Third quarter Swiss GDP figures released yesterday show Switzerland’s economy shrank compared to the quarter before. GDP for the quarter to September was down by 0.2% compared to the quarter before, ending an 18-month run of quarterly growth. The fall in Swiss GDP follows a quarterly slowdown across the rest of Europe, in Germany in […]
Geneva decides to ban the most polluting vehicles
On Friday, Geneva’s parliament voted in favour of a plan to progressively ban the most polluting vehicles from the city centre when air pollution reaches certain levels. While the legal details need to be worked out, the plan, which was put together by the canton’s executive, could be modeled on the French system. The French […]
New nuclear reactors might be planned near Geneva
The French power company EDF has been looking at buying land near a nuclear power plant in the nearby department of Ain, according to the newspaper Le Temps. It is understood that a third generation Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) could be built there. An EPR is a type of pressurized water reactor developed by EDF […]
Switzerland launches new campaign against antibiotic abuse
Overuse of antibiotics, particularly in agriculture, is a key driver of antibiotic resistant bugs. Antibiotic resistant super bugs claim an estimated 25,000 lives across the EU every year. In Switzerland 270 people died from antibiotic resistant bugs in 2015. The main causes of antibiotic resistance are: over-prescribing, patients not taking antibiotics as prescribed, poor hygiene […]
Swiss ski season starts early
Recent heavy snow has allowed several Swiss winter resorts to open early. Some high-altitude resorts have received as much as two metres of snow. Some of the resorts that have opened are only running lifts at the weekends. Last weekend, Verbier opened the area of the resort known as Lac des Vaux. Snow up to […]
Electric cars in Switzerland must soon make fake noise
Starting mid next year, electric and hybrid cars in Switzerland must emit noise to improve pedestrian safety, in particular the safety of those with impaired sight. The news was reported in the newspaper NZZ am Sonntag and confirmed by the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO). Electric and hybrid cars will need to be fitted with external […]
More than one million people exposed to traffic noise pollution in Switzerland
A recent report by Switzerland’s Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) estimates that more than one million people in Switzerland are exposed to traffic noise above the legal limit. The data, from 2015, was generated by software, traffic noise data and building maps. During the day, 1.1 million people are bothered by noise, a figure […]
Global warming to impact Switzerland at twice average speed, warns researcher
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts a global temperature rise of 2 degrees will have a far greater impact than previously predicted. To avoid catastrophe, the authors recommend aiming for a lower 1.5 degree rise in global temperatures, only half a degree higher than now. Achieving this would require net global emissions to […]
Swiss philanthropist donates US$1 billion to create more nature reserves
Swiss philanthropist and conservationist Hansjörg Wyss, who founded the medical device company Synthes and now lives in Wyoming in the US, set out his wish to keep more of the earth in its natural state in a column in the New York Times. He wrote: “Since the creation of the world’s first national park, Yellowstone, […]
Switzerland leads the world on taxing carbon, despite gaping holes
Taxing carbon emissions pushes polluters to find less polluting alternatives. However, in some countries, like Australia, carbon tax makes for hot politics. Some in the Australian government described it as “a great big tax on everything” before removing it in 2013. In Switzerland, where politics inches forward based on consensus, more durable progress has been […]
