‘Green, but not too green’: press reacts to CO2 law failure
Voters' fear of flight taxes and fuel levies, among other drawbacks, seem to have scuppered the CO2 law.
Keystone / Arno Balzarini
For the Swiss press, Sunday’s ballot box defeat of a proposed climate law is largely down to thrifty voters, as well as a growing urban-rural divide.
This content was published on
4 minutes
Keystone-SDA/dos
The Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) writes that citizens voted “with their wallets” on Sunday, ditching long-term fears about climate change for shorter-term concerns about how much the CO2 measures would have cost them.
Higher fuel costs, a hard-hit middle-class, downsides for business: all took precedence over the fact that Switzerland – and especially its mountain regions and its glaciers – is disproportionally affected by global warming, the NZZ editorial writes.
After years of negotiations among parties, the result is “a hammer blow for Swiss politics” which leaves the country’s climate policy in “ruins”: the onus is now on the law’s opponents to come up with a credible alternative to reaching the Paris climate goals, it reckons.
The Blick newspaper also noted that the financial argument paid off, to the detriment of higher ideals: while everyone is in favour of environmental protection, it writes, everyone also manages to finds an excuse to reject it when it becomes concrete.
As a result, “especially in tough times – like during a global pandemic – consumers look first to their wallets”.
More
More
Swiss CO2 law defeated at the ballot box
This content was published on
Swiss voters have rejected legislation at the heart of the country’s strategy to abide by the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
For the Nouvelliste, meanwhile, the fact that Sunday’s rejection comes just a few short years after a “Green wave” of politicians was elected to parliament in Bern shows the limits of environmental commitment.
“The Swiss are green, but not too green,” it writes. “They are in support of the environment as long as it costs almost nothing – and as long as no wind turbines are going to be built in their back garden.”
For the paper, the result therefore marks a resounding victory for the rightwing People’s Party, who managed to pull the debate away from climate change and towards the financial implications of the compromise package penned by parliament in Bern.
City-country split
Papers also highlighted the seemingly widening gap between urban and rural areas: a “profound gulf”, Le Temps writes, which was driven by the feeling among countryside populations that they were being forced to foot the lion’s share of the CO2 bill.
More
More
Voters reject pesticide-free farming proposals
This content was published on
Over 60% of Swiss voters have thrown out a pair of initiatives aiming to ban the use of synthetic pesticides in the country.
The urban-rural divide, which has been a prominent feature of a few votes in recent years, was also amplified by the two other environmental initiatives on the agenda on Sunday, pesticide bans that were also rejected, Le Temps says.
Offended by the attempt by city folk to meddle with how agriculture functions (one slogan of the pro-pesticide group was “we feed you; you punish us”), rural areas were incited to fill in a triple rejection on the ballot sheets, the paper says.
“Appalled by attacks against certain cultural ways of life, which it perceived as an attack against its work, the farming community turned the CO2 law into a collateral victim of the anti-pesticide initiatives.”
Could this have been avoided? Le Journal du Jura, a regional paper in Western Switzerland, thinks so: “the government would do well to pay more attention in future to the calendar of ballots that it puts before the population”, it writes.
As for what will come next, all papers agree that some new form of climate protection legislation is inevitable if Switzerland is to meet its targets. And for 24 Heures and the Tribune de Genève, the next deal must be “simpler”; the logic of cobbling together small shifts (“a tax here, a redistribution here”) is not convincing for voters, they write.
More
More
Climate report sounds water alarm in Switzerland
This content was published on
Water will become so scarce or so warm in Switzerland that humans will have to curb their activities and nature will suffer.
This content was published on
“Wait and see" seems to be the position adopted by large Swiss companies in the face of US President Donald Trump's trade policy.
Eurostar plans direct link between London and Geneva
This content was published on
The Eurostar railway company wants to offer a direct connection between Switzerland and Great Britain for the first time in the coming years.
Lucy Liu to receive career award at Locarno Film Festival
This content was published on
The Locarno78 Career Achievement Award goes to American actress Lucy Liu. The award will be presented to her on Thursday 14 August on the Piazza Grande.
Swiss foreign minister travels to Israel and Palestinian territories
This content was published on
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis is travelling to the Middle East on Tuesday and Wednesday for official visits to the Palestinian and Israeli authorities.
This content was published on
This year's Zurich city lake crossing is planned for 2 July. Should the weather not play ball or the water be too cold, two alternative dates are planned.
June 14 women’s strike: no equality without pay rises for women
This content was published on
Although pay inequality persists, large companies are ignoring the basic provisions of the Equality Act, Swiss trade union Unia criticised on Tuesday.
Israeli army has committed crimes against humanity, say UN investigators
This content was published on
The Israeli army has committed crimes against humanity of extermination by targeting civilian refugees in schools and religious sites, say UN investigators.
Swiss finance directors against abolishing ‘marriage penalty’
This content was published on
A large majority of cantonal finance directors reject both the popular initiative in favour of individual taxation and the counter-proposal. They favour joint taxation of spouses.
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 CO2 law defeated at the ballot box
This content was published on
Swiss voters have rejected legislation at the heart of the country’s strategy to abide by the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
This content was published on
Over 60% of Swiss voters have thrown out a pair of initiatives aiming to ban the use of synthetic pesticides in the country.
‘Forgotten’ greenhouse gases pose risk to Paris Agreement
This content was published on
CO2 is the best known greenhouse gas, but not the only one. This is how emissions of other gases have evolved in Switzerland and around the world.
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.