Billions of francs approved to save Switzerland’s glaciers

A network of Alpine solar panels will be subsidised with new funding. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

A nationwide vote on banning fossil fuels in Switzerland has been averted after parliament agreed on a CHF3.2 billion ($3.3 billion) climate action package.

Supporters of the ‘Glacier Initiative’ say the new measures go some way to satisfying their demands for Switzerland to stand by the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.

The spending spree, which had previously been agreed by the House of Representatives, is also intended to address Switzerland’s immediate energy security that has been threatened by disrupted gas supplies to Europe caused by the Ukraine war.

The money will be spent on subsidising a network of Alpine photovoltaic plants, the replacement of fossil fuel heating systems with sustainable alternatives and the renovation of buildings.

The Glacier Initiative committee said the plan would ensure that “effective and rapid climate protection can be realised in Switzerland” and signaled that the initiative will be withdrawn once both chambers of parliament finalise some smaller technical details.

The Glacier Initiative demanded a complete end to greenhouse gas emissions and a ban on fossil fuels by 2050. It gathered enough support in 2019 to force a nationwide vote on its objectives.

Attempts by the Swiss government to introduce measures to reduce greenhouse emissions have proved far from easy. In 2021, voters rejected a proposed C02 law to halve emissions by 2030 largely through new taxes.

Since then, the government has announced a goal of reducing emissions to zero by 2050.  Parliament is soon to debate the exact measures needed to ensure that this long-term target is met.