Switzerland named top global investor in energy efficiency
Switzerland came in second in the WEF ranking on energy transition just behind Sweden and ahead of Norway.
Keystone/ Valentin Flauraud
Switzerland has climbed a spot to second place on the latest Energy Transition Index produced by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The country tops the ranking for investments in energy efficiency.
The report “Fostering Energy Efficient Transition 2019”, released on Monday, includes the Energy Transition Index, which benchmarks countries on the performance of their energy system and their readiness for a transition to a sustainable and affordable energy system.
Switzerland came in just behind Sweden but overtook Norway. Finland and Denmark followed in fourth and fifth place respectively. European countries dominate the top ten. Uruguay was the first non-European country in the ranking, coming 11th. Zimbabwe, South Africa and Haiti rounded out the ranking of 115 countries.
In the two major categories, Switzerland comes third in energy systems performance and fourth in terms of preparing for the energy transition. In addition to investments in energy efficiency, it is first in other areas, including the electrification rate and the share of energy subsidies in the gross domestic product (GDP).
The country also performs well when it comes to transport infrastructure and the quality of education as well as the availability of technologies and the low share of electricity from coal or fossil fuel reserves. On the other hand, energy imports and per capita energy use are areas for improvement.
Blackout risk
In an interviewExternal link in Monday’s Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Jens Alder, CEO of Lausanne-based energy services company Alpiq, warned of Switzerland’s dependence on energy imports.
“Security of supply in Switzerland is no longer guaranteed without power agreements,” he said, referring to current discussions with the EU. “The risk of a blackout has risen sharply and will continue to rise in the coming years.”
The WEF report notes that global progress towards environmental sustainability has slowed. While energy access has improved in the past few years, energy costs have risen and sustainability has decreased.
Three years after the Paris Climate agreement, the authors say “this lack of progress provides a reality check on the adequacy of ongoing efforts and the scale of the challenge”.
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
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.
Read more
More
Swiss climate policy: praised abroad, attacked at home
This content was published on
According to an international ranking, Switzerland is one of the best-performing nations in the fight against global warming.
Environment minister calls for national solidarity on climate change
This content was published on
Following weeks of youth climate protests, new environment minister Simonetta Sommaruga is calling for unity to tackle climate change.
This content was published on
Thousands of people took to the streets in the Swiss capital Bern to protest about climate change and call for politicians to do more. swissinfo.ch was there.
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.