Tag Archives: environment

[caption id="attachment_603925" align="alignleft" width="400"] About 3-5% of the investments of 180 Swiss financial institutions taking part in a government climate compatibility test flow into fossil energies like oil, gas and coal, according to a new report Keystone / Larry Mayer[/caption] Swiss banks and retirement funds are still investing enormous sums in fossil fuel companies and thereby contributing to global warming. This is the conclusion of a...

In an NBER working paper, Geoffrey Heal discusses some aspects of the energy transition to come. On infrastructure investments: the likely net investment required to go carbon-free is now as little as $0.179 trillion renewable power from wind and solar PV plants is now less expensive than power from gas, coal or nuclear plants … If it were not for the intermittency of renewables, we would save money by converting to clean power. the social benefits from stopping the CO2 emissions...

Citing the economic effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, Switzerland’s Federal Council has decided to relax measures designed to curb the sale of the most polluting cars in Switzerland. © Malang Sheikh | Dreamstime.comIn July 2012, Switzerland introduced regulations on the CO2 emissions of new cars. The rules, which include average fleet emissions limits, apply to any vendor importing more than 49 vehicles into Switzerland. Any importer importing a fleet of 50 or more cars exceeding the...

Queuing up near Vevey on Lake Geneva. © Keystone / Cyril Zingaro Fuel consumption and emissions limits for new cars in Switzerland missed their target in 2019 for the fourth year in a row. This resulted in sanctions totalling CHF78 million for car importers. Last year, the 314,000 new cars registered in Switzerland spat out CO2 emissions of about 138.1 grams per kilometre, a rise of 0.2% on 2018, the Federal Office for Energy said on Thursday. This means new cars...

There are now around 4.6 million cars in Switzerland, almost 50% more than in 1990. © Keystone / Michael Buholzer Switzerland’s emissions have declined over the last 30 years, but not enough to meet the national targets set for 2020. What’s behind the gap? By 2020, greenhouse gas emissions in Switzerland should be down by 20% from what they were in 1990. That’s the target outlined in the federal CO2 law. While figures are only available until 2018, the federal...

© Christian Heinz | Dreamstime.com A majority of Switzerland’s parliament voted in favour of introducing a tax on flights departing from Switzerland. 132 voted in favour of the tax, with 65 against. The tax would range from CHF 30 to CHF 120 depending on the distance and class of travel, according to 20 Minutes. Private flights would be taxed too. A tax of between CHF 500 and CHF 5,000 would be charged depending on the type and size of aircraft. Parliament also voted...

A majority of Switzerland’s parliament voted in favour of introducing a tax on flights departing from Switzerland. © Christian Heinz | Dreamstime.com132 voted in favour of the tax, with 65 against. The tax would range from CHF 30 to CHF 120 depending on the distance and class of travel, according to 20 Minutes. Private flights would be taxed too. A tax of between CHF 500 and CHF 5,000 would be charged depending on the type and size of aircraft. Parliament also voted in favour (133...

The Synhelion prototype installed last year on the roof of ETH Zurich (RSI-SWI) The Covid-19 pandemic has overshadowed the climate crisis, but with the gradual return of consumption and travel, concerns about global warming are resurfacing. A Swiss start-up is developing an aviation fuel produced solely with water, solar energy and CO2. Will this emission-neutral fuel put an end to “flight shame”? Synhelionexternal link is a company founded by researchers at the...

With potential to expand, solar power covers about 3-4% of Swiss energy consumption. (Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi) Switzerland has placed second in a global index comparing current energy systems and readiness for the transition to cleaner sources. In its new Energy Transition Indexexternal link, the World Economic Forum (WEF) identifies the coronavirus pandemic as a serious threat to the switch to renewable energies. “The transformation of the energy system over...

Some tyre abrasion particles can be removed from the environment via street cleaning and runoff water treatment. (Keystone/Eddy Risch) Each year some 14,000 tonnes of plastic waste end up in the Swiss environment. A federally commissioned analysisexternal link identifies two main culprits: tyre abrasion (around 8,000 tonnes) and littering (around 2,700 tonnes). The Federal Office of the Environment (FOEN) has published a new web pageexternal link with information on...