Swiss vote for climate protection
A clear majority voted in favour of a new climate protection law in a referendum held in Switzerland on Sunday. Almost 60 percent of those who cast their ballots support a gradual reduction of oil and gas consumption and the goal of making the country CO2-neutral by 2050. To this end the state plans to provide subsidies for climate-friendly heating systems and investments. A major step forward?
Reason rather than dogma
The outcome of the vote was by no means certain, Corriere del Ticino points out:
“There were still many unknowns and the memory of the rejection of the revised CO2 law at the ballot box a year ago was still in the air. There were also fears that certain unpleasant actions by eco-activists might have generated discontent or rejection among the population. This time, however, the Swiss people sent an important signal. ... Now a new chapter is being opened, and in the next few years we will be able to see the result of this vote, which is neither an epochal break with the past nor dogmatic clinging to certain apocalyptic climate narratives, but the calm realisation that something has to be done.”
Still plenty to do
The real work is only just beginning, warns Le Courrier:
“Civil society must continue to exert considerable pressure to ensure that the aspirations expressed on Sunday are followed by action. The temptation now will be to think that everything has been settled, even though so much remains to be done. The climate crisis is systemic, not just environmental. ... We need to be able to reinvent ourselves. That requires a great deal of courage and creativity. On Sunday we heard mostly old, hackneyed recipes: revive nuclear power, use synthetic fuel. We need to be even more ambitious.”