by Chloe Jardine (Argus Media) Switzerland’s federal government yesterday called for climate policy to be “realistic” and “socially responsible”, and rejected a ban on fossil fuels beyond 2050, in its official reply to a referendum initiative.
The government suggested toning down the demands made in an environmentalists’ petition for referendum, the so-called glacier initiative. The initiative calls for a ban on marketing fossil fuels in the country after 2050 to be enshrined in Switzerland’s constitution, and for carbon storage counting towards Switzerland’s climate target to be restricted to its domestic territory.
The government said that while it “fundamentally” supports the glacier initiative, it also believes the initiative goes too far in “certain points”.
The government proposed enshrining in Switzerland’s constitution that consumption of fossil fuels should be reduced as much as “technically feasible, economically viable, and compatible with the security of the country and the protection of the population”.
It also proposed enshrining the stipulation that man-made greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions arising in Switzerland from 2050 must be compensated by “secure” GHG sinks “at home and abroad”.
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The government proposals will be set against the glacier initiative in a public referendum, in line with Switzerland’s direct democracy rules. No date has as yet been set for the referendum. READ MORE