Tobacco is big business. Its scale makes the industry a formidable foe for those hoping to spare people the damaging health effects of tobacco addiction. Most people start smoking when they are young so a group in Switzerland launched an initiative to ban tobacco advertising targeted at young people. Swiss voters will vote on the proposal […]
Swiss government forecasts 12 billion francs spending on roads
Switzerland’s federal government expects to spend CHF 8 billion repairing federal roads and another CHF 4 billion extending them between 2024 and 2027, it announced this week. Maintenance, noise proofing and other upgrades to the existing road network are expected to consume CHF 8.4 billion between 2024 and 2027, an average annual cost of CHF […]
Switzerland experienced fewer stronger earthquakes in 2021
Switzerland is a nation lying across a number of significant fault lines making it highly exposed to the risk of earthquakes. The mountainous canton of Valais is the region at highest risk, followed by Basel, Graubünden, the St. Gallen Rhine Valley, and central Switzerland. The largest earthquake in Switzerland’s recorded history occurred in Basel in […]
Price of wood pellets rises sharply in Switzerland
The price of wood pellets in Switzerland is up 20% over the last 12 months, according to Patrick Schmutz, a wood pellet expert, reports RTS. According to Schmutz, the price rise is due to a cold 12 months, especially last spring, and the success of wood pellet heating. More and more pellet-based heating systems are […]
Electric scooter accidents on the rise in Switzerland
With more and more electric scooters on Swiss streets every year the number of accidents is rising. In 2021, there were around 2,500 accidents involving electric scooters in Switzerland, according to an estimate by Suva, a public insurer. The latest figure is three times the 800 accidents involving electric scooters estimated by Suva in 2019. […]
1 in 7 new cars in Switzerland were electric and nearly half were 4x4s in 2021
Recent data on new car sales in Switzerland in 2021 show that 31,823 new electric cars were registered in 2021. The data also show that 48% of new registrations were 4x4s. Electric cars made up 13% of the 238,481 new vehicles registered in Switzerland in 2021. Diesel (42%), petrol (14%) and hybrid (31%) cars made […]
Majority against a general 30 km/hour speed limit in Swiss cities
The number of 30 km/hour speed zones is rising in Swiss cities and towns. Some are considering plans such as making 30 km/hour zones standard and 50 km/hour zones an exception. However, a recent poll suggests 84% of the population supports the current system of a 50 km/hour standard limit, with exceptions for 30 km/hour […]
Swiss researchers develop edible alternative to plastic packaging
Packaging lightens the human load on the environment by substantially cutting food wastage. However, it comes with its own environmental problems. Micro plastic can now be found in many corners of the ecosystem. Swiss researchers might have come up with a solution that improves the problem at both ends by turning certain food waste into […]
Swiss government to support three hydro projects
On December 2021, the Swiss government allocated CHF 45.4 million to three hydro projects. Switzerland’s electricity production was once dominated by hydro. In 1970, 90% of the electricity produced in Switzerland was generated using hydro. The remainder came from nuclear (5%) and fossil fuels (5%). Roll forward to 2020 and hydro makes up only 58% […]
Voters in Zurich support ban on oil and gas heating
Last weekend, 63% of voters in the canton of Zurich confirmed a government decision to phase out heating oil and gas heating in the canton. Laws passed by the cantonal government in 2014 to ban the installation of heating oil and gas heating in new and old buildings proved unpopular with some. Aiming to overturn […]
