Di, Nov 8th 2022
How Switzerland pays off other countries to cut their emissions, where you can ski this weekend, and more in our roundup of news from November 4 – 8.
The mountain village of Bourg-Saint-Pierre has a floating solar power plant at 1,810 meter above sea level, the first of its kind.
How Switzerland pays poorer nations to cut ‘Swiss’ emissions
Switzerland is the latest wealthy nation to admit that it cannot meet its lofty climate goals without the help. Switzerland has promised to cut its greenhouse emissions in half by 2030, but has been paying poorer countries such as Ghana and Dominica to do the dirty work. Switzerland has paid to install clean stoves and efficient lighting in African countries; a move that reduces greenhouse emissions overall, but also calls into question where the credit is due. The transaction – one that many nations employ – is at the heart of discussions this week at the UN Climate Conference in Egypt. Mehr lesen.
How Switzerland dealt with the Covid-19 pandemic is the number one reason health care costs have increased in recent years.
Swiss patients have been billed 20M in possibly fraudulent Covid tests
About CHF 20 million worth of potentially fraudulent Covid-19 tests have been billed to Swiss residents, estimates the health insurance association Santésuisse. The issue came to light recently as more and more Swiss patients reported being billed for lab tests they did not take. One individual in St. Gallen reported being billed for 30 Covid-19 tests in Vaud. Santésuisse says as much as 1 percent of all Covid-19 tests have likely not been billed correctly. For now, it is unclear who is at fault as only a medical professional can submit invoices to health insurance companies and a doctor must ok them for processing. Both the test center and doctor profit off of the tests. Mehr lesen.
The winter season is where Switzerland makes the bulk of its tourism money — mostly on ski vacations.
First Swiss ski resorts open for the season
Despite an unseasonably warm October, a few Swiss ski resorts were still able to open last week: Matterhorn’s Breuil-Cervinia, Saas Fee, Engleberg, Schilthorn and Diavolezza. About 30 cm of snow fell over the weekend above the 2,000-meter mark, allowing other resorts such as Gemsstock and Glacier 3000 to announce that they will open on November 12th. That said, “high pressure will return at the end of the week, which risks melting this first snowpack”, according to Isabelle Fath, forecaster at MeteoSwiss weather service. At any rate, skiers should expect to pay more for lift passes this season to offset skyrocketing electricity prices. Mehr lesen.
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