Refusal to act on climate change slammed as shortsighted
Environment Minister Leuthard made her final appearance in parliament during a four-day debate.
Keystone
Environment Minister Doris Leuthard says she is disappointed by the rejection of an amended law on carbon dioxide emissions by an alliance of rightwing and leftwing parties in parliament.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch/urs
العربية
ar
“رفض التصرف بشأن التغيرات المناخيّة يعدّ من قصر النظر”
However, Leuthard said it was foreseeable that a majority in the House of Representatives would throw out the watered-down version of the government bill and she has called on all parties to be more pragmatic.
In an interview with Swiss public radio, SRF, she said the current situation is no good for anybody and the past hot summer had shown that political action is needed to reduce CO2 emissions in Switzerland.
“Not everyone appears to have realised this, it seems,” she said.
Leuthard, who will step down from the Swiss government at the end of this year, said the Senate will get a chance to discuss the planned reform next year.
The government wants to ensure that Switzerland adheres to the decisions of the Paris climate accord aimed at limiting a further rise in temperatures worldwide.
The contentious issues during the ten-hour debate in parliament included carbon offsetting credits purchased abroad, restrictions on emissions from heating oil, price hikes for petrol as well as a levy on plane tickets and possible sanctions.
Popular Stories
More
Demographics
Flat-hunting in Switzerland’s cheapest and most expensive municipalities
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?
Switzerland presents special toilet for cows to cut emissions
This content was published on
A toilet specially designed for cows, aimed at reducing ammonia emissions per animal by 15%, was presented at a farm in Hellbühl, canton Lucerne, on Wednesday.
Swiss petition against US F-35 fighter jets gathers 42,000 signatures
This content was published on
A petition by the "Stop-F35 Alliance" urging the Swiss government to immediately halt the purchase of new US fighter jets has gathered 42,500 signatures.
Swiss House of Representatives backs online Schengen visa system
This content was published on
In future, Schengen visa applications should be made via a European Union online platform. On Tuesday, Switzerland's House of Representatives adopted a revision of Swiss legislation on this issue.
UBS study: Switzerland is still the richest country in the world
This content was published on
Average per-capita wealth in Switzerland rose last year to $687,000 (CHF561,000), the UBS Global Wealth Report said on Wednesday.
UBS and Pictet report data leak after cyber attack on provider Chain IQ
This content was published on
Swiss banks UBS and Pictet on Wednesday confirmed they had suffered a data leak due to a cyber attack on their subcontractor Chain IQ in Switzerland.
Iran will respond firmly if US gets directly involved in Israeli strikes, says UN ambassador
This content was published on
Iran says it will respond firmly to the United States if it becomes directly involved in Israel's military campaign, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said on Wednesday.
Swiss politicians concerned by cut to Lausanne-Paris TGV services
This content was published on
The Vaud cantonal parliament wants to maintain six direct daily TGV high-speed train services between Lausanne and Paris.
This content was published on
Switzerland and Norway have signed a bilateral agreement for the future storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) under the North Sea.
Switzerland must better protect whistleblowers, says OECD
This content was published on
Switzerland must step up its anti-corruption efforts and provide better protection for whistleblowers while increasing fines for guilty firms, an OECD anti-bribery group says.
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
Mixed report card for Swiss CO2 emissions
This content was published on
As many Swiss get stuck in traffic over the Easter break, the Swiss environment office says that transport-related CO2 emissions are too high.
This content was published on
Christiana FigueresExternal link, former United Nation’s climate chief and now a leading light at the environmental NGO Mission 2020External link, said the world must start reversing the trend of rising CO2 emissions by 2020 and then halve greenhouse gases in each subsequent decade. Figueres is lobbying corporates and politicians at WEF to clean up their…
This content was published on
Cows and sheep don’t just moo, they also fart. And so they are partly responsible for global warming – but new solutions are available to farmers.
Zurich scientists urge state pension fund to divest from fossil fuels
This content was published on
Experts at Zurich’s Federal Institute of Technology call on the federal pension fund to stop investing in climate-damaging companies.
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.