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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.

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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

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