Les structures économiques et politiques

Description

A Public Program for Green Jobs (ProGJ) will be created to cushion the social consequences of the Corona crisis and the transition to a GHG-neutral economy. In the course of decarbonization, jobs will inevitably be lost in emitting sectors, as these will have to shrink or even disappear completely.

The ProGJ should proactively take care of employees in the affected sectors and provide them with an alternative in a sustainable area in advance. For this purpose, it can work together with the Regional Employment Centers (RAV) and must take care of the creation of additional jobs in sustainable areas.

Example 1: The ProGJ, will create a program to advise and support all building owners who want to retrofit their house/flat, install solar panels, replace heating systems or implement other renovations that will decrease the energetic demand of their buildings. This program will assist building owners in finding credit with the climate bank (see chapter Buildings and Spatial Development), information about the different possible technical solutions, and bureaucratic paperwork. This service will be provided free of charge, or at a low price. This program will create jobs and offer training in an important economic sector that will likely develop in the future, at the same time it will accelerate the improvement in building efficiency, and the deployment of renewable energy sources, thus contributing to achieve carbon neutrality.

Example 2: The ProGJ will create repairing centers spread throughout the country. These centers will provide a public repairing service where electrical appliances, furniture, clothes etc. can be repaired at an affordable price. Goods that break within the manufacturer’s warranty can be repaired in these centers free of charge (manufacturers will be charged by the centers for the repair). Additionally, these repairing centers could offer free use of tools, training in several activities, and could become community centers where one can get help with various issues. These centers will have multiple functions, they will provide good jobs and professional training, and through their activity they will increase the lifetime of objects, thus reducing their material footprint. One possible example of how these repair centers could be organized is developed in Policy 9.2. 

Example 3: The ProGJ will create a fleet of low-emission or electric public taxis that will provide public transport in rural areas where the population density is too low for the conventional public transport system. This will create job opportunities in marginal areas, improve the capacity of public transport, and will decrease the dependency from cars.

Example 4: The ProGJ, in coordination with the Federal office for the Environment will create a program to improve the biodiversity and the environmental quality in Switzerland (OECD 2017). The ProGJ alone will not be able to reverse the trend in biodiversity loss and environmental degradation, additional policies will be necessary. However, the ProGJ will provide the workforce for the protection, restoration and monitoring of biodiversity and environmental quality. There are countless projects that could be implemented under such a program, and they could include the management of natural areas that are also used for recreation. Especially in the urban context these green areas will also play a role in the adaptation to higher Summer temperatures. When extending green areas in urban contexts, such extension should not lead to gentrified environments (see chapter Buildings and Spatial Development).

Example 5: The ProGJ, in coordination with agencies working in the caring economy (child care, care of elderly, health care) will support an expanding care economy (see Policy 9.3) by facilitating the training of people who would like to work in the care economy, and help them find a job there. Women and men who chose to take care of their children or parents at home will be able to claim their compensation from the ProGJ who will be authorized by the state to treat reproductive care as a normal part of the care economy.

Financing

With the implementation of the ProGJ the public sector will take a larger role in the overall economy of Switzerland, and it will provide enhanced services to the population. Therefore, the ProGJ will be financed by the core budget of the state, it is possible that in the first phase the costs of the ProGJ will be substantial, resulting in a government deficit. However, currently government spending is regulated by the debt brake (FFA 2020). The debt brake essentially says that over an economic cycle, expenditures cannot exceed revenues, in this way public debt cannot rise (in the long term). Switzerland’s public debt brake poses a substantial limitation to achieve full funding of the ProGJ, and of the CAP’s policy proposals in general. Therefore, we propose that public investments in mitigation and adaptation spending for climate change are exempted from the public debt brake’s general expenditure rule. Mitigation measures towards carbon neutrality shall not include any climate offsetting or otherwise compensating schemes (e.g. outsourcing as described above).    

Impact

The impact of the ProGJ on the GHG emissions will be indirect. By creating jobs in economic sectors with low GHG footprint, the ProGJ will contribute to achieve a rapid transition to a GHG neutral economy.  

Social Compatibility

The main goal of the ProGJ is to ensure that the socio-economic transition envisioned by the CAP will be just, equitable, and politically legitimate. The ProGJ should enable all people to find a job in a green sector and keep the unemployment rate low. 

