Switzerland

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Critically Insufficient4°C+ World

NDCs with this rating fall well outside of a country’s “fair share” range and are not at all consistent with holding warming to below 2°C let alone with the Paris Agreement’s stronger 1.5°C limit. If all government NDCs were in this range, warming would exceed 4°C.

Highly insufficient< 4°C World

NDCs with this rating fall outside of a country’s “fair share” range and are not at all consistent with holding warming to below 2°C let alone with the Paris Agreement’s stronger 1.5°C limit. If all government NDCs were in this range, warming would reach between 3°C and 4°C.

Insufficient< 3°C World

NDCs with this rating are in the least stringent part of a country’s “fair share” range and not consistent with holding warming below 2°C let alone with the Paris Agreement’s stronger 1.5°C limit. If all government NDCs were in this range, warming would reach over 2°C and up to 3°C.

2°C Compatible< 2°C World

NDCs with this rating are consistent with the 2009 Copenhagen 2°C goal and therefore fall within a country’s “fair share” range, but are not fully consistent with the Paris Agreement long term temperature goal. If all government NDCs were in this range, warming could be held below, but not well below, 2°C and still be too high to be consistent with the Paris Agreement 1.5°C limit.

1.5°C Paris Agreement Compatible< 1.5°C World

This rating indicates that a government’s NDCs in the most stringent part of its “fair share” range: it is consistent with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C limit.

Role model<< 1.5°C World

This rating indicates that a government’s NDC is more ambitious than what is considered a “fair” contribution: it is more than consistent with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C limit.

Overview

There has been no improvement Switzerland’s currently implemented climate policies since the last CAT update, and the policies still fall far short of its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which stipulates a 50% reduction in emissions below 1990 levels by 2030. We rate the NDC “Insufficient,” meaning that Switzerland’s climate plans are not consistent with holding warming to below 2°C, let alone limiting it to 1.5°C as required under the Paris Agreement, and are instead consistent with warming between 2°C and 3°C.

Swiss climate policy needs more action: with its currently implemented policies it falls short of even meeting its domestic 2030 target of a 30% reduction below 1990 levels suggested by the government (‘Bundresrat’ or Federal Council), let alone the overall 50% reduction below 1990 levels by 2030 set out in its Paris Agreement pledge.

Planned policies aim at a continuation and strengthening of existing policies and would achieve a 2030 target of a 35% reduction below 1990 levels.

The transportation sector will especially need increased policy attention to meet the commitment made in the Paris Agreement. While considered a frontrunner for its investment and recognition of the opportunities from modal shift to trains, Switzerland is lacking a comprehensive road transport decarbonisation vision. Switzerland could usefully follow other countries in phasing-out of fossil fuel cars in new car sales within the next 10–20 years and implement policy steps to step up the transition towards a decarbonised economy. The recent establishment of a roundtable to develop a roadmap to increase the number of electric vehicles is a welcome first step. Further details about the content of the roadmap are expected towards the end of 2018 after initial stakeholder consultations.

Switzerland communicated an indicative emissions reduction target of 35% for 2025 below 1990 levels. Previously, Switzerland had made an unconditional commitment under the Copenhagen Accord to decrease emissions by 20% below 1990 levels by 2020.