Voters dash the government’s climate policy hopes by rejecting the CO2 Act

Environment Minister Simonetta Sommaruga (SP) has been left to pick up the pieces. “The proposal probably had too many elements and was easier to attack as a result,” she explained after the vote. On the other hand, the Federal Councillor did not interpret the result as a flat no to more climate protection, despite it now being “very difficult” to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. Switzerland has pledged to halve harmful greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and become carbon-neutral by 2050. “It will be almost impossible to achieve this without additional measures,” Sommaruga said. The environment minister has set her sights in the short term on promoting the less controversial elements of the bill, such as companies being exempted from the CO2 levy if they invest in environmentally friendly solutions.

Hopes rest on the Glacier Initiative

Supporters of the CO2 Act are now pinning their hopes on the “Glacier Initiative”. This proposal, submitted back in November 2019, aims to write the Paris Agreement goals into the Constitution and outlaw the use of fossil fuels such as gas, oil and coal. The initiative is backed by environmental groups as well as representatives of all the political parties – except the SVP, which campaigned against the CO2 Act.

Parliament will debate the initiative and any counterproposal over the next few months before voters can have their say. Furthermore, the Federal Council has raised the prospect of a proposal to promote domestic and renewable energy.

The left-green parties and the climate movement are targeting banks and insurance companies, saying that environmentally damaging investments ultimately make the financial sector one of the biggest drivers of the climate crisis. Whether a popular initiative would be launched remained to be seen at the time of going to press. The Young Greens, for their part, are trying to attract support for an “environmental responsibility initiative” to protect the world’s natural resources. However, a lot of precious time will be lost before plebiscites like this are put to the people.

Switzerland has done relatively well on climate protection until now, compared to other countries. In the annual Climate Change Performance Index, it moved up two places to 14th position at the end of 2020. Defeat for the CO2 Act has now seriously dented Swiss ambitions in the fight against climate change.