Questions and Uncertainties

There are many possible structures and tasks that could be adopted by the ProGJ. One important aspect will be to achieve a good coordination between the federal, cantonal and local activities of the ProGJ. It will also be important to monitor the activities and impact of the ProGJ to adapt its interventions quickly to the changes in the economy. 

Description

Climate workshops provide equipment for loan, offer repair services and organize further training and courses. They cover areas such as textile, wood and metal processing, IT and telecommunications consulting and support. In this way, a new economy is created in the local area with the lowest possible transport volumes and optimized use of equipment and expertise. Climate workshops are a focal point in the development of a sustainable and climate-friendly everyday culture in the handling of goods and materials. As the technologies of digital printing become more widespread, the range of possible applications is growing. For example, spare parts can be produced locally. Manufacturers of goods must accordingly be obliged to publish appropriate instructions for all wearing parts of their products.

Climate workshops are part of public services and should be set up in all districts and villages. They must be integrated as much as possible into the respective local communities, for example through cooperation with neighborhood or village associations, with schools, technical colleges and universities, with scout organizations etc. Many of their individual services (e.g. repair services) may come at some small costs (but without serving any profit interests). Nevertheless, it is clear that they need financial support from the public sector.

Impact

Climate workshops support households, municipalities, neighborhoods, special purpose associations, clubs, SMEs, etc. in ecological adaptation processes and in sustainable everyday life and habitat design. The efforts of people and various organizations are given a collective framework to support them and improve their efficiency. Climate workshops strengthen the relevant skills and ensure their rapid dissemination. At the same time, climate workshops are a focus project for new, sustainable forms of economic activity, e.g. the broad use of additive manufacturing (3-D printing) to promote the sustainable use of goods, machines and installations.

They can also act as a catalyst for a practice-based, sustainable reorientation of schools and other educational institutions by working closely with them.

Funding

It is estimated that 3000 Climate workshops will be required in Switzerland in a full implementation (for comparison: there are about 10'000 kindergartens and primary schools in Switzerland). If one estimates 7 jobs per workshop, this results in about 20,000 full-time jobs, which requires about CHF 2 billion per year. If the same amount is used for rooms, materials, machines, etc., the total cost is CHF 4 billion. With an estimated income from services of CHF 1 billion, this leaves CHF 3 billion annually, which must be provided by the public sector.

This funding requirement is to be financed primarily by a climate tax on financial assets (see Policy 9.9).

Compatibility with Social Objectives

Climate workshops redesign everyday life and consumer behavior into a jointly borne task, during which many new forms of quality of life rapidly emerge. The creation of around 20,000 new jobs makes it possible to give many people a new professional perspective. At the same time, craft qualifications are supported and upgraded. For example, new career prospects can be opened up for employees in car repair shops. There are around 5200 car workshops in Switzerland, of which around 4000 garages with 39,000 employees are organized in the Swiss Association of Motor Trades and Crafts (AGVS).

Questions and Uncertainties

The establishment of a sufficient number of climate workshops requires the efforts of a wide range of actors to be brought together. Those include existing institutions such as repair cafés, professional associations and trade unions, neighborhood associations, educational institutions, trade associations, local authorities, etc. If this succeeds, it will be possible to advance a new way of how everyday life is organized in the sense of a solidarity-based way of life. It is important that the experience gained during the construction process is continuously evaluated and that there is the political will to overcome obstacles and difficulties.

Description

We aim for WTR in a post-growth economy, which allows us to reduce working hours while redistributing the work more evenly on the workforce, thus giving people jobs who may have lost a job during the transition to a decarbonized economy. 

The number of full-time weekly working hours is gradually reduced from 41 hours (FSO 2020b) to e.g. 30 hours per week in the next 2 years, and to 24 hours per week until 2030. The working week is reduced to four working days (the standard week lasts from Monday to Thursday) immediately.

Working time reduction is a crucial measure to redistribute the productivity gains of the economy to the workers by compensating (fully or partially) less working time with higher wages, and to ensure that all workers have a secure working place in a post-growth economy (Kallis 2017)(Kallis 2017). Historically working time reduction has been a central demand of the labor movement and poses several impactful positive effects on the ecological, care-economical and the social realm. 

An important policy goal of the WTR should be to set free time to enable people, households and communities to pursue non-paid (not commodified and potentially low carbon) activities and to regain autonomy over their immediate environment and community life. Hence WTR must actively ensure that the increasing leisure time is not used for more (and potentially high carbon) consumption (Kallis 2017; Gorz 1991). This will be achieved through the GHG pricing and the respective border adjustment (see Policy 1.2and Policy 1.3).

