In Switzerland, the battle for renewable energies slips into the ballot boxes

The Alpine country - which is aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050 - wants, thanks to a law adopted last year, to accelerate the development of renewable energies, the share of which in national production is tiny, far behind hydroelectricity (56,6 .32,4%) and nuclear (XNUMX%).

But environmental organizations have launched a referendum against the law which they say will lead to "unnecessary destruction of landscapes".

The largest party in Switzerland, the UDC, a radical right-wing group, is at their side, mainly in the name of the defense of nuclear power.

“It is not with renewable energies, especially established in the mountains and ridges of the Jura, that we will succeed in guaranteeing security of supply,” Yvan Pahud, UDC deputy, told AFP, also insisting on the “fluctuating” nature of these energies.

At the origin of the referendum, on which the Swiss vote on Sunday, Pierre-Alain Bruchez considers that "there is no reason to put photovoltaic panels on mountain pastures, when there is so much space" on the buildings and infrastructure.

This retired economist launched into the battle when he learned of the Grengiols-Solar project aimed at installing, by 2030, some 230.000 solar modules at an altitude of around 2.500 meters in Valais, "a vision horror" according to him. “We must not sacrifice nature on the altar of climate change,” he told AFP.

“The benefits outweigh”

The law aims to rapidly increase hydro, wind and solar production, and provides that the latter develops primarily on roofs and facades.

It establishes “facilitated planning conditions” for wind turbines, large solar installations and hydroelectric projects. “This law weakens the protection of nature in Switzerland,” Vera Weber, president of the Franz Weber Foundation for Nature and Animal Protection, which also launched the referendum, told AFP.

The government recognizes that “court appeals” against energy projects “will probably be less likely to succeed than before”.

But, he underlines, it will remain prohibited to build large installations in “biotopes of national importance” and “migratory bird reserves”, even if exceptions are planned, for example in certain “proglacial margins” appeared following the retreat of glaciers.

He also points out that 15 hydroelectric projects (new constrictions and dam raisings) have received the green light from WWF and Pro Natura.

“More than 80% of planned development of renewable energy must be done with solar on existing buildings, and effective measures against electricity waste are finally being introduced,” said WWF, which supports the law with others Environmental NGOs.

“The benefits of the project clearly outweigh this,” says WWF expert Patrick Hofstetter.

Switzerland condemned for climate inaction

This vote comes shortly after the condemnation of Switzerland, at the beginning of April, by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for its lack of initiatives against global warming.

An electric shock conviction: according to a latest survey, 73% of Swiss support the law.

Greenpeace Switzerland too, according to which it "preserves biotopes of national importance" and allows Switzerland to "overcome its dependence on fossil fuels such as oil and gas, which often come from belligerent states".

An argument taken up by the liberal-radical MP Jacqueline de Quattro: "We are dependent, at a rate of 8 billion per year, on fossil imports as undemocratic as Russian gas or oil from Arab countries."

She also insists on the responsibility of the Swiss who always want more electricity for their comfort: "we must also accept from time to time to see a wind turbine on the horizon, to have a photovoltaic panel on the neighbor's roof".

She also denounces the slowness of procedures relating to appeals filed against the construction of renewable energy installations, calling for "putting an end to this jungle" by clearly defining, thanks to the law, the protected places and those "where the we can and must produce.”