Switzerland Today

Greetings from Zurich!

It’s been a couple of weeks since the new fondue world champion was crowned Tartegnin. But SWI swissinfo.ch has been tirelessly tracking down some of the global contenders from as far away as Brazil and Canada. I thoroughly recommend our report on how fondue has been embraced around the world.

But first, the news of the day.

This content was published on December 8, 2023 - 18:00

2 minutes

When not covering fintech, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, banks and trade, swissinfo.ch's business correspondent can be found playing cricket on various grounds in Switzerland - including the frozen lake of St Moritz. 

F-35 — (c) Copyright 2022, Dpa (www.dpa.de). Alle Rechte Vorbehalten

In the news: Switzerland’s green credentials flop, ETH expands into Germany and Switzerland’s new F-35s create some noise.

Switzerland’s green credentials have suffered a setback after missing out on a top 20 spot in the annual Climate Change Performance Index.
The government wants Swiss homeownersto share part of the bill for damage in the event of serious earthquakes.
The Federal Technology Institute Zurich (ETH) is expanding into Germany with the cooperation of a foundation set up by Lidl founder Dieter Schwarz
People living near military air bases are not convinced by defence ministry assurances that they won’t be unduly bothered by noise from the new fleet of F-35 jets.

Solar panels — © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Spotlight on Solar Express costs

A year ago, parliament approved an ambitious plan to create a chain of solar energy stations around the country to produce clean energy from the end of 2025.

But the Solar Express plan to eventually produce 2TWh a year – or enough for 500,000 households – has been beset by problems right from the start.

Cantonal planning approval for alpine solar farms has run into objections from local voters. And now large energy companies say the project may literally fail to add up.

Swiss public broadcaster SRF reports on fearsExternal link that stations might not generate enough profits to cover the expense of constructing them – even if 60% of costs are subsidised by the public purse.

Big energy companies, such as Axpo and BKW, are expressing doubts about the economic viability of Solar Express, particularly as the network will only be fully active between February and the end of May.

Solar energy is seen as one key plank of Switzerland’s eco-friendly ambitions.

Without this source of renewable energy, it might prove difficult to finally lift Switzerland into the top 20 of green countries on the Climate Change Performance Index.