltweit Ernteausfälle, Infrastrukturschäden und viele Todesfälle. Nur hitzebedingt könnten weltweit fast eine halbe Million zusätzlicher Todesfälle auftreten zwischen Juni 2026 und Februar 2027 gemäss einer Schätzung des Climate Impact Lab.» (translation: "The World Meteorological Organization warns of a record-breaking El Niño and the greatly increased risks associated with droughts, heavy rainfall and heat waves. Crop failures, infrastructure damage and many deaths are threatened worldwide. Heat-related deaths alone could number nearly half a million additional deaths worldwide between June 2026 and February 2027, according to an estimate by the Climate Impact Lab.")

Questions about prices, supply chains and security of supply

Pult asks the Federal Council, among other things, about the expected price effects for coffee, cocoa, cereals and soya, the diversification of Swiss companies’ supply chains, and whether security of supply can be guaranteed. He also wants to know what effects rising oil prices due to low water levels in the Rhine and rising food prices could have on inflation and the purchasing power of the Swiss population, and what measures the Federal Council has already taken or is still planning.

Reference to the climate cost study

The interpellation also asks whether the Federal Council included the costs of events such as this super El Niño in its study «Kosten der Auswirkungen des Klimawandels in der Schweiz» (title translated from German: "Costs of the impacts of climate change in Switzerland").