Perspectives on Switzerland's net-negative target after 2050

• Forschungsstelle: BAFU
• Projektnummer: ExSt.2026.1896

Schlüsselwörter (Englisch)

Net-negative CO2, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, global warming

Kurzbeschreibung (Englisch)

Recent trends in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and global mean temperature make it virtually certain that global warming of 1.5°C will be exceeded within the next ten years. Limiting global warming to 1.5°C in the long run will therefore almost certainly rely on global pathways in which global warming peaks above this level and subsequently returns to 1.5°C through sustained global net-negative CO2 and potentially even net-negative GHG emissions. In this context, countries with high income, strong technological, institutional and economic capacity, and substantial historical contributions to global warming are widely expected to move beyond net-zero targets and contribute to global net atmospheric carbon removal. In broad terms, scaling Switzerland’s contribution to global warming – accounting for territorial CO2 and other GHGs and using its current share of the global population – implies that the median global temperature increase would already be approximately 1.8°C. Although Swiss territorial CO2 emissions per capita fell below the global average around 2015, emissions embodied in imports substantially exceed domestic emissions. At the same time, Switzerland possesses considerable economic capacity to contribute to global mitigation efforts. Taken together, these factors suggest that Switzerland’s contribution to achieving global temperature goals through carbon removals could reasonably exceed those of many other countries. Switzerland’s climate legislation already reflects this expectation by mandating net-zero GHG emissions by 2050 and a transition to net-negative GHG emissions thereafter. This report supports the operationalization of Net-negative CO2 emissions occur when carbon dioxide removals exceed residual CO2 emissions, whereas net-negative greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions require that removals exceed the residual emissions of GHGs. Net-negative GHG emissions therefore represent a more stringent requirement than net-negative CO2 emissions. Switzerland’s transition to net-negative emissions after 2050 by providing benchmark targets, discussing possible national allocation of responsibilities, and outlining policy design considerations for delivering net-negative outcomes at scale.

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Auftragnehmer (Englisch)

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg AT

Belastetes Budget (Englisch)

Budget BAFU

Gesetzliche Grundlage (Englisch)

Art. 57 Abs. 1 RVOG | Art. 57 al. 1 LOGA. | Art. 57 cpv. 1 LOGA

Impressum (Englisch)

Copyright, Bundesbehörden der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft | Droits d'auteur: autorités de la Confédération suisse | Diritti d'autore: autorità della Confederazione Svizzera | Dretgs d'autur: autoritads da la Confederaziun svizra | Copyright, Swiss federal authorities

Auskunft (Englisch)

BAFU, Direktionsbereich Klima, 3003 Bern