Heatwave policy, Swiss-style: plenty of ideas, less appetite for sacrifice

Switzerland has reached the point where even the weather gets a parliamentary hearing. On Wednesday, the National Council is debating heatwave and drought, and SRF used the occasion to ask its "dialog" community for ideas against future heatwaves. The most popular proposals were then put to six members of parliament from the environmental commission. The answers were revealing in the usual Swiss way: broad agreement on the obvious, selective enthusiasm for the expensive parts, and a quiet struggle over who is supposed to make the first move.

The most politically charged suggestion concerned flying. The community’s logic was simple enough: if trains are the climate-friendly option, flights should not be cheaper than rail. Franziska Ryser of the Greens said even moderate price increases on tickets can shift travellers to the train, especially on short and medium distances. Hasan Candan of the SP called flying one of the biggest CO₂ drivers and said a flight ticket tax could still find a political majority. Nadine Masshardt of the SP added that air traffic in Switzerland accounts for 27 percent of the climate effect and remains tax-favoured compared with motorists or homeowners.

The counterarguments were just as familiar. Christian Wasserfallen of the FDP said Switzerland is responsible for only around 0.08 percent of global CO₂ emissions and warned that higher ticket prices would simply send passengers to neighbouring airports. Barbara Schaffner of the GLP argued that Switzerland should use its technological and economic strength to push for equal conditions between train and plane, though she also admitted the practical hurdles. Christine Bulliard-Marbach of the Mitte supported a shift from air to rail, but only if higher ticket prices are paired with a better international train offer.

The second theme was less theatrical and more useful: cities need more green and less asphalt. The community proposed more trees, vegetation where possible, and the breaking up of sealed surfaces. Here the answers were strikingly close. Ryser said additional trees, green spaces, open water surfaces and de-sealed ground are among the most effective measures against heat stress. Hasan Candan described a tree as equivalent to ten air conditioners, while stressing that forests and wetlands must be preserved if water is to be stored instead of simply running off. Masshardt and Schaffner both backed sponge-city ideas and further de-sealing, and Wasserfallen conceded that trees, urban greenery and water management can lower temperatures in cities and agglomerations by several degrees.

The third issue concerned incentives, solar power and better use of existing infrastructure. The community wanted behaviour rewarded rather than merely regulated, with more solar energy, participation for tenants and support for local roofs instead of only grand projects. Ryser pointed to local electricity communities, which can also benefit tenants. Bulliard-Marbach said an incentive-based energy policy has considerable potential and noted that local electricity communities and virtual self-consumption are already under way. Candan said the biggest lever lies in solar power on existing buildings, with batteries as a practical complement. Masshardt argued that money would be better spent on solar, water and wind than on new nuclear plants, while Wasserfallen called for an energy mix that includes new nuclear power, hydropower and other renewables.

What emerges is not a clash over whether Switzerland should adapt to heat and drought. On that point, the language is almost embarrassingly unanimous. The real divide lies elsewhere: between measures that sound sensible and measures that survive the budget, the cantons and the national talent for postponement. In that respect, the debate is already honest enough. The country knows what would help. The harder part is deciding which of those ideas it is prepared to pay for, and which it prefers to admire from a safe distance.

SRF asked members of each parliamentary group’s environmental commission for their views; those who replied are represented here. The weather, as ever, has no need to wait for the rest of the procedure.

Written by Thomas Nussbaumer thomas.nussbaumer@alpineweekly.com