Types of Working Time Reduction

A reduction in the hours a person works through their life can be achieved in several different ways. Not all measures are equally effective in terms of gender and social equality as well as ecology. Several of the presented measures can be combined. A shorter working week could be combined with a shorter workday. Often the amount of labor is measured in working hours per week or year. A WTR measure could also consist of a reduction in the total working hours per worker during a week, year or a whole life, which would make the current labor policies more flexible. A shorter working week has been a demand for a long time from different interest groups. A shorter working week could result in a three-day weekend for the whole population or workers could choose, on which days they work. Some of an enterprise’s workers could work from Monday to Thursday and the others from Tuesday to Friday.

A different approach would be to reduce the length of the workday. The standard eight-hour workday would be reduced to a shorter workday. There have been experiments in Swedish companies introducing a six-hour workday (De Spiegelaere and Piasna 2017).

Another measure could delay the entrance of the labor market by extending the period spent in education. Alternatively, the retirement age could be lowered. This reduces the overall working years of a person.

A lowering of the retirement age would counter the current trend increasing the retirement age (Finnish Centre for Pensions 2107). Workers could also have the possibility to take sabbaticals with the guarantee to return to their workplace after the sabbatical.

Financing

The WTR is financed through the tax on large assets which is in effect a redistribution of the productivity gains back to the workers (see Policy 9.9).

Impact 

The positive impact of shorter working hours is the use of less energy and therefore carbon emissions. When workers do work for a shorter time period the output of the whole economic system can be substantially reduced. According to Nässén and Larsson (2015) a reduction of working hours to 21 hours would reduce carbon emissions by 41%. However, Nässén and Larsson (2015) do assume a parallel reduction of income which shall not be assumed since this goes contrary to the principle of climate justice. Its social compatibility will be further discussed in the respective section. On the other hand, more working hours translates into more consumption and studies report on a direct link between (very) long working hours and carbon-intensive consumption. The reverse is not necessarily true but depends on what happens with the freed leisure time (Dengler and Strunk 2018).

Working time reduction can have other positive effects. Continuing productivity gains will reduce wages to a lesser extent than working hours. Hence, people will work less with a partial compensation of wages. In other words, people will have more leisure time and can do all the things they normally do not have time for. Their purchasing power will also decrease, although to a lesser extent. Since the goal is not to spend more free time to consume more, a small reduction in purchasing power can be justified (with exception in low paid jobs where workers cannot afford any wage cut). 

Some parts of the additional leisure time may be used for less carbon-intensive ways of commuting. Furthermore, carbon emissions of commuting will be reduced by 20% since workers only have to commute on four days per week.                

Social Compatibility

A reduction of income with the same ratio through all income levels would be antisocial. Not all people contribute equally to the overall carbon emissions (Chitnis et al. 2014). The shortening of working hours poses a unique chance to create a more just society. While the average income needs to drop to ensure mitigation of carbon emissions, it can be done in a way that leaves a larger part of the cake to the working class. It is possible to extend the income of the working class, while reducing carbon emissions. This would require a redistribution of wealth from the wealthy, big-polluters to the lower-income classes of society. It is essentially a shift from capital to labor (Kallis et al. 2013) - a shortening of surplus labor. There exists a wide range of options to redistribute wealth: A maximum and a minimum wage should be introduced and the tax on large assets (Policy 9.9). These measures would reduce carbon emissions and fight income inequality at the same time.

WTR should avoid creating a "dual society" (Gorz 1991) of highly productive professional workers (whose high productivity can be translated into reduced working time with equal pay, e.g. people working in the banking and finance sector) and low-skilled low-pay jobs in the service industry (e.g. the care or gastronomy sectors). Rather, WTR should be designed to reduce the proliferation of low pay precarious service jobs by decreasing the demand for such jobs. A WTR policy will increase the effective wages in the care and service jobs sector (since less working hours will be at least partly compensated with higher wages). Moreover, the market for some service jobs will increase (care jobs) while for others it will decrease. Most of those exist because working people do not have enough leisure time to organize their lives in their free time (Gorz 1991).

Questions and Uncertainties

The choice of the right amount of WTR in hours per week cannot be calculated with technical precision. We cannot know how productivity will develop in a world with WTR. Any decision about the right amount of WTR is at least initially a political decision, not a technical one (Gorz 1991).

