Politics The National Council recommends rejection of the climate fund initiative
The National Council recommends a "no" to the climate fund initiative of the SP and the Greens. The majority of the Council considers the proposed state climate fund to be incompatible with Swiss climate policy. It wants to stick to the tried and tested instruments.
19.06.2025, 09:40
SDA
On Thursday, the National Council voted against the initiative "For a fair energy and climate policy: investing for prosperity, jobs and the environment" (climate fund initiative) by 120 votes to 64, with four abstentions. The National Council rejected an indirect counter-proposal by 175 votes to 11, with one abstention.
This was because the GLP and EVP wanted to address the issue with legislative amendments. Jürg Grossen (GLP/BE) spoke of a market-based indirect counter-proposal and was thinking of levies on greenhouse gas emissions in Switzerland. These should work towards Switzerland becoming climate-neutral by 2050 at the latest.
Last December, the National Council narrowly voted in favor of an initiative by Gerhard Pfister (center/ZG) with the same thrust. The responsible committee of the Council of States is currently dealing with the matter. The Council of States also still has to decide on the initiative.
The resources in the requested fund should flow into the expansion of renewable energies, energy efficiency or the decarbonization of transport, buildings and the economy, for example. The Confederation would have to contribute 0.5 to 1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to the fund each year.
According to the Committee for the Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy (Urek-N), this would amount to CHF 3.9 to 7.7 billion per year. This expenditure should not be subject to the debt brake.
