Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
In a decision that will resonate around the world, Europe’s top human rights court ruled today that the Swiss government had violated the human rights of its citizens by failing to do enough to combat climate change.
Here’s more reaction on that and other news from Switzerland on Tuesday.
In the news: The world’s largest watch trade show, the world’s smartest city, sinking meteorites, and more bankruptcies.
The world’s largest watch trade show, Watches and Wonders, began in Geneva today. For one week, 54 brands will be presenting new products and bestsellers from the world of timepieces. The industry is on a high, but the upswing is losing momentum.
For the fifth time in a row, the city of Zurich has taken first place in the International Institute for Management Development’s (IMD) Smart City index. Two other Swiss cities also made it into the top ten, with Geneva in fifth place and Lausanne in seventh. The study examined the extent to which technology helps cities provide residents with a higher quality of life.
Scientists says rapid action is needed as climate change is causing thousands of meteorites to sink into Antarctic ice every year. “Meteorites are unique samples of extra-terrestrial objects that provide crucial information about the origin and evolution of our solar system,” the researchers said in the study, which was led by Harry Zekollari from the federal technology institute ETH Zurich and Veronica Tollenaar from the University of Brussels in Belgium.
The number of bankruptcies in Switzerland has increased for three consecutive years for the first time since records began. A total of 15,447 bankruptcy proceedings were opened in 2023 – 2.9% more than in the previous year, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
In a decision that surprised the Swiss president, Europe’s top human rights court ruled today that the Swiss government had violated the human rights of its citizens by failing to do enough to combat climate change. Swiss politicians and climate activists had very different reactions.
The European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) decision on the case brought by more than 2,000 elderly Swiss women (some of whom are pictured in Strasbourg today) set a precedent that will resonate across Europe and beyond for how courts deal with a growing trend of climate litigation.
The “Senior Women for Climate Protection” had argued that their government’s climate inaction put them at risk of dying during heatwaves. In her ruling, Court President Siofra O’Leary said the Swiss government had failed to meet targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and that there had been gaps in its domestic regulatory framework. “It is clear that future generations are likely to bear an increasingly severe burden of the consequences of present failures and omissions to combat climate change,” O’Leary said.
One of the leaders of the Swiss women, Rosmarie Wydler-Wälti, said she was struggling to grasp the full extent of the decision. “We keep asking our lawyers, ‘Is that right?’. And they tell us ‘it’s the most you could have had. The biggest victory possible’.”
The verdict, which cannot be appealed, could compel the Swiss government to take greater action on reducing emissions, including revising its 2030 emissions reductions targets to get in line with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
Swiss President Viola Amherd declined to comment in detail on the ruling, saying she had to read it first, but she insisted climate policy was a top priority. “I would like to know what the grounds for [the verdict] are. Sustainability is very important to Switzerland, biodiversity is very important to Switzerland, the net zero target is very important to Switzerland. We are working on those and will continue to work on them with all our strength. This ruling does nothing to change that,” she told a press conference.
For parliamentarian Nicolò Paganini from the Centre Party, the rebuke from Strasbourg is actually directed at the Swiss electorate. Almost three years ago, he pointed out, voters rejected a stricter CO2 law from parliament – a law, he stressed, supported by the Centre Party’s faction in parliament. The result of direct democracy must be respected, Paganini said. “In the Swiss system, judges cannot overturn referendum decisions.” This is part of Switzerland’s political culture, he said. Paganini suggested that the Senior Women for Climate Protection launch a popular initiative with their concerns. “Then, ultimately, the electorate could have its say on climate policy.”
Christian Wasserfallen from the Radical-Liberal Party said the ruling was “completely incomprehensible”. The court doesn’t understand Swiss democracy, he said, referring to the rejected CO2 law. Making the government solely responsible for this no vote was “a joke”, he added.
Celebrity climate activist Greta Thunberg was in the courtroom as the decision was announced. “It’s a betrayal beyond words and today’s rulings make very clear that European states have a legal responsibility to take real climate action and to protect people and to protect its citizens,” she said. “This is only the beginning of climate litigation […] The results of this can mean in no way that we lean back. This means that we have to fight even more, since this is only the beginning. Because in a climate emergency, everything is at stake.”
The Swiss Ornithological Institute, which is celebrating its centenary this year, has compiled for SWI swissinfo.ch a list of seven must-see Swiss birds from over 400 species found in the Alpine nation.
Enjoy the pictures and learn where in Switzerland you can spot the birds, which include the bearded vulture (pictured), the red-crested pochard and the white-winged snowfinch.
It is estimated that about 40% of Switzerland’s 205 native breeding bird species are on the red list of endangered or threatened types – more than twice as many as internationally.
Healthcare costs: should Swiss hospitals clamp down on expenses? Join the discussion.
Many Swiss hospitals are making considerable losses, require millions in government aid and have to cut services. Read up on the topic and have your say on the multilingual debate platform “dialogue”.
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