Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
For the first time the federal government has set out climate objectives for Swiss farmers. The new strategy for agriculture aims to make the food system more sustainable and strengthen food security.
But how? Reducing food waste, managing water usage and reducing energy consumption are a few of the measures proposed. But the authorities also want to change behaviour – “two to three portions of meat a week is a maximum from a health point of view. We are eating three times too much,” says Michael Beer of the Federal Office for Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs. More Swiss are now vegetarian (5%), but they still consume on average 50.8 kg of meat a year.
Read on for other news and stories from Switzerland.
In the news: wolves shot, power predictions, supermarkets and CO2, and a 2,500-year-old canoe.
- The authorities in canton Vaud killed two wolves between Lausanne and the Jura mountains on Monday as part of “wolf control” measures. The canids were part of a wolf pack living in the Vaud-Jura region and were the fifth and sixth wolves to be shot in Vaud since March 2022.
- Switzerland is well prepared for a possible power shortage at the end of next winter, according to the Federal Electricity Commission (Elcom). But “significant uncertainties” remain.
- Supermarket chains Coop and Migros and their subsidiaries are responsible for 16% of greenhouse gas emissions in Switzerland due to advertising, according to the environmental group Greenpeace. The NGO wants Switzerland’s leading supermarkets to stop advertising products which it claims are harmful to the environment.
- A 2,500-year-olddugoutcanoe (photo above) discovered in LakeNeuchâtel, which is “remarkably” well preserved, has been extracted near Grandson. The 12.3-metre-long boat was found on a sandbar at a depth of 3.5 metres.
- Police in Singapore investigating a major money laundering operation have seizedExternal link $91.8 million from the bank accounts of one of ten foreign suspects accused in the case. The money was seized from accounts held by Turkish national Vang Shuiming at Credit Suisse Singapore and Bank Julius Baer respectively, according to court documents.
Head of Swiss financial watchdog resigns in wake of Credit Suisse collapse
Urban Angehrn, the head of Switzerland’s financial watchdog FINMA, (photo above) has resigned just months after the regulator drew heavy criticism for failing to prevent the collapse of Credit Suisse.
The chief executive officer will step down at the end of September 2023, FINMA said in a statementExternal link on Wednesday. Deputy CEO, Birgit Rutishauser, will act as interim CEO from October 1.
Healthreasons may have played a role in his decision to step down. “Being able to contribute to the sustainable improvement of the quality of the Swiss financial centre as CEO of FINMA was a unique challenge for me, and one that I tackled with all my might,” Angehrn said in the statement.
“However, the high and permanent stress level had health consequences. I have considered my decision carefully and have now decided to step down.”
FINMA has come under fire for failing to act sooner or more effectively to halt the string of scandals at Credit Suisse in recent years.
Switzerland’s second biggest lender came to the brink of collapse in March when rattled savers withdrew billions in cash, triggering a liquidity crisis. Credit Suisse was eventually bought by cross-town rival UBS in a state-engineered CHF3 billion ($3.37 billion) rescue.
The acquisition, the biggest banking deal since the 2008 financial crisis, has triggered scores of legal cases brought by disgruntled investors.
Gotthard Base Tunnel clean-up continues
Work to evacuate a freight train that came off the rails and crashed in the Gotthard Base Tunnel (main photo and photo above) on August 10 is scheduled to last until the end of September, Swiss Federal Railways announced today.
No one was injured in the derailment, thought to be caused by a broken wheel, but the damage was considerable. So far, 22 wagons and two locomotives have been transported to the southern entrance of the tunnel, 15 kilometres from the accident site. Eight wagons remain in the tunnel.
Switzerland’s Gotthard Base TunnelExternal link is the world’s longest (and deepest) railwaytunnel. Opened in 2016 after 17 years of construction, it consists of two 57.1km single-track tunnels for freight trains and passenger trains connecting Erstfeld in canton Uri with Bodio in canton Ticino.
On August 23, the east tunnel – the tube that was unaffected in the derailment – partially re-opened for reduced freighttraintraffic.
For the moment, passenger trains will continue to be diverted via the slower panoramic mountain route. The rail authorities are currently examining how to run passenger trains through the undamaged tube of the Gotthard Base Tunnel at weekends, when demand is highest.
The Gotthard Base Tunnel is a crucialthoroughfare for goods and cargo, particularly between Germany to the north and Italy to the south.
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