Nothing is more stagnant than Swiss politics. Unless the Confederates fear a power outage. Then on the Bundesbern the mail goes. Objections to austerity, tenders for hydroelectric reserves, an emergency power station in Aargau, alpine solar systems in Valais, raising the Grimsel dam wall – the Federal Council and Parliament overnight took the sledgehammer to save the country’s energy supply.
And these are just emergency measures for the next three years. Such momentum gained in the autumn session of Parliament that it immediately raised the long-term expansion targets for renewable energies in the so-called general decree on power supply security: by 2035 solar power should produce 35 terawatt hours of electricity. 2050 should be 45 terawatt hours. Two terawatt hours today. At the same time, Parliament wants to halve energy consumption per capita by 2050.
acceleration pattern
This will also serve the climate where lawmakers are also concerned in the indirect counter-bid against the glacier initiative. He says: by 2050 Switzerland should no longer emit greenhouse gases. They have net zero plans for companies. There is also an acceleration proposal for renewable energies that Bundestag Simonetta Sommaruga (62) is currently working on. She finished her new attempt at controlling the CO.2-live. The bill goes to Parliament tomorrow. First, the State Council Energy Commission.
new CO2The template turned out to be more toothless than the last bachab sent by humans in 2021. Fossil fuel heating tax remains at CHF 120 per tonne CO22. The surcharge for petrol and diesel is no longer a maximum of twelve, but five centimeters per liter. And airfare is off the table, at least for now. If the public accepts the proposal against the glacier attempt in the summer of 2023, it is quite possible that Parliament will formulate the bill more aggressively. He’s coming to vote because the SVP is holding a referendum.
All in different templates at the same time
Expand, save, reduce, redirect, promote – everything is now funded simultaneously, in various templates, each with its own focus and time horizon, sometimes in the form of goals, sometimes as measures, from different sources such as network surcharge, CO2-Duties and Taxes. Billions of subsidies flow into solar systems, reservoir projects, building programs, charging stations for electric cars, and technological innovation.
For years, Swiss energy and climate policy has not moved. Now the Federal Council and Parliament are producing an energy salad full of ingredients as soon as possible. But is it tolerable?
“Bearing Goals”
“These are uncoordinated construction sites,” says National Assemblyman Michael Graber, 41, Senior Vice President of Valais, chair of the referendum committee against the implicit counter-proposal to the glacier initiative. “The energy strategy has failed. Now you’re frantically turning all kinds of screws because you somehow hope that you will achieve your goals. at any cost.”
You can see it in terms of stress, like “rescue package” or “federal emergency law,” Graber says. “Thus, it turns out that the proposal against the glacial initiative fixed the extreme targets before even the decree was made. But this answers the question of how energy should be produced to achieve the targets.»
Who controls the complex plan?
Anthony Patt (57) is ETH professor of climate policy. Energy Minister Sommaruga in preparation of CO2– Template recommendation. Patt says, “At first glance, it’s actually a mess. But the different templates complement each other well.” How to regulate CO2– Energy use and efficiency law until 2030. The proposal against the Glacier initiative will do the same for the years from 2030 to 2050. The coat of arms decides the long-term energy supply.” Going further, Patt says: “What covers all the templates are the same goals. It’s always about expanding capacities, consuming less energy and eliminating dependence on fossil fuels.”
It looks like a plan. Just: who controls? “At last, parliament,” says Stefan Batzli (56), Managing Director of the AEE Suisse collaboration. “But Bundestag Sommaruga is very present, especially in council discussions. He leads the discussion, competently and goal-oriented. »
Parliamentary pressure grows
Green State Legislator Lisa Mazzone (34) agrees with this only to a limited extent: “As the Federal Council did not show enough initiative, support in Parliament became necessary. Only the pressure of the glacier initiative and the reaction of the parliament provided the necessary momentum. »
Pressure from parliament is also on CO2The law is awaited. “It needs clear timelines and bans to get out of fossil fuels and heating,” says Lisa Mazzone. “We also need to discuss the airfare fee again.” It is also debatable whether a heating tax of CHF 120 per tonne of CO is levied.2 is high enough. And finally, not everyone agrees with the new rule that only half of income should flow back into the population and economy.
One thing is for sure: the energy menu will not be any clearer in the near future.