Climate: Federal Council supports continued commitment under the Kyoto Protocol

Bern, 16.04.2014 - The Federal Council would like Switzerland to continue its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the framework of the Kyoto Protocol. Between now and 2020, it would like Switzerland to reduce its emissions by 20% compared to 1990 levels. This objective is consistent with the aims of the CO2 Act. At a meeting today, the Federal Council adopted a dispatch to this effect for the attention of the Swiss parliament.

Switzerland ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2003. As announced by the Federal Office for the Environment on 10 April 2014, it has fulfilled the greenhouse gas emissions reduction target defined for the first commitment period (2008-2012).

During the Doha climate summit (2012), Switzerland, the Member States of the European Union, Norway, Australia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, the Principality of Monaco, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine announced the adoption of binding reduction targets for a second commitment period under the Kyoto protocol (2013-2020). Switzerland has set itself a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 20% compared with 1990 levels.

The commitments of these industrialised countries were formulated in the context of a broader political agreement. The latter makes provision for a system of announcements in relation to voluntary reductions for all states for the period 2013-2020, in particular the newly industrialised states like India, China, Mexico and Brazil and the industrialised countries that have not undertaken any commitments under the Kyoto Protocol (the United States, Canada, Russia, Japan, New Zealand). From 2020, all states will be obliged to reduce their emissions under the terms of an agreement to be finalised in Paris in 2015.

Implementation in the context of Switzerland's CO2 act

On 16 April 2014 the Federal Council adopted the dispatch on the ratification of Switzerland's commitment for 2013-2020 for the attention of parliament. The fulfilment of this commitment is mainly guaranteed through the implementation of the revised CO2 Act which was passed by parliament in late 2011. The CO2 Act stipulates that, by 2020, the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions should reach 20% compared to 1990 levels. The measures for attaining this objective should be undertaken exclusively within Switzerland. Instruments like the CO2 levy on combustible fuels, the Buildings Programme and the requirements for passenger vehicle exhaust emissions have already been implemented and are helping to reduce emissions. Other measures are also contributing to the reduction in emissions, in particular the increased use of wood as a construction material and energy source, the reduction in methane and nitrous oxide emissions in agriculture, and the regulation of synthetic gases with a strong greenhouse effect.    


Address for enquiries

Franz Perrez, Head of the International Affairs Division FOEN, + 41 (0)79 251 90 15



Publisher

The Federal Council
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General Secretariat of the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications; General Secretariat DETEC
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Federal Office for the Environment FOEN
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