The Swiss vote in favor of carbon neutrality in 2050 in a referendum

In an alpine country where the glaciers are in danger of completely disappearing under the onslaught of climate change, the Swiss said yes, on Sunday June 18, to carbon neutrality in 2050. While the participation rate in this referendum rose to 42%, the “yes” received 59.1% of the vote.

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All the major parties and the federal government had called for a vote in favor of the climate law. It’s a “not important for future generations”reacted the socialist Valérie Piller-Carrard of the Socialist Party, to the announcement of the results. “It is a consensual, pragmatic project, without any measure that taxes people”she added to public television RTS.

A tax on large companies also voted

Only the Center Democratic Union (UDC), the leading party in Switzerland, was hostile to the text which aims for carbon neutrality, raising the specter of shortages and disproportionate price increases. In particular predicting a massive rise in the cost of electricity, SVP campaign manager Michael Grabe told the newspaper 20 minutes that “the invoice for the adoption of this law will be presented much later”.

In 2021, the UDC narrowly defeated a similar project which aimed to ban the consumption of fossil fuels from 2050. The proposal, considered too radical by the government and Parliament, had only obtained 48% of the votes. votes in his favour.

In addition, in a second referendum put to the vote on Sunday, the Swiss people voted 78.5% in favor of the introduction of a 15% tax on large companies active internationally. The number of groups directly concerned in Switzerland is estimated at a few hundred by the Federal Tax Administration. The latter estimates that revenue from the additional tax will be between 1 and 2.5 billion francs in the first year.