After the impact of the Swiss National Bank’s investments on the climate, that of the insurance sector, here is the weight of commodity traders. The NGO Public Eye has just published a report on the carbon footprint of trading giants established in Switzerland.
A single number sums up the seriousness of the situation. The five “majors” in this sector – Vitol, Trafigura, Glencore, Mercuria and Gunvor – emit 4 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases, a quantity a hundred times greater than that of Switzerland! If we compare with a large nation, “the greenhouse gases produced by the combustion of oil and gas sold by Vitol exceed those of Brazil, a country ranked sixth in the world in terms of emissions”, we read in the report.
Everything is done in a certain opacity and by resorting to loopholes. Starting with the purchase of the famous emission certificates allowing you to purchase an ecological virtue, without getting to the root of the problem. Because these multinationals generate enormous profits. But these are either paid to shareholders or 80% reinvested in the fossil fuel industry rather than in the energy transition.
At this rate, the objectives of the Paris agreement, discussed these days at COP29, are moving away at great speed. And with them grows the risk of disasters which tend to multiply, such as the tragic floods of October 29 in Valencia, Spain, which left nearly 230 dead and dozens missing.
In this climatic dance of death, it would be interesting to politically question the fiscal conditions made by the Swiss cantons to these companies so that they establish themselves in their territory. And maybe see them again. But who will dare to pull this lever?
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