Zurich City’s citizens will decide on 28 September 2025 whether to ban petrol-powered leaf blowers. A Left-Green coalition wants only quieter electric ones, and only in autumn – from October to December. The city council and a majority of the municipal council are on board. But opposition was sufficient to call a vote against the […]
The Federal Council wants to tax electric cars from 2030
Switzerland’s Federal Council intends to tax electric cars from 2030 to make up for shrinking fuel-tax revenues, reported SRF. Two models are on the table: a levy per kilometre driven or a surcharge on the electricity used to charge vehicles. Either would require a constitutional amendment, meaning approval from both voters and cantons. The logic […]
Work on Switzerland’s underground dream halted
Switzerland has put Cargo Sous Terrain, an ambitious scheme to move freight through underground tunnels, on ice, reported SRF. The federal government, several cantons and the city of Zurich have suspended work on the project, citing unmet requirements. The idea was bold. A privately financed network of subterranean tunnels, backed by blue-chip firms including Coop, […]
How much is your electricity price changing next year?
Swiss households on average will pay a little less for electricity next year—but the relief will be uneven. Average tariffs will fall by 4% in 2026, after a 10% drop this year, according to ElCom, the federal electricity regulator. For a household using 4,500kWh annually, that means a saving of around CHF 58. Beneath the […]
Swiss business and environmentalists warn against scrapping imputed rent
Switzerland’s parliament wants to scrap Switzerland’s quirky taxable imputed rental on owner-occupied homes. A vote on 28 September 2025 to impose a new tax on holiday homes is the first step to scrapping this taxable fictional rent. But there is a catch: the change would end most deductions for mortgage interest, home maintenance and environmental […]
Anti-noise radar use blocked by Bern
Discontent over noisy vehicles is growing louder in Switzerland. Several cantons are calling for the nationwide deployment of noise-activated traffic radars. The devices, already tested in places such as Basel-Landschaft, Zurich and Geneva, are designed not to catch speeding drivers, but those making too much of a racket. In Geneva, the trials were deemed a […]
The West Nile Virus – how high is the risk in Switzerland?
Cases of West Nile virus are climbing in Italy. Since the start of the year, 173 infections have been confirmed, 84 of them in the past week alone, according to national health authorities. The Lazio region, which includes Rome, has been the hardest hit, accounting for 104 cases this year. Eleven deaths have been reported […]
Two initiatives against wind farms surpass vote signature hurdle
Switzerland’s push for renewable energy has met with resistance. Late last week, a nature conservation group submitted two popular initiatives aimed at curbing the expansion of wind farms, reported RTS. Each has garnered over 110,000 signatures—above the 100,000 signature threshold required to trigger a nationwide vote. The first, dubbed the Forest Protection Initiative, seeks to […]
Switzerland burning more and more of its wood to heat
In Switzerland, more and more timber is being burned. According to the Federal Statistical Office, nearly half of all wood harvested from Swiss forests is now used for energy—twice the share recorded two decades ago. The proportion processed in sawmills for construction or carpentry has declined over the same period, falling from 70% in the […]
Swiss government to subsidise night train to Sweden
On 10 July 2025, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Transport (FOT) announced government plans to subsidise new international rail services, with priority given to a planned Basel–Copenhagen–Malmö night train. The FOT will provide CHF 10 million a year between 2025 and 2030 to promote cross-border passenger rail, especially night services, following a mandate from the federal […]
