Net-zero target 2050
Switzerland’s climate policy is helping to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius as far as possible. Science shows that this goal can only be achieved if global greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to net zero in the medium term. Achieving net zero in Switzerland by 2050 is the target approved by a clear majority of Swiss voters, and is now enshrined in the Climate and Innovation Act.
To ensure that the Earth does not warm by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius and that there are no serious disruptions to the climate system, global greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced to net zero by 2070 at the latest, and CO2 emissions by 2050. This is stated in the special report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) on global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Based on this scientific evidence, the Federal Council decided in August 2019 that Switzerland should reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 (net-zero target). The net-zero target was enshrined in law when Swiss voters adopted the Climate and Innovation Act in 2023.
28 August 2019
Federal Council aims for a climate-neutral Switzerland by 2050
Net-zero greenhouse gas emissions
Net zero means that only as much greenhouse gas is released into the atmosphere as can be absorbed by natural or technical storage facilities. To achieve this, all avoidable emissions must be eliminated. However, activities such as food production, waste incineration and other processes are still expected to produce greenhouse gases in 2050. These difficult-to-avoid emissions must be offset by processes that remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it safely (carbon capture, removal and storage).
Carbon capture, removal and storage
Long-term strategy
Minimising greenhouse gas emissions is the most important factor in achieving the 2050 net-zero target. Switzerland’s long-term climate strategy sets out how the country can achieve its target.
Long-term climate strategy to 2050
The path to the target
The net-zero target is set out in the Climate and Innovation Act. This also contains specific interim targets for the year 2040 and for the periods from 2031 to 2040 and 2041 to 2050, and thus serves as the pacemaker for Swiss climate policy. It also sets out reference values for the buildings, transport and industry sectors and stipulates that all businesses must have achieved their net-zero targets by 2050 at the latest. The Federal Administration must achieve this target by 2040. Concrete measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are being implemented step by step in the CO2 Act and in legislation in other policy areas.
Relation to international targets
Under the Paris Agreement, member states have jointly committed to ensuring that global warming does not exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius. Each country sets its own targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Member states must increase these targets every five years. Switzerland’s first NDC covers the period from 2021 to 2030, with targets at international level consistent with those set out in the CO2 Act. Switzerland has also submitted its second NDC, for the period 2031 to 2035, to the United Nations, in accordance with the provisions of the Climate and Innovation Act.
Climate: International Affairs
Further information
Index
Sector Climate
Sector Climate
Mühlestrasse 2
3063 Ittigen