Description

The care economy is a relatively low-carbon economy and should replace some of the other (carbon-intensive) sectors in the economy as an important job and wage-earning market. 

The care economy (caring for children at home and in day-nurseries/Kindergartens/Schools, caring for elderly at home or in retirement homes, caring for sick people in hospitals) will be expanded and low-paid jobs or unpaid reproductive work at home will be paid good wages. Those who will want to work in the care economy will be given a job guarantee.

Childcare will be recognized as a full-time job, entitling each parent up to 12 months’ pay of a Swiss average salary by the state or, if they choose to work otherwise, free child care in a day-nursery. The state will thus pay in total up to 24 months of childcare. Single parents are entitled to 24 months of childcare. 

Mothers and fathers can choose if they want to take care of their children and be paid by the state, or rely on free childcare and work in a job (paid by the employer). The time spent to reintegrate into the job market after giving birth (or for fathers after taking care of children at home) is compensated by the state at the amount of at least half the average Swiss salary, potentially more (it should not be less than the effective minimum wage and/or standard of living in Switzerland). 

Financing

Higher wages in the care economy, more jobs in the care economy, and full recognition of reproductive care will incur costs on society through taxes on consumption of goods and services which will become more expensive. On the other hand, care services (day-nurseries, kindergartens, elderly care, health care) will become cheaper or free, compensating partly for higher costs of living.

Impact 

Strengthening the care economy will have socially positive impacts by contributing to gender equality (Dengler and Strunk 2018), and environmentally positive impacts by contributing to less societal consumption of high-carbon goods and services (degrowth of carbon intensive goods and services) and to more consumption of care services (growth of low-carbon economic activities).

Socially and environmentally, paying higher wages and expanding the job market for care of children, elderly and sick will provide a strong labor market of low-carbon jobs that are needed to compensate for job reductions in the high-carbon labor markets that will shrink due to the CAP. Upgrading of jobs in the care economy and expanding it will contribute to less societal consumption of high-carbon goods and services as these will be taxed to finance the upgrade of jobs in the care economy.

A full recognition of reproductive care as part of normal economic activities will further reduce gender imbalances in present and future income. All sexes can be caretakers at home, entitled to full pay or compensation. In terms of climate mitigation, it will also contribute to less consumption overall since such a recognition will be financed through societal consumptive activities. This will help reduce the GHG footprint.

Social Compatibility

We expect only positive social effects.

Description

The legal form of corporations and stock-companies depends on economic growth and on the externalization of environmental costs (Binswanger 2019). Corporations and especially listed stock-corporations are not only forced to generate revenue to satisfy their shareholders with dividend payments, but the basic interest of shareholders is growing share value, hence shareholders will push for economic growth. Typically, salary structures and management bonuses are linked to the share value and create further incentives to grow, whatever the societal costs may be. If shares of a company are traded on the stock exchange, there is constant pressure to maximize shareholder value. If management chooses to pursue other goals and forego some profit opportunities, they risk lowering the value of the shares. In this case, there is an incentive for investors to buy this company at a low price, change the management and maximize shareholder value again. This will increase the stock price again and the investors can sell the shares at a higher price and make a handsome profit (H.-C. Binswanger 2009).

Therefore, foundations and cooperatives should become much more widespread legal forms for new and existing companies. These legal forms are less under pressure to grow. 

Legally, it is rather easy to become a cooperative. In general, cooperatives have easy access to debt capital. Unfortunately, the cooperative form is not well present in business research and in business news. The conditions, pros and cons of foundations and cooperatives have to become more widely discussed.

In order to foster foundations and cooperatives, and the conversion from stock and other corporations the following measures need to be taken: Establish an office of free legal advice in each language part of Switzerland for new foundations and cooperatives and conversions. Provide support for courses to establish business consulting and support the establishment of a national association that represents the interests in the public and political arenas. There are cooperative sectors such as renewable energy that need some financial and organizational support to professionalize.

Switzerland is a country with a long and deeply rooted tradition of cooperatives. This is a medium-term system change measure. Nevertheless, new frameworks and incentives should start immediately.

Financing

This could be done at low costs, and money that is spent on conventional business research, business development and location promotion could be redirected, hence the measure could be financially neutral.

Impact 

As this is only one factor that makes our actual economy dependent on growth, we cannot expect wonders and it would be very difficult to quantify the impact.

