Switzerland’s power sector is already close to achieving zero carbon status, with just a small amount of natural gas generation remaining.¹ Transport sector emissions in 2018 were slightly higher than 1990 levels, increasing its share of total emissions to roughly a third – the largest sectoral emissions source.² Building sector emissions have fallen over the same period, but remain high at 25% of total emissions in 2018.

Industry and agriculture emissions have fallen only slightly since 1990, making up 21% and 13% of total emissions in 2018 respectively, which is the same share of total emissions as in 1990. Total emissions under current policies are projected to reach between 26-31% below 1990 levels by 2030 (excluding LULUCF).³

¹ IEA. World Energy Balances 2020 Edition. (2020).

² Government of Switzerland. Switzerland. 2020 Common Reporting Format (CRF) Table.

³ Climate Action Tracker. Switzerland – November 2020 Update.

⁴ Swiss Federal Office of Energy. CO2 emission regulations for new cars and light commercial vehicles.

⁵ Bundesamt für Energie. Energieverbrauch und Energieeffizienz der neuen Personenwagen und leichten Nutzfahrzeuge 2019. (2020).

⁶ Bundesamt für Energie. Faktenblatt Vollzug der CO2-Emissionsvorschriften für Personenwagen 2017 Neuzugelassene Personenwagen und ihre CO2-Emissionen. (2018).

⁷ Bundesamt für Energie & Bundesamt für Strassen. Roadmap Elektromobilität 2022. (2018).

⁸ ACEA. Fuel types of new cars: diesel -23.6%, electric +33.1% in fourth quarter of 2018 | ACEA – European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.

⁹ ACEA. Fuel types of new cars: diesel -17.9%, petrol +3.3%, electric +40.0% in first quarter of 2019 | ACEA – European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.

¹⁰ ICAP. Swiss ETS. (2020).

¹¹ Schweizer Parlament. Bundesgesetz über die Verminderung von Treibhausgasemissionen (CO2-Gesetz). (2020).

¹² Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft. Switzerland’s Fourth Biennial Report under the UNFCCC. (2020).

¹³ der Bundesrat. Verordnung vom 30. November 2012 über die Reduktion der CO2 Emissionen. (2012).

¹⁴ Schweizer Parlament. Bundesgesetz über die Verminderung von Treibhausgasemissionen (CO2-Gesetz).

¹⁵ Swiss Confederation. Revision of the CO2 law: Explanatory report on the consultation draft. (2021).

¹⁶ Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft. Switzerland’s Fourth Biennial Report under the UNFCCC.(2020).

¹⁷ ICAP. ICAP Allowance Price Explorer. (2022).

¹⁸ European Alternative Fuels Observatory. Switzerland – Vehicles and fleet. (2022).

¹⁹ Kuramochi, T. et al. Ten key short-term sectoral benchmarks to limit warming to 1.5°C. Clim. Policy (2017).

²⁰ Some pathways include sinks based on bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).

²¹ While global cost-effective pathways assessed by the IPCC Special Report 1.5°C provide useful guidance for an upper-limit of emissions trajectories for developed countries, they underestimate the feasible space for such countries to reach net zero earlier. The current generation of models tend to depend strongly on land-use sinks outside of currently developed countries and include fossil fuel use well beyond the time at which these could be phased out, compared to what is understood from bottom-up approaches. The scientific teams which provide these global pathways constantly improve the technologies represented in their models – and novel CDR technologies are now being included in new studies focused on deep mitigation scenarios meeting the Paris Agreement. A wide assessment database of these new scenarios is not yet available; thus, we rely on available scenarios which focus particularly on BECCS as a net-negative emission technology. Accordingly, we do not yet consider land-sector emissions (LULUCF) and other CDR approaches which developed countries will need to implement in order to counterbalance their remaining emissions and reach net zero GHG are not considered here due to data availability.