20 Minutes.
Government subsidies of around CHF 260 million cut Swiss emissions by a CO2 equivalent of more than three million tonnes in 2015.
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The Swiss government’s “Building Programme” has two parts to it. The first subsidises improvements to building insulation. In 2015, subsidies of CHF 179 million encouraged improvements to the insulation of 3.6 million m2 of walls, roofs and floors, an area equivalent to over 500 football pitches. This reduced emissions by a CO2 equivalent of 1.6 million tonnes. Every year CHF 200 million is allocated to this part of the programme. Much of the money to fund it comes from CO2 taxes paid on high emission fuels such as gas and heating oil.
The second part of the programme encourages building owners to make greater use of renewable energy. In 2015, CHF 78 million of such subsidies, yielded CO2 equivalent emission reductions of 1.5 million tonnes.
Switzerland’s total CO2 equivalent emissions in 2014 were 40.2 million tonnes, so a reduction of 3 million tonnes represents around 7% of the nation’s total emissions.
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