Tag Archives: environment

At 37% of the total, one-person households are now the most common way to live in Switzerland, according to recently published data by Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.comThe data from 2022, show that 37% of households contained one person, followed by the 32% that contained two, 13% that contained three, 12% with four and 5% with five or more. This does of course not mean that 37% of the population lived alone. Households of five or...

This week, VSE, an electricity association, said pricey electricity markets will likely lead to even higher Swiss electricity prices in 2024. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.comPrices rose on average by 27% (+6 cents/kWh) in Switzerland in 2023. In 2024 VSE expects them to rise by a further 12% (+3 cents/kWh). This would bring the average price to almost 30 cents/kWh. The price rise estimates are based on the results of a survey of 135 the association’s members. The price rises are driven...

This week, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) published its predictions and ambitions for electric transport infrastructure. Photo by Gustavo Fring on Pexels.comBy 2035, SFOE expects more than half of all passenger cars in Switzerland to be electric. This means the country has around 12 years to complete its charging infrastructure, it said. The SFOE study estimates there will be 2.8 million plug-in vehicles on Swiss roads by 2035, and by 2050 they should be the dominant type of...

This week, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) published its predictions and ambitions for electric transport infrastructure. Photo by Gustavo Fring on Pexels.comBy 2035, SFOE expects more than half of all passenger cars in Switzerland to be electric. This means the country has around 12 years to complete its charging infrastructure, it said. The SFOE study estimates there will be 2.8 million plug-in vehicles on Swiss roads by 2035, and by 2050 they should be...

Electric bike theft has tripled in Switzerland since 2019, reported RTS. Photo by alex on Pexels.comRecent police statistics show rising levels of theft across the country with rates rising most sharply in Basel and Geneva, two cities bordering on neighbouring countries. In 2022, 2,000 electric bikes were reported stolen, a figure double the number in 2021. Zurich, Switzerland’s largest city, reported the greatest number of thefts, followed by Geneva and Basel. On a per capita...

According to a report published this week, 40% of employees in Switzerland are predicted to regularly work from home within the next 10 years. Photo by Justin Neal on Pexels.comIn 2001, less than 1% of Switzerland’s employees did more than half of their work from home. By 2019, the same figure was 25%. Then Covid-19 struck. During the first lockdown in spring of 2020, 50% of workers worked from home, 20% partially and 30% exclusively. Since then many have returned to the office. But...

On 31 August 2022, when an energy shortage loomed, Switzerland’s federal government launched a campaign to cut the nation’s energy consumption. Targets were set to cut gas consumption by 15% and electricity use by 10%. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.comData published this week showed cuts to gas consumption exceeded the voluntary target set, while cuts to electricity were well below, reported RTS. Gas consumption in Switzerland fell by nearly 18%, well in excess of the 15% target. Electricity...

More and more soil is being impacted by drought. Clay soils in particular are affected by drought. These soils expand and contract depending on their water content and often crack when dry. Building on them can be risky and requires a particular structural design. © Zimmytws | Dreamstime.comHome owners in parts of France have already been impacted by recent dry spells. Roughly half of France is at risk of the effects of droughts on clay soil and 10 million homes have already suffered...

After slaughtering and freezing 12,000 pigs, Switzerland still has 50,000 more pigs than it can digest, reported RTS. With Swiss pig farms so full, vets are concerned animal welfare may be compromised. Photo by Mark Stebnicki on Pexels.comDuring the Covid pandemic when movements across national borders were restricted, Swiss farmers increased the number of pigs. When restrictions eased and imports returned Switzerland was left with a surplus of animals. The Swiss porc market is...

Data centres are expanding rapidly in Switzerland, with such facilities already accounting for 4% of national energy – more than the farming sector. The SonntagsZeitung reports that Switzerland is now home to 86 data centres, and only Netherlands has a higher rate per capita in Europe. The paper cites a 2021 study by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts estimating that the energy usage of Swiss data centres will double in the next five years,...