The Council of States is Examining the Revised CO2 Law
Published: Monday, Sep 25th 2023, 03:52
Updated At: Friday, Oct 13th 2023, 14:12
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The Swiss Federal Council is proposing a revised CO2 law to encourage the population to take action on climate change and halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990. The Council of States' Commission for Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy (Urek-S) largely supports the proposal. The revised law is intended to help the country reach its net zero emissions target by 2050 and ensure a secure energy supply. The Urek-S is mostly in agreement with the Federal Council's proposals for the revised CO2 law. However, it wants stricter CO2 targets for new vehicles, particularly for passenger cars, in favour of more efficient vehicles and cars without fossil fuels. Regarding the heavy vehicle tax (LSVA) for electric-powered trucks, the majority wants to keep the current law, allowing the Federal Council to exempt electric and hydrogen vehicles from the LSVA. The commission is divided on the issue of federal funding for electric charging stations in multi-party buildings, companies and public car parks. A narrow majority is against it, believing that private funds should be used for these charging stations. However, a minority supports the Federal Council's proposal to financially support the provision of these charging stations. The Urek-S also agrees with the Federal Council's proposal to extend the compensation obligation for fuel importers, which expires in 2024, and to increase the maximum proportion of CO2 emissions to be compensated to 90%. The compensation costs can be passed on to consumers as an additional charge, but the surcharge must not exceed five cents per litre of fuel. A new obligation to transfer renewable fuels is also proposed. The commission unanimously agreed that future flight tickets should indicate the CO2 emissions. A minority proposed a steering tax for business and private jets. The Council of States will discuss the proposal for the first time on Monday.
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