In November 2024, 52.7% of voters rejected a federal government plan to expand key sections of Switzerland’s motorway network. Environmental issues associated with road traffic and the cost (CHF 5.3 billion) were common reasons given by those rejecting the proposal. This has left the government with no path to solve the country’s infrastructure bottlenecks. This […]
Fast fashion creating mountains of waste in Switzerland
Switzerland generates around 110,000 tons of used clothing a year, reported SRF. Most of it is unwanted. Only 1 in 100 items finds a buyer, according to Sascha Sardella, the operations manager at Tell-Tex, one of Switzerland’s largest textile collection organisations. Second hand clothes can’t compete with cheap new clothes from China, he said. Cheap […]
The rapidly fading economics of solar panels in Switzerland
Electricity prices in Switzerland are set for a shake up. Prices paid for electricity put into the grid are falling fast in some parts of the country, reported RTS. From 2026, these prices will be adjusted every quarter, rather than once a year. This will add further uncertainty to prices and the investment case for […]
Parental leave – federal government commission looking at new models
In Switzerland, paid leave for new parents is limited to 14 weeks for mothers and 2 weeks for fathers. However, the political push for more is growing, and some cantons are pressuring the federal government to extend paid leave. A commission for the federal Council of States is currently analysing some of the proposals put […]
French-speaking Swiss earn more if they also speak German
A study by the University of Geneva estimates that those who speak German in addition to French in the Switzerland’s French-speaking region earn on average 10% to 20% more than those without German, reported SRF. Across Switzerland’s French-speaking region, German is taught at school. Those remaining in school until 18 have typically studied the language […]
Return of asylum seekers accelerates in Switzerland
Last year, Switzerland sent more than 7,000 asylum seekers back to their country of origin, which is around 18% more than the year before, reported RTS. The figure was revealed by Beat Jans, the Swiss minister in charge of asylum, in conversations at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos this week. With a rate […]
Swiss bankruptcies expected to rise sharply this year
Authorities in several Swiss cantons are gearing up for a sharp rise in the number of bankruptcies this year, possibly double the number in 2024, reported SRF. Some cantons are employing new staff to deal with the sharp rise, which is partly due to a change in the rules. Many companies on the edge of […]
10 out of 13 bottled waters tested in Switzerland fail pollution test
Swiss broadcaster RTS recently had 13 brands of bottled water sold in Switzerland tested for trifluoroacetic acid (TFA). 10 of the 13 tested positive. TFA is widely used in the pesticide, pharmaceutical and electronics industries. TFA belongs to a family of chemicals known as PFAS, chemicals that take a very long time to break down, […]
Switzerland’s varied and changing electric cars taxes
How much road tax must be paid to drive an electric car in Switzerland varies significantly depending on the canton. It can also change with little warning, reported SRF this week. Annual vehicle tax on the fully electric Tesla Model Y Long Range costs CHF 1,353 in Geneva. In Zurich, Solothurn, Nidwalden, Glarus and St. […]
Impact of the 9 February vote if accepted
On 9 February 2025, Swiss voters will be asked to decide whether to accept the Environmental Responsibility Initiative. The initiative sets highly ambitious limits to emissions and the consumption of natural resources, defined as planetary boundaries, to be reached within 10 years. There is no detail on how these limits will be reached – see […]