Strategy and climate policy targets

Switzerland has made international commitments to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, and is thus helping to limit global warming. What strategy does Switzerland want to use to achieve its climate targets? Where does Switzerland stand today?

Switzerland ratified the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1993 and thus committed itself to contributing to the stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that prevents dangerous interference with the climate system.

The Paris Agreement defines Switzerland's actual and future climate protection strategy. It has three objectives:

To limit global warming to a level well below 2°C, ideally 1.5°C. To achieve this, greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced to net zero;
To increase adaptability. Here, climate change management strategies must be developed;
To make finance flows climate-compatible, so that investments are made in line with the objectives of reducing emissions and increasing adaptability.

With the ratification of the Paris Agreement in October 2017, Switzerland has committed itself to achieving these three objectives. The CO2 Act provides the national legal basis for implementing international obligations. It defines instruments for reducing environmentally harmful greenhouse gas emissions and binds the Confederation to coordinate measures to adapt to climate change. The Climate and Innovation Act also enshrines the net-zero target by 2050 in law, among other things.