Green Economy: Federal Council Submits Legislative Amendment for Consultation

Bern, 27.06.2013 - The Swiss Federal Council aims to conserve natural resources, promote more ecologically sound consumption patterns and strengthen the circular economy. To this end, it is proposing the revision of Switzerland’s Environmental Protection Act. This legislative amendment is an indirect counter-proposal to the Green Economy Popular Initiative. The Federal Council submitted the proposed legislative amendment for consultation on 26 June 2013.

The Federal Council aims to develop and modernise Switzerland's environmental policy through the amendment of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA), which it presented as an indirect counter-proposal to the Green Economy Popular Initiative (see box). The changes to the EPA shall create new legal bases for the more efficient use of natural resources. The aim of the revision is to reduce environmental pollution significantly in the long term, and to strengthen the performance and security of supply of the Swiss economy. The consultation process will take until 30 September 2013.

The Federal Council intends to reduce Switzerland's resource consumption to a naturally sustainable level. In addition to existing environmental, energy, climate, economic and spatial policy provisions, further measures are required to strengthen the green economy. The adaptation process will take several decades. The key initial steps are being introduced with the planned revision of the EPA.

The amendment of the EPA will establish the framework for the promotion of ecologically sound consumption patterns, the strengthening of the circular economy and the provision of information on resource efficiency. In addition, voluntary initiatives involving business, science and society will be supported and promoted.

Legislative amendments in four core areas

  • Objective and reporting: An overall objective and regular reporting are required to enable the progress and development towards a green economy. The Federal Council aims to reduce environmental pollution considerably and also take the environmental pollution generated abroad into consideration.
  • Waste and raw materials: The submission contains additions to and clarifications of the legal basis for strengthening the circular economy in the case of valuable substances (e.g. rare technical metals), increasing the use of recycled raw materials (e.g. gravel), and reducing the raw material requirement and volume of waste generated. Moreover the federal authorities shall be granted powers to introduce a take-back obligation in retail trade to improve the recycling of certain packaging materials, should such a measure prove necessary.
  • Consumption and production: Environmental impacts shall be avoided throughout the lifecycle of a product. In this regard, the Federal Council is banking primarily on agreements with business. In addition, it shall be granted the authority to introduce regulations on product environmental information and reporting on ecologically sensitive elements of a product range, if required. Finally, a general rule for requirements in relation to the placing on the market of ecologically problematic products shall be created. The new provisions shall also enable the prohibition of the placing on the market of products from illegally harvested wood as is already the case in the EU.
  • Comprehensive instruments: To facilitate the further development of the green economy, information and initiatives with business, science and society shall be strengthened. In addition, in view of the global pressure on natural resources, Switzerland's international commitment to the improvement of resource efficiency shall be increased.

Market opportunities for business

For all of the planned measures, the Federal Council will see to it that the principles of subsidiarity, proportionality and economic viability are observed. It is convinced that with the green economy, resource efficiency, from raw material extraction to the manufacture, use and disposal of a product, will be improved. This will enable companies to reduce their production costs. Moreover, important future markets will arise for resource-conserving technologies, for example. This will strengthen the performance capacity of the economy and of Switzerland as a business location.


BOX
Indirect counter-proposal to the Green Economy Popular Initiative

At its meeting of 27 February 2013, the Federal Council decided to present a counter-proposal to the Green Party's popular initiative "For a sustainable and resource-efficient economy (green economy)". The initiative, which was submitted on 6 September 2012, aims to establish a sustainable and resource-efficient economy, promote closed material cycles and ensure that economic activities do not impair the potential of natural resources through the inclusion of a new article in the Federal Constitution. The initiative aims for the economy and consumption in Switzerland to be sustainable from 2050 and for Switzerland's "ecological footprint" to be reduced to the extent that it does not exceed one Earth when projected for the global population. The Federal Council fundamentally welcomes the general thrust of the initiative. However, it believes that it cannot be implemented by 2050, in particular due to the environmental pollution generated abroad by the Swiss population's consumption. Moreover, the adoption of a quantitative goal at constitutional level would give the ecological footprint greater weight over other constitutional objectives. For this reason, it rejects the initiative and presents an indirect counter-proposal to it with the aforementioned legislative amendment. The Federal Council based the proposed revision of the environmental legislation on the Green Economy Action Plan, which was passed by the Federal Council on 8 March 2013.


Address for enquiries

FOEN Media Section, 031 322 90 00



Publisher

The Federal Council
https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start.html

General Secretariat of the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications; General Secretariat DETEC
https://www.uvek.admin.ch/uvek/en/home.html

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

https://www.admin.ch/content/gov/en/start/dokumentation/medienmitteilungen.msg-id-49457.html