Popular initiative for a sustainable Swiss financial center

The Swiss financial sector must not support “the destruction of the planet”. An alliance of politics, business and NGOs launched a popular initiative “for a sustainable and future-oriented Swiss financial center” on Tuesday.

Decline of wild bees, floods in Spain or thawing of permafrost: the consequences of the climate crisis are already enormous and will continue to grow in the years to come, national councilor Marc Jost (PEV/BE) told the media in Bern. Faced with this situation, the responsibility is collective to “leave an intact environment for future generations”.

And he cites that it would take up to $8 trillion per year to reach the goal of net zero emissions by 2050. If climate protection is expensive, the absence of climate protection costs even more, added MP Stefan Müller-Altermatt (Center/SO).

According to him, Switzerland has a particular role to play: its financial center, “which is an international heavyweight, is a gigantic lever for advancing decarbonization”. It must have an international leadership role in sustainable financial services, according to national councilor Gerhard Andrey (Vert-es/FR).

However, the major Swiss banks and insurance companies currently invest billions each year in activities abroad that harm the environment, such as the deforestation of the tropical forest or the exploitation of coal, criticized national councilor Mattea Meyer (PS /ZH). The sector thus contributes to the climate and biodiversity crisis, she said.

While the Swiss economy and population are making efforts to protect the climate, the financial center produces abroad around 18 times the quantity of CO2 emissions of Switzerland, added MP Kathrin Bertschy (PVL/BE) . And to find that purely voluntary measures are not enough to bring about the necessary change.

“Binding rules of the game”

“We must impose binding rules of the game,” declared Thomas Vellacott, director general of the WWF. And to emphasize that such rules already exist in other financial centers, such as London, Hong Kong or Singapore.

The rules must apply to all players, added Michael Malquarti, risk director in a Geneva management company. According to him, the text applies to the financial sector and from an environmental perspective “a simple and fundamental principle of liberalism, the prohibition of harming others”.

The initiative is “an opportunity”, according to Ms Bertschy. It is not only important for the climate, but also decisive for Switzerland’s competitiveness, since there are climate-related financial risks, such as losses due to drought or floods.

It is not new innovative technologies and ecologically sustainable approaches that are lacking, but financial incentives and effective financing of these solutions of the future, noted Mr. Andrey.

All parties except the UDC

Concretely, it is requested that the Confederation take measures to ensure that financial flows respect international standards in terms of climate and biodiversity protection.

The initiative also “targetedly” limits the financing of fossil energy projects, explained Mr. Müller-Altermatt. To achieve the 1.5°C target set in the Paris Agreement, “there is an urgent need to rapidly abandon fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas,” Meyer said.

Monitoring must also be established to ensure compliance with obligations. Exceptions are provided for activities that have a minimal impact on the environment. The idea is not to create an unnecessary bureaucratic burden, Malquarti noted. “If the initiative sets a clear objective, it leaves the actors free to choose the means to achieve it.”

The committee is made up of current and former federal elected officials from all the main parties, except the UDC. He has until May 26, 2026 to collect 100,000 signatures.

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