Author: switzerlandtimes.ch

This week, an error was found in the government’s calculation of the future hole in state pension funding. While the error, which overstates the shortfall by CHF 4 billion, is substantial, it does not change the trend, according to Stéphane Rossini, head of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), reported RTS. The CHF 4 billion error is highly embarrassing for the government, which has used the figures to argue in favour of pension reform, including a successful referendum to lift the state retirement age for women to 65 in line with that of men. Since the mistake was discovered, the Green…

Thirty years ago, Switzerland introduced rules making it compulsory to wear seatbelts in any seat where seatbelts are fitted. This made wearing seatbelts in rear seats compulsory for the first time, reported RTS. Adding a requirement to wear rear seatbelts was met with little resistance. However, in 1980 when a referendum was run on whether to make wearing seat belts compulsory in Switzerland, 48.4% of voters were against the idea. And in July 1981, when the rules were introduced, compliance with the new law was comparatively low when compared to today. On 30 November 1980, 51.6% of the nation voted…

Switzerland’s economy grew slightly more than expected in the second quarter of 2024, reported SRF. Between April and June 2024, Gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.5%. A survey of economists had expected growth for the quarter to be between 0.2% and 0.4%. The biggest driver of growth during the quarter came from industry, which grew at a faster rate than the service economy. Second quarter growth (+0.5%) outstripped growth in the first quarter of 2024 (+0.3%) by 0.2 percentage points. The Q2 growth figures are not definitive. Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) provides early flash estimates, which…

A popular criticism of electric cars is the toxic battery waste they create. In response to this criticism and for the benefit of the environment a new factory in the Swiss town of Biberist in the canton of Solothurn is aiming to recycle 97% of the components of a range of car batteries, reported SRF. The company Librec AG, aims to eventually process 10,000 tons of used batteries a year. It will recycle batteries from a range of vehicles. 10,000 tons is the forecasted annual amount of car battery waste in Switzerland by 2035. As a first step the company…

Around 600 hiking trails covering 1,300 km of path have been closed across Switzerland after storm damage, reported the organisation Suisse Rando. Due to the weather conditions, there are currently many Swiss hiking trails that have been damaged and have been closed or diverted, said the organisation. The most affected regions include Goms, Binntal, Saas Valley, Zermatt, Val d’Anniviers, Misox, Maggia Valley, Val Bavona, Val Lavizzara and Valle di Peccia, in the Leventina and in the Bedretto Valley. Areas affected by closures have been generally been cordoned off by cantonal hiking trail organisations. Closures can be viewed at the online…

From 1 August 2024, Switzerland will begin contributing to a fund supporting the protection of the borders of the Schengen zone, a group of European nations with combined land borders of 8,000 km and sea borders of 43,000 km, reported RTS. A total of CHF 300 million has been budgeted to cover the period between 2021 and 2027. The money is a contribution to strengthening external border protection of the Schengen zone and to prevent illegal entry, said the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM). The sum is calculated based on national GDP. During the same period, Switzerland is expected to…

Vehicle noise is a problem in Switzerland. The authorities receive a numerous and growing number complaints, particularly in cities. Switzerland’s Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) placed noise detection radars in Geneva to quantify the problem. This week, they released the results, reported RTS. Radars erected in a number of places in Geneva flashed between 100 and 200 noisy vehicles a day. The devices record licence plate numbers and the noise to ensure there are no errors. The Radars are in zones where the speed limit is between 30 km/h and 60 km/h. The noise threshold was set at 80…

After adjusting for weather conditions, emissions from heating oil and gas fell by 8% 2023, according to data published this week by the Federal Office of the Environment (FOEN). The main driver of the improvement is improved building efficiency from better insulation and more efficient heating technology. The fall in emissions from burning gas (-41.7%) since 1990 is particularly striking. However, overall, Switzerland still has a long way to go. Since 1990, total emissions have fallen by 27%. The internationally agreed target is a cut of 50% by 2030. If the annual average rate achieved since 1990 is maintained, Switzerland…

In 2022, 24% of Switzerland’s population smoked, according to data published on 2 July 2024 by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). This percentage is down 3 percentage points from the rate in 2017 when the survey was last done. The smoking rate has fallen most significantly among people with tertiary education. The proportion of heavy smokers (20 or more cigarettes a day) has more than halved in the last 30 years. New types of tobacco products or e-cigarettes are particularly popular among younger people, consumed by 17% of 15- to 24-year-olds in 2022. In 1992, 30% of the population aged…

Currently, Switzerland’s mountain regions are suffering badly from flooding following thunderstorms and exceptionally heavy rain. However, Switzerland’s plateau is not immune to flooding, reported SRF. New calculations suggest more than half of Switzerland’s buildings are at risk of being damaged by storms and floods. As the climate changes, devastating thunderstorms are becoming more frequent everywhere, said Olivia Romppainen, co-director of the Mobiliar Lab for Natural Risks at the University of Bern. A one degree rise in air temperature increases its moisture carrying capacity by seven percent. A key problem is water absorption. When so much rain falls quickly the ground…