Energy-related GHG emissions from Switzerland’s industry sector have fallen considerably since 1990, declining by 32% by 2020, with most of this decline occurring in the last decade.2 This has primarily been achieved through fuel switching, with coal and oil demand falling by 74% and 60% respectively between 1990 and 2020, largely replaced with gas and biomass. Process emissions, in contrast, have risen slightly since 1990, driven higher by a steep increase in the use of HFCs, more than offsetting a one third reduction in emissions from cement production over this time.
Switzerland’s main policy tool for reducing industry sector emissions is its CO₂ Act, which includes a CO₂ levy on heating and process fuels and the Swiss emissions trading system (ETS). Several key non-CO₂ emissions are not covered by the Act, however, and are targeted separately, including provisions targeting F-gases.16 The Swiss ETS was linked to the EU’s much larger system in January 2020, and since then, allowance prices have risen considerably, roughly in line with rising EU ETS allowance prices after trending far below them between 2018 and 2020.17
To align with 1.5°C pathways, Swiss direct industry emissions would need to fall by more than a third below 2019 levels by 2030, and the sector should be completely decarbonised between 2040 and 2050. In addition, the industry electrification rate should increase to at least 50% by 2030.
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).
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.
Switzerlandʼs industry sector direct CO₂ emissions (of energy demand)
MtCO₂/yr
Unit
0246819902010203020502070
Historical emissions
SSP1 High CDR reliance
SSP1 Low CDR reliance
High energy demand - Low CDR reliance
Low energy demand
Switzerlandʼs GHG emissions from industrial processes
MtCO₂e/yr
01234519902010203020502070
SSP1 Low CDR reliance
SSP1 High CDR reliance
Low energy demand
High energy demand - Low CDR reliance
Historical emissions
1.5°C compatible industry sector benchmarks
Direct CO₂ emissions, direct electrification rates, and combined shares of electricity, hydrogen and biomass from illustrative 1.5°C pathways for Switzerland