Why Switzerland’s carbon footprint is bigger than we think

In Switzerland, emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases have decreased by almost 25% since 1990.External link. This is the opposite of the global trend. National climate policies and improved energy efficiency have had their effect. Has Switzerland therefore succeeded in reducing its impact on the climate? Not exactly.

Because Switzerland is indirectly responsible for emissions produced in other countries. More precisely, emissions linked to the production and transport of products imported and consumed on its soil. This ranges from the computer assembled in China to the car manufactured in South Korea, including the avocado grown in Brazil.

These imported CO2 emissions are more than three times higherExternal link to domestic broadcasts. This is one of the highest proportions in the world. Neglecting these so-called “gray” emissions amounts to giving a distorted image of the carbon footprint of Switzerland and its population.

In the context of international climate negotiations and, often also, during public debates, only territorial emissions are mentioned, which makes it possible to “show that Switzerland is one of the best students in the class”, affirms Augustin Fragnière, of the Sustainability Competence Center of the University of Lausanne.

However, if we include emissions linked to imports and consumption, “Switzerland finds itself among the fifteen countries with the most emissions per capita in the world”.

One of the highest individual carbon footprints in the world

In Switzerland, CO2 emissions per capita generated by industry and the use of fossil fuels (3.7 tonnes in 2023) are declining and are lower than the world average of 4.6 tonnes. Augustin Fragnière considers them relatively weak for a developed economy like that of Switzerland.

Other industrialized countries show similar trends, even if the United States, Germany and Japan remain above the world average.

But the picture is quite different if we take into account emissions generated abroad. Switzerland’s carbon footprint per capita amounts to almost 14 tonnes per year. Three times the world average.

A figure which would appear even higher when emissions linked to flights are taken into account, the Swiss population being one of those who take the plane most often. In Europe, only the inhabitants of Belgium and Malta have a higher carbon footprint.

In Switzerland, emissions associated with net imports (or consumption-related emissions) have increased by some 30% since 2000, according to the Global Carbon ProjectExternal linkan independent scientific organization co-founded by the World Climate Program. This increase reflects the increase in the volume of imports into Switzerland and more generally of international trade in the world. The Federal Statistical OfficeExternal linkwhich uses a different calculation method, rather evokes an unchanged evolution.

The discrepancy between territorial emissions (decreasing) and imported emissions (unchanged or increasing) shows that the Swiss population has not substantially changed its consumption patterns, asserts Augustin Fragnière.

80% of Switzerland’s climate footprint comes from imports

Switzerland is the country where the share of imported emissions in the carbon footprint is the highest (nearly 80%). It is a high-income country which therefore consumes a lot, explains Augustin Fragnière. “We have to emit a lot of CO2 abroad to manufacture the products that we import and consume in Switzerland.”

It is mainly imported food products, household items and clothing that influence the carbon footprint of Swiss households, according to a studyExternal link of the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) published last year.

>> Who pollutes the most in Switzerland? Young or old, rich or poor? The answers in this article.

However, it is not just a question of consumption habits and standard of living.

Switzerland is home to few natural resources. It must import a large part of its raw materials and its industrial and agricultural products. The chemical and pharmaceutical industry, for example, is the national economic sector that imports the most greenhouse gas emissions, according to a recent studyExternal link from the Ecoplan research and consultancy office.

Switzerland is service-oriented and does not have large polluting industries such as refineries or steelworks. It produces nearly 98% of its electricity from sources that do not emit CO2 (hydroelectricity, solar and nuclear energy), for a world average of less than 40%.External link. Clearly, the production of Swiss goods intended for export, machines and watches for example, is “cleaner” than that of the goods it imports.

This situation influences the balance of emissions linked to trade and makes Switzerland a net importer of CO2 emissions. This applies to almost all European countries, the United States and many African nations.

Shared responsibility for imported emissions

International climate policies and emissions reduction targets set out in the Paris Agreement – ​​the main international agreement on climate change – focus on territorial emissions. At this stage, no government has committed to reducing imported CO2 emissions. SwedenExternal link is the first country to have proposed a national target for these emissions in 2022, but has not yet formally adopted it.

Katarina Axelsonn, from the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), a Swedish research center dedicated to sustainable development and the environment, is co-author of a studyExternal link on measures to reduce imported emissions around the world. She believes that responsibility must be shared between both parties.

“Companies in producing countries like China must adopt sustainable practices to reduce production-related emissions. At the same time, importing countries like Switzerland and their consumers must be aware of their consumption habits,” writes the specialist in an email to swissinfo.ch.

The SEI study provides a series of recommendations. Among the most important are binding targets at European level for consumption-related emissions and support for developing countries to adopt sustainable production practices.

A CO2 tax for polluting products imported into the EU

A CO2 tax on imported products, like that introduced by the European Union in 2023, would be able to encourage consumption with a lower carbon footprint, judge Elisabetta CornagoExternal linkresearcher at the British think tank Center for European Reform.

“Importing countries like Switzerland and their consumers must be aware of their consumption habits.”

Katarina Axelsonn, Stockholm Environment Institute

The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) imposes a tax on certain carbon-intensive products imported into the EU. Including steel, cement and fertilizers. “It is still too early to see the effects on trade flows. But we note that the CBAM has already encouraged several non-EU countries to adopt policies that impose a price on carbon, for example the creation of emissions trading systems,” observes Elisabeth Cornago, who cites the examples of Turkey, Brazil and India.

Outside the EU, Switzerland has not yet adopted the European CO2 tax system. In 2023, the government recommended not introducing it but a parliamentary initiative,External link awaiting processing by the chambers, request to lay the foundations of a mechanism for adjusting CO2 emissions at Swiss borders.

The FOEN states that Switzerland already has instruments to combat imported emissions. The new federal climate law, which came into force this year, provides financial aid to companies that adopt innovative technologies and processes to reduce their direct and indirect emissions.

Very good, says Augustin Fragnière, but the most effective solution remains to consume less or consume better, in particular by favoring products which have the least impact on the climate during their manufacture.

Demanding more sustainable products, reusing those already available and, where possible, avoiding consumption: this is what can help reduce the pressure on planetary resources, confirms Katarina Axelsonn. “Ultimately, this is a shared responsibility that requires cross-border collaboration to achieve real and lasting impact.”

Text reread and verified by Sabrina Weiss and Veronica De Vore, translated from Italian by Pierre-François Besson/ptur