The battle for renewable energy in Switzerland goes to the polls June 6, 2024

Swiss authorities want to use a new climate law passed last year to increase the current minuscule contribution of wind and solar power to Switzerland's energy mix. (Fabrice COFFRINI)

By AFP - Agence France Presse

The battle for renewable energy in Switzerland goes to the polls

Switzerland's largest wind farm, located at the top of the Jura mountains on the border with France, consists of just 16 turbines - tiny compared to those in other European countries.

The wealthy Alpine country has said it wants to rapidly accelerate the development of renewable energy sources as it strives to achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

The authorities want to use a new climate law passed last year to increase the current tiny contribution of wind and solar energy to Switzerland's energy mix.

But this plan could hit a snag: the law is being contested in a national referendum on Sunday, which could block its implementation next January.

While most environmental organizations support the law and its ambitions, some smaller groups have obtained enough signatures to trigger a referendum under Switzerland's system of direct democracy, amid fears that it will accelerate large-scale energy projects and cause “unnecessary destruction of landscapes”.

Switzerland's largest party, the far-right Swiss People's Party (SVP), also backed the vote, warning that implementing the law could threaten Swiss energy security.

“It is not with renewable energy produced on top of the Jura mountains that we will be able to guarantee the security of supply,” Yvan Pahud, an SVP parliamentarian, told AFP.

Instead, the SVP supports more nuclear power.

- Sacrificing nature? -

Pierre-Alain Bruchez, who instigated the referendum, didn't like installing large solar panels on top of unspoiled mountain landscapes.

The retired economist said he started his battle after learning “horror” about the Grengiols-Solar project, which aims to install around 230,000 solar panels in the mountainous canton of Wallis, at an altitude of 2,500 meters.

“We must not sacrifice nature on the altar of climate change,” he told AFP.

Vera Weber, president of the Franz Weber Foundation for the Protection of Nature and Animals, which also called for the referendum, agreed.

“This law weakens nature protection in Switzerland,” she told AFP.

Despite these arguments, repealing the law could be difficult.

Sunday's vote will take place less than two months after Switzerland became the first country to be condemned by an international court for not doing enough about climate change.

The European Court of Human Rights verdict seems to have shaken the Swiss public, with 73% of voters polled recently saying they supported the law.

- More positives than negatives

The bill aims to rapidly increase the production of hydroelectric, wind, and solar energy and paves the way for a simplified approval process for large-scale projects.

As for solar energy, the main objective would be to install panels on the roofs and facades of buildings.

The Swiss government, which supports the law, acknowledged that legal challenges against renewable energy projects “will probably be less likely to succeed than before”.

However, it emphasizes that large installations in “biotopes of national importance” and in migratory bird reserves will remain prohibited, albeit with some exceptions.

The WWF, which is among several environmental groups supporting the law, pointed out that the bill requires “more than 80% of planned renewable energy development to be done through solar energy on existing buildings”.

Patrick Hofstetter, a WWF expert, added that “effective measures against electricity waste are finally being introduced”.

“From our point of view, the benefits of the project outweigh” the negatives, he said.

- Overcoming dependence on fossil fuels -

The Swiss branch of Greenpeace said the law could help Switzerland “overcome its dependence on fossil fuels such as oil and gas, which often come from bellicose states”.

Jaqueline de Quattro, a Liberal Party MP, agreed.

She pointed out that Switzerland spends eight billion Swiss francs ($8.9 billion) a year “on undemocratic imports of fossil fuels, such as Russian gas or oil from Arab countries”.

Given the Swiss dependence on the comforts that energy brings, she told AFP, “We should also accept seeing a wind turbine on the horizon from time to time”.

By Elodie LE MAOU

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