Emissions created by traffic in Switzerland have risen, not fallen
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Switzerland is turning to energy certificates from outside the country to make its CO2 quota for 2008-2012, and environmental group WWF is not happy about it.
The Swiss Federal Council announced Tuesday 17 January that it is signing a new contract with the Climate Cent Foundation to increase its engagement by one ton. The foundation as a result will be reducing CO2 by a total of 5 tons, allowing Switzerland to meet Kyoto objectives by financing CO2 reduction projects outside the country. The WWF reacted angrily, with energy and climate director Patrick Hofstetter calling the federal energy reduction plan “a disaster from start to finish” and qualifying the government’s new move as “maddening, dishonest and incomprehensible”.
Bern notes that without the new agreement Switzerland would not meet its objectives, mainly as a result of increased traffic: statistics for 2010 show CO2 from traffic at 12.9 percent above figures for 1990, when Switzerland is committed to decreasing this by 8 percent.
For the WWF, the move means that Switzerland is not only not meeting emission reduction goals because Bern is not applying the law, but it is also not respecting the spirit of Kyoto by buying more certificates than are authorized. In addition, argues the WWF, important sums are being spent abroad, using money that could be applied to reducing CO2 at home and to reducing Swiss dependence on oil, while creating jobs.
Electric scooters soon for the Swiss post - Photo La Poste Suisse
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Swiss Post buildings and vehicles are about to shift firmly into ecology gear, with the group’s announcement that all of its letter delivery scooters will soon be electric and 20 of its premises will see photovoltaic systems installed on their rooftops.
The group has until now relied on hydroelectric and wind power.
The national postal system said Thursday 22 September that the moves are part of its “pro clima” programme effort to reduce CO2 emissions by 15,000 tons by 2013, compared to 2010, and to explore “other avenues” for energy sources without sacrificing economic viability.
The fleet of 7,500 scooters used for mail delivery will be replaced with electric models as each one wears out, so that by 2016 at the latest the entire fleet will be electric, using renewable energy sources.
The photovoltaic systems on its business premises will produce 6,000MWh a year, enough to cover 4 percent of Swiss Post’s electricity needs. The installation cost is CHF39 million, with the first system at Zurich-Muelligan, spanning 26,000m2, in an “advanced stage”.
Swiss Post’s CO2 reduction programme includes several other measures:
- Drivers of large delivery vehicles will be trained to use the Eco-drive method, already in use by PostBus drivers who have reduced their energy consumption by 3 percent.
- 140 gas-powered delivery and business vehicles are being converted to 100 percent biogas.
- Swiss Post is buying another 10 hybrid buses, which use 20-30 percent less energy than traditional buses.
- The group is setting up a number of sharing stations for employees, with electric cars and e-bikes.
Federal tax to take into account unchanging purchasing power
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Swiss purchasing power has not increased for Swiss consumers, with the CPI (consumer price index) needle barely moving, so while some households will have seen their income increase slightly, their purchasing power has not. To offset the effecct of this, the federal income tax rate in Switzerland will be adjusted for fiscal 2012:
- couples with two incomes will be able to deduct a maximum of CHF13,400, up from CHF13,200
- the deduction for children and other dependents will go to CHF6,500, up from CHF6,400
- The maximum deduction for childcare outside the family, for children under age 14, will be CHF10,100, compared to CHF10,000 now
- A couple living together will not be taxed unless their income is CHF28 300 francs, up from CHF28,100
- The maxiumum rate will be CHF895 900 francs instead of CHF889,400.
The federal income tax is the smallest of the three tax levels in Switzerland: commune, canton and federal.
Noise reduction panels to the west of the Lausanne train station will have to wait
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – Panels to reduce noise from trains on the east side of Lausanne, in the direction of canton Valais, were approved in June 2011 after a five-year review, but new panels to the west of the station will have to wait, the Federal Transport Office said Thursday 4 August.
The delay is due to the new Lausanne-Renens fourth rail line, approved in December 2010. Noise panels and noise reduction windows for the area should be reviewed as part of the larger fourth rail project, the Bern office says. A revised project will be presented to the public at the end of the summer.
Barry Callebaut supplies chocolate-makers: Salon du Chocolat, Paris, October 2009
Barry Callebaut's chocolate supply samples, Paris Salon du Chocolat, 2009
Zurich / Vevey, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The global economic crisis may have served up stress and more stress to many people, but the Swiss chocolate industry appears to be sailing happily through it: Barry Callebaut sales in 2008-2009 rose 4.1 percent in a world market that contracted by 2 percent last year. The Zurich-based company is the world’s largest supplier of top-quality cocoa and chocolate products. Profits also rose, 18.5 percent for net profits in local currencies, but the strong Swiss franc had a negative impact.The company reported 11 November on its fiscal year, which closed 31 August 2009.
Nestle at the same time has offered chocolate lovers good news from its research laboratory near Vevey: 40 grams of dark chocolate a day, one small square, has been shown in tests to reduce stress levels. The research is published in the Journal of Proteome Research.
