Greenhouse gas emissions declined significantly in 2007

Bern, 16.04.2009 - Swiss greenhouse gas emissions declined in 2007 compared to 2006 by 1.9 million tonnes to a figure of 51.3 million tonnes. They are 1.4 million tonnes (2.7%) less than in 1990. This emerges from the current greenhouse gas inventory for Switzerland which was passed to the UN on 15 April 2009.

A comparison of greenhouse gas emissions for the years 2007 and 2006 shows that emissions from heating fuels in particular have declined sharply, by 9%. About a third of the decline can be attributed to the very mild temperatures during the winter months of 2007. The main cause however is likely to be the increase in prices for heating oil since 2004. In 2007 prices rose continuously from about 70 centimes per litre in January to over 1 franc per litre in December. Another factor may well have been the increased popularity of alternative energy sources (wood, solar power and ambient heat).
 
Motor fuel emissions on the other hand increased by 2% during 2007 compared with the previous year. There are probably several reasons for this:

  • The strong economic growth of 3.1% in 2007 pushed emissions up because there was an increase in the transport of goods.
  • The rise in the price of crude oil had a weaker effect in percentage terms on the end price of motor fuels, which have a higher tax rate, than on heating fuel (between 2004 and 2007 petroleum prices increased by 20% and heating oil prices by 62%). The emission-reducing price effect with motor fuels was too slight to compensate for the increase in emissions as a result of strong economic growth.
  • A further important factor was probably so-called tank tourism. In 2007 the price of diesel in Switzerland lay considerably below the price level in Germany for the first time because of the strong euro. For those crossing the borders it became attractive to fill up the fuel tanks of their diesel vehicles in Switzerland and not in other countries. According to the principle of point of sale location, the quantities of motor fuel sold in Switzerland must be listed in their entirety in the Swiss greenhouse gas inventory, even if the motor fuel is used for journeys in other countries.

Emissions from agriculture have also increased slightly. This reflects the slight increase in cattle stock numbers in recent years. Between 1990 and 2004 they had declined by almost 17%. Emissions from the waste sector have slightly decreased after an increase in the previous years.

Greenhouse gas inventory as a yardstick for the Kyoto Protocol

The greenhouse gas inventory is the most important element in verifying whether Switzerland can achieve its requirements for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol. Between 2008 and 2012 it will be necessary to reduce the output of the most significant greenhouse gases by 8% compared with 1990. In order to achieve the targets set for the period between 2008 and 2012 it will be necessary to take into account the purchase of foreign emissions certificates (estimate: 2 million t/year) and the carbon sink capacity of the Swiss forests (estimate: 0.7 million t/year) as well as emissions development. Switzerland can achieve the Kyoto target if the forest carbon sink capacity and the emissions certificates that have been bought are taken into account..

The CO2 statistics for the year 2008 required by the CO2 Act will be available at the beginning of July 2009.

BOX
Worldwide development of CO2 emissions

Between 1990 and 2007, the worldwide CO2 emissions from fossil energy sources and industrial processes have increased by 34 to 38% (sources vary), to more than 32 billion tonnes of CO2 To this must be added about 20 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalents, corresponding to the emissions of methane, laughing gas, synthetic gases and due to deforestation. While between 1990 and 1999, CO2 emissions increased by only about 1% per year, between 2000 and 2007, they rose by 3.5% per year. This rise is steeper than the worst-case scenario used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for its prognoses and is therefore very preoccupying, even if the actual worldwide economic crisis will probably slow this growth rate down. The five largest emitters, China (24% of global CO2 emissions), the USA (21%), the EU-15 (12%), India (8%) and Russia (6%) are responsible for almost three quarters of global emissions. However, the per capita emissions of these countries vary greatly. In the USA, they amount to 19.4 tonnes per person, to 11.8 in Russia, 8.6  in the EU-15, 5.1 in China and 1.8 in India. In Switzerland, we emit 5.8 tonnes of CO2 per inhabitant. If hidden emissions, generated by the imported goods and electricity, are taken into account, our yearly emissions rise to over 10 tonnes per capita.


Address for enquiries

Paul Filliger, Climate Section FOEN, ++ 41 31 322 68 58, e-mail: paul.filliger@bafu.admin.ch



Publisher

Federal Office for the Environment FOEN
https://www.bafu.admin.ch/en

https://www.admin.ch/content/gov/en/start/dokumentation/medienmitteilungen.msg-id-26424.html