(Geneva) The Swiss said yes on Sunday to carbon neutrality by 2050, in an alpine country where the emblematic glaciers should completely disappear under the onslaught of climate change.
Yes won 59.1% of the vote, confirming Switzerland’s commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement.
In a second referendum, the people approved (78.5 yes) the introduction of a 15% tax on large companies active internationally.
The participation rate was around 42%.
All the major parties and the federal government had called for a vote in favor of the climate law. Only the UDC (radical right), the leading party in Switzerland, raised the specter of shortages and disproportionate price increases.
“The Swiss population is sending a strong signal: the law to bring the country to net zero emissions has been accepted today! […] Very happy that the arguments of #climate science have been heard! “, rejoiced Matthias Huss on Twitter.
“Pragmatic project”
An eminent expert, he never ceases to denounce the disappearance of the glaciers that he measures at the head of the network of glaciological surveys in Switzerland (Glamos).
It is an “important step for future generations”, estimated Valérie Piller-Carrard of the Socialist Party, on public television RTS.
“It is a consensual, pragmatic project, without any measures that tax people,” she added.
The energy issue is a tricky one in a country that is 75% dependent on imports. A fragility brought to light in a dramatic way by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
The new law aims to reduce this energy dependence on foreign countries while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, without bans or new taxes.
The bill plans to gradually reduce the consumption of oil and gas without, however, prohibiting it. At the same time, Switzerland will have to produce more renewable energy and support more climate-friendly heating systems.
Neither gas nor oil
“The bill for the adoption of this law will be presented much later,” assured the SVP’s campaign manager, Michael Grabe to the newspaper 20 minutes, predicting a massive increase in the cost of electricity.
He also underlined that the No had won in certain rural regions (7 cantons) because they fear landscapes disfigured by alternative energies and reduced mobility due to a lack of fossil fuels.
In 2021, the UDC had narrowly failed a project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The text voted on Sunday is a counter-project to a popular initiative, known as the “glacier initiative” which planned to ban the consumption of fossil fuels from 2050.
The government and parliament considered it too radical, preferring incentives, including financial ones, to prohibition.
Their plan provides up to 200 million francs (over $295 million) each year for ten years to help homeowners switch to more climate-friendly heating systems.
Large Business Tax
Industries that invest in innovative technologies, for example capable of filtering CO2 in the air, will also receive support.
The Yes was even more massive in favor of the constitutional amendment allowing taxation, at a rate of at least 15%, of large groups of companies active on an international scale, within the framework of a project of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the G20.
The minimum taxation will apply to business groups with an annual turnover of at least €750 million.
The number of Swiss groups directly concerned in Switzerland is estimated at a few hundred by the Federal Tax Administration, which estimates that revenue from the additional tax will be between 1 and 2.5 billion francs in the first year.
But the left, NGOs and unions have denounced an unequal project. The distribution of revenue which is planned will favor the “rich” cantons which are home to many multinationals, Basel-City and Zug in the lead, according to them.