The Swiss voice in the world since 1935
Top stories
Stay in touch with Switzerland

Environmental responsibility initiative goes too far for Swiss government

Environmental responsibility initiative goes too far for the Federal Council
Environmental responsibility initiative goes too far for the Federal Council Keystone-SDA

Natural resources must be conserved, but not to the extent demanded by the environmental responsibility initiative. This is the view of the Swiss government and parliament. They recommend rejecting the initiative on February 9.

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

If the initiative “For a responsible economy within planetary boundaries (environmental responsibility initiative)” had to be implemented, it would bring new bans and regulations, the environment ministry wrote on Thursday.

“The approach demanded by the initiative goes too far and would have far-reaching negative consequences for the population and the economy,” Environment Minister Albert Rösti said. This is because the environmental impact caused by consumption would have to be greatly reduced in ten years, he said.

+ A ‘no’ vote forecast for the ‘environmental responsibility’ initiative

According to the environment ministry, this would require far-reaching regulations and bans as well as restrictions on food, housing and mobility. The government and parliament therefore want to rely on current measures to conserve resources.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.

Popular Stories

News

5 megatonnes of emissions from 2050 despite net zero

More

Emissions reduction

Switzerland could produce up to 5Mt of emissions annually by 2050

This content was published on Two to five megatonnes of CO2 equivalents per year: this is the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that Switzerland is still expected to produce annually in 2050, a new study shows.

Read more: Switzerland could produce up to 5Mt of emissions annually by 2050
Customs duties threaten 100,000 jobs in Switzerland

More

Global trade

US tariffs putting 100,000 jobs at risk in Switzerland

This content was published on US tariffs of 39% on Swiss imports will directly affect 100,000 jobs, mainly in the watchmaking, machinery, metals, and food industries, economiesuisse warns.

Read more: US tariffs putting 100,000 jobs at risk in Switzerland
Switzerland releases four million for Sudan

More

Foreign Affairs

Switzerland releases CHF4 million for Sudan

This content was published on Switzerland has released CHF4 million (nearly $5 million) to help Sudan, which has been severely affected by famine and cholera.

Read more: Switzerland releases CHF4 million for Sudan

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

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.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR