The study was commissioned by the Federal Office for the Environment and released on Tuesday. It took into account Switzerland’s environmental footprint not only within the country but also abroad, with the entire life cycle of goods taken into account.
While environmental impact per capita decreased by 26%, the share of Switzerland’s impact abroad rose from 61% in 2000 to 68% in 2018. Overall, all categories of environment impacts decreased except for the biodiversity footprint, which increased by 8% mainly due to the consumption of imported goods.
Despite cutting its global environment footprint, Switzerland is still well above global limits, especially in terms of its impact abroad. A further reduction of resource use by 67% would be necessary, according to the report.
“Until improvements are made, the effects and costs of environmental impact will be passed on to future generations,” stated the environment office.
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