The Swiss voice in the world since 1935
Top stories
Stay in touch with Switzerland

Switzerland hits Overshoot Day 20 days earlier this year

Switzerland has used up its resources for the whole year
Switzerland has used up its resources for the whole year Keystone-SDA

Switzerland has already exhausted its natural resources for the year as of this Wednesday. This year’s Swiss Overshoot Day falls 20 days earlier than in 2024.

+ Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

Starting on Wednesday, Switzerland will be living “on credit” for future generations, according to the #Movethedate Switzerland movement. If everyone on Earth lived like the Swiss, we would need 2.9 planets to sustain us.

The Swiss have a notably high environmental footprint. Compared to other countries, this impact is particularly evident in areas like transport, housing, food and the heavy consumption of imported goods, including electronic devices.

+ Why Switzerland’s carbon footprint is bigger than you think

While individual efforts are crucial, they can only cut up to 20% of the climate and resource impact, the report states. The remaining 80% is influenced by policies and investment choices in key areas like energy, transport, food and the circular economy.

To mark Swiss Overshoot Day, Greenpeace activists and design students from Zurich University of the Arts unfurled a 70-metre-long receipt in Zurich’s Old Town. The receipt, featuring 127 questions on environmental protection and economic growth, symbolises the 127 days it took Switzerland to exhaust its natural resources.

External Content

Translated from German with DeepL/sp

How we work

We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate them into English. A journalist then briefly reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team from news agencies such as Bloomberg or Keystone.

Did you find this explanation helpful? Please fill out the short survey below to help us understand your needs.

External Content
Don’t miss your chance to make a difference! Take our survey and share your thoughts.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Planes

More

Airspace congestion jeopardises safety

This content was published on Flight safety is reduced by the clogging of airspace, says Thomas Steffen, a pilot for Swiss and head of safety at Aeropers, the industry association.

Read more: Airspace congestion jeopardises safety
Work by Malaysian artist on display in Thun

More

Malaysian artist Yee I-Lann holds first major European exhibition in Thun

This content was published on Das Kunstmuseum Thun richtet im August die erste grössere Europaausstellung der malaysischen Künstlerin Yee I-Lann aus. Darin werden Einflüsse des Kolonialismus aber auch das Fortbestehen des indigenen Erbes thematisiert.

Read more: Malaysian artist Yee I-Lann holds first major European exhibition in Thun
Hackers publish sensitive Radix data on the Darknet

More

Data from Swiss health foundation Radix leaked on the dark web

This content was published on After the cyber attack suffered by the Radix foundation at the end of last month, sensitive personal data such as names and debts of people banned from casinos were published on the Darknet.

Read more: Data from Swiss health foundation Radix leaked on the dark web
0.5 per cent less CO2 for companies with a net zero target

More

Net zero firms emit 0.5% less CO2, study finds

This content was published on Companies with an externally validated net-zero target emit less CO2 than those without a climate target. This is the conclusion of a new analysis by the US financial services provider MSCI.

Read more: Net zero firms emit 0.5% less CO2, study finds
Cyberattacks on Swiss companies increase by 9 per cent

More

Cyberattacks on Swiss companies increase by 9%

This content was published on Swiss companies are increasingly being targeted by cyber criminals. In the past quarter, every single company in this country was the target of a cyber attack an average of 1097 times a week.

Read more: Cyberattacks on Swiss companies increase by 9%
21 minutes of power interruption per end customer in 2024

More

Swiss households faced 21 minutes of power outages in 2024

This content was published on End customers experienced an average of 21 minutes of electricity interruption in 2024. This resulted in 0.34 power outages per capita. The duration of electricity interruptions increased by three minutes compared to the previous year.

Read more: Swiss households faced 21 minutes of power outages in 2024
SMEs struggle to find staff, 'employees have more power'

More

Swiss SMEs struggling to find employees

This content was published on Swiss small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are struggling to find staff, a problem made more acute by the increased bargaining power of employees and increased absenteeism.

Read more: Swiss SMEs struggling to find employees

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR