Tag Archives: environment

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...

In response to the increased spread of the novel Coronavirus Switzerland’s health authority has issued new hygiene advice, which includes avoiding hand shakes. © Rido | Dreamstime.comThis additional measure was added recently along with two others: dispose of used paper tissues in a sealed waste bin and always call ahead before going to the doctor’s or the emergency department. The government campaign ‘Protect yourself and others’ tells you how you can apply basic hygiene rules and...

The price watchdog wants to see a 2% reduction in ticket prices once track fees for rail companies drop starting next year. (© Keystone / Walter Bieri) With track fees for rail companies set to drop, savings should be passed on to customers, Stefan Meierhans told the weekly NZZ am Sonntag. The call comes on the heels of revelations that two state-owned rail firms wrongly claimed millions in subsidies. Switzerland’s official price watchdog said that prices for train...

Recently, the private bank Pictet, based in Geneva, announced plans to eliminate all of its investments in companies actively associated with the production and extraction of fossil fuels, according to a press release. © Kent Johansson | Dreamstime.comThe bank defines companies actively associated with the production and extraction of fossil fuels as those generating more than 25% of their revenue from activities with high carbon emissions. At the end on December 2019 the bank had...

Earlier this week, Switzerland’s Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) announced it had contacted the cantons at the end of January 2020, informing them it had not set a date for switching on 5G networks. © Tpibernik | Dreamstime.comHowever, mobile networks plan to continue installing 5G equipment after rolling out more than 2,000 antenna last year – a map showing where the new antenna are can be viewed here. FOEN says it needs more time to test the potential impact of 5G...

According to SonntagsZeitung, the bank Credit Suisse has been spying on Greenpeace.  © Pincasso | Dreamstime.comNearly three years ago, the environmental organisation thwarted security and disrupted the bank’s general assembly with a stunt aimed at shaming Credit Suisse for financing Energy Transfer, a company involved in the construction of the controversial Dakota Access oil pipeline running through reserves in the US state of Dakota. Greenpeace said the environmental risks were too...

© Christian Heinz | Dreamstime.com A Swiss parliamentary commission, tasked with looking at the introduction of an environmental tax on flights departing from Switzerland, recently voted in favour a such a tax. A majority of 17 to 8 members voted in favour of the move. The tax would range from CHF 30 to CHF 120 per passenger depending on flight distance and class. Passengers transiting through Switzerland would not pay the tax. Those travelling in private aircraft...

A Swiss parliamentary commission, tasked with looking at the introduction of an environmental tax on flights departing from Switzerland, recently voted in favour a such a tax. © Christian Heinz | Dreamstime.comA majority of 17 to 8 members voted in favour of the move. The tax would range from CHF 30 to CHF 120 per passenger depending on flight distance and class. Passengers transiting through Switzerland would not pay the tax. Those travelling in private aircraft would be charged...