Halve emissions by 2030: the National Council Committee says yes to the revised CO2 law

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The National Council may accept the revised CO₂-The law was discussed in a timely manner. The National Council Committee for the Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy (Urek) adopted the bill. On some points it wants to go further than the Council of States. The National Council will discuss the proposal in its new composition.

The Commission adopted the revised CO₂law for 2025 to 2030 by 18 votes to 7, parliamentary services announced on Thursday. This ensures that the National Council can discuss the proposal in a timely manner and that no gaps will arise in the regulations from 2025 onwards.

Halving by 2030

With the revised CO₂The law aims to halve Swiss greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990. The Commission requires that 75 percent of emissions reductions take place domestically. The Council of States had decided on a domestic share of two-thirds.

The CO₂The majority of the Commission, like the Federal Council and the Council of States, wants a tax of 120 francs per tonne of CO₂ If it stays this way, a minority will want to request an increase. Like the Council of States, the Commission wants to use a maximum of one third of the levy for a specific purpose. The Federal Council, on the other hand, would like to set less than half of the tax.

When it comes to passenger car emissions regulations, the majority are calling for interim targets to achieve a linear reduction of 93.6 grams of CO₂ per kilometer in 2025 to 49.5 grams of CO₂ per kilometer to be achieved by 2030. The Council of States, on the other hand, wants cars newly registered from 2030 to still emit 45 percent of the emissions from 2021.

Promote charging stations

The majority of the Commission wants to support the installation of charging stations – for example in apartment complexes and in public parking lots – with money from the mineral oil tax. But she only wants to use 20 million francs per year for this. The Federal Council requests a maximum of 30 million francs.

A minority of the Commission, like the Council of States, wants to renounce this financing completely. Other minority proposals call for a higher federal contribution or limiting funding to residential and workplace areas.

When it comes to exempting trucks that run on alternative fuels, the majority wants to go further than the Council of States. The aim is, as is currently the case, to exempt trucks running on electricity or hydrogen from the heavy vehicle performance tax (LSVA).

The Commission is also asking for a partial exemption for trucks running on renewable fuels for a period of eight years. The condition is that these vehicles come onto the market by the end of 2030.

It is also controversial how long the mineral oil tax must be reimbursed for public transport buses. The Federal Council wants to lift this relief in 2026. The Commission, on the other hand, proposed by 14 votes to 11 that the reimbursement of the tax on mineral oils would not be abolished until 2030.

Tax for private and business aircraft

When it comes to air traffic, Urek wants a new measure: by 14 votes to 9, she requests a tax on flights with private and business jets weighing more than 5.7 tons. It should be 500 to 3,000 francs per flight. An application for such a tax failed at the Council of States.

The majority wants to regulate the obligation to blend renewable aviation fuels, proposed by the Federal Council, through the land transport agreement with the EU. This is to ensure that the same terms and conditions apply to all businesses. A minority wants to go further and make Switzerland a pioneer.

The National Council Committee also wants to make the financial sector more responsible. Financial market regulator Finma and the National Bank must not only regularly assess climate-related risks, but also regularly report on the results and any measures.

In September, the Council of States seemed less ambitious with its decisions than the Federal Council and also the provisional advisory committee. The proposal is a new attempt after the failure of the revised CO₂Law 2021 at the ballot box. The SVP successfully combated this with the referendum. (SDA)

Source:Blick