[ad_1]
Importers can reach their climate goals more easily thanks to a special rule. The Federal Council could prevent it, but it does nothing. The environmental alliance accuses him of breaking his word.
Around a third of the greenhouse gases in Switzerland are caused by traffic.
Photo: Gaëtan Bally (Keystone)
Still touching the hot iron? The hope of climate protectionists to the Minister of the Environment, Simonetta Sommaruga. The SP magistrate is supposed to be in the Federal Council at the last minutecause a change.
The dispute revolves around a special rule that car importers benefit from. This has been the case in Switzerland since this year – as in the EU – a stricter climate goal: new cars can only use 95 grams of CO on averagetwo emit per kilometer; until now was 130 grams, much more. A small part of the industry has never achieved this goal and therefore had to Pay fines; In 2019 it was 78 million francs, a record amount. For this year and the next, industry representatives expect that buses will continue to increase.
This is where the special rule comes into play. The Federal Council makes it easier for importers to achieve the new climate goal – with a (legally permitted) A trick he decided by ordinance in 2017: those cars with more COtwo-Emissions are excluded from the carbon footprint of importers. This year the worst fifteen percent will be eliminated, in 2021 it will be ten percent, in 2022 five percent. The EU is different: it only grants this so-called phase-in this year. Starting in 2021, all new vehicles will be counted.
Parliament wants tightening, but …
the Helvetic Extrawurst contradicts inreis dthe intention of the policy. Even before the referendum on energy strategy in 2017 the Federal Council assured that Switzerland wanted to adopt EU regulations for vehicles. In 2015, for example, Sommaruga’s predecessor, Doris Leuthard, said in parliament: “What we are doing here is just continuing our policy and this policy, in accordance with your CO specifications.two– Law to always adapt to the EU system ”.
Parliament also demands, Facilities like gradual incorporation to be “To be completed by the EU at the latest”; so stop that in the reviewton COtwo-Gesetz, dl National Council and Council of States recently adopted hasben. But there is a problem: because the new law first crashed into the National Council and now It will probably still have to survive a referendum, it will not enter into force until early 2022. Only the Federal Council could fulfill the will of parliament – by ordinance. Timing would be good: CO is currently being reviewedtwo-Regulation. However, it lacks a proposal to phase out the phasing from 2021. The consultation has ended, the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) is currently evaluating the responses. Probably this year wto write the federal council decide on the modified regulation.
“We hope that the Federal Council will fulfill the promises it made to the population and to parliament.”
The environmental alliance, to which the major environmental associations belong, is now trying to pressure: “We hope that the Federal Council will fulfill the promises it made to the population and the Parliament made the energy strategy before the referendum »says Anders Gautschi, managing director of the Swiss Transport Club (VCS). A year or so with gradual introduction is crucial. According to a federal report, this instrument leads to “very simplified goal achievement” for importers. Or in other words: Is would come like this more COtwo-New intensive cars on Swiss roads than would be the case under a stricter regime. Rand 220‘000 tonnes COtwo by year I would like that also goes up into the air, He says Gautschi and refers to the corresponding federal calculations. go deade crowd corresponds to one third of the COtwo-Saving resulting from the new vehicle regulations.
Becomes Sommaruga the requirement environmental associations record, record? There are three embassies in your department. First: the CO reviewtwoThe regulation aims to extend key climate protection instruments until the end of 2021 – a step that is necessary because the new COtwo-The law will not come into force until 2022. Second: The revision includes the concerns that Parliament decided in response to a parliamentary initiative of the Council of States Thierry Burkart (FDP). But the National Council – and dais the third and most important message – On September 9, 2019, during this consultation, you expressly refused to remove the phasing-in.
The forgotten track
But there is one political Willensbekundung more recent; the environmental alliance now refers to this. RE.wrote to the Council of States at the end of September 2019 ins COtwo– Law that Switzerland must not lag behind the EU. He Mountain range meanwhile in december 2019 dasince, explicitly prohibit the gradual incorporation of the law by 2021 – apparently in the belief that the Federal Council das by ordinance what to do; reThis can be found in the Official Gazette of December 2, 2019. Consequently, the administration of the preliminary advisory environmental commission of the Council of States had declared that it was possible to end the phase-in in 2021 independently of the Burkart parliamentary initiative. Therefore, the Environment Commission decided not to propose a change in the law. However, he explicitly stated his “wish or mandate” to the Federal Council to stop the special rule by 2021.
But that seems to be the case today nobody else remember. All the parliamentarians interviewed refer to the aforementioned decision of the National Council of September 9 2019. reThese must be respected.