This system change measure is consistent with the increase in social and non-profit enterprises and with the aim of younger people to engage in their daily work and not work in very hierarchical and top-down corporations.

Social Compatibility

This is supposed to affect society at large. All the pros and cons of a post-growth society apply.

Questions and Uncertainties

Within the industry sector we propose three measures that trigger among others sufficiency: the moratorium for new buildings and infrastructure, the CO2-levy and this measure to slow down the inherent growth aspiration of corporations.

However, it is hard to predict how these measures initiate a system change into a more sustainable way our system works.

Description

Switzerland is playing a major role in the development and establishment of the Sustainable Development Index (SDI), as proposed by Jason Hickel (Hickel 2020). The SDI is based on five indicators (education, life expectancy, income, CO2 emissions, material footprint) to combine the strength of the Human Development Index with a focus on ecological sustainability, yielding an indicator of strong socio-ecological sustainability that measures nations’ ecological efficiency in delivering human development.

To this end, Switzerland is setting up an internationally oriented foundation and financing it with CHF 5 million annually. It invites all those institutions, organizations and public bodies to join in these efforts, provided that they are committed to the priority of the SDI over purely economic goals and measurement methods. The aim is to establish the new indicator as an internationally authoritative measure of quality of life and prosperity.

Effects

The gross domestic product (GDP) is a purely monetary quantity that is completely blind to ecological and social conditions. It encourages a dogmatic fixation on monetary economic growth. In addition, GDP ignores inactivity and its conditions as well as voluntary work, thus promoting the marginalization of the care economy. GDP also has a considerable tax impact. By definition, a recession occurs when GDP falls in two subsequent quarters. It is taken for granted that this is bad and should be prevented by all means.

By replacing GDP with an SDI-based indicator, we can finally start assessing the state of the economy in a more appropriate way, which should give tailwind to everyone interested in positive environmental change in the realization of the SDI-compatible economy.

The very fact that Switzerland is committed to the development of such a standard encourages debate and creates a global reference point for movements, NGOs and progressive politics.

Funding

Five million francs per year from the confederation's general financial resources.

Compatibility with Social Objectives

Since the SDI also includes many social objectives, a social orientation of politics and economy is promoted.

On a worldwide level, movements and forms of a transformational democracy are as needed as on local or regional levels. The globalization-critical movement had developed the form of the World Social Forums WSF. However, to avoid any splitting these Forums worked under the self-limitation of not taking decisions and calling for action. This limitation must be surmounted, even if there could be disagreements and even splits. But the emergency of global warming demands for global policies and global action. 

A World Climate Forum must have a new start and should not be tracked by the still existing WSF It needs a fresh start, triggered by climate movements and movements for climate justice all over the world.

If a sufficiently representative group is formed that wishes to initiate a World Climate Forum, the confederation will contribute CHF 10 mio to the costs of the initial three-year phase. This applies regardless of the countries where the preparatory work and implementation take place.

This demand can also be addressed to other state bodies (like cities or cantons). 

Financing

The costs may be CHF 10 mio per year, financed by the federation.

Impact

Global movements and global forms of transformational democracy are absolutely crucial for a successful climate policy. We can deal with the climate crisis only on a global level. A powerful World Climate Forum could become a decisive means of organizing and empowering such global movements. 

Social Compatibility

We see no problems.

A new concept of ownership should be established, according to which 1) private property of social relevance may only be used to the extent that it does not cause any damage to the general public, in particular with regard to environmental protection and climate warming, and 2) private property of social relevance must be made available to the general public if this is necessary from a superordinate perspective (e.g. because of urgent ecological and social concerns) (e.g. house roofs that must be made usable for solar energy use).

Description

As mentioned above, redistributing quite an important part of the fortunes accumulated within the last decades in the hands of a very small minority of ultra-rich people is not just a question of justice, but an indispensable task for assuring the material bases for a powerful democracy and an effective climate policy. One concrete measure to do so is a tax on large financial assets.

The confederation levies a climate asset tax of 20% on all asset shares above one million francs per household. This does not include owner-occupied property and tangible assets that are in daily use. Half of the revenue from this tax is to be used in the countries of the Global South for climate protection projects, e.g. sustainable energy supply, and prevent damage attributable to climate change. The other half will be used for climate policy measures in Switzerland.

In order to prevent the tax from being evaded, the time for the collection of the relevant assets is set in such a way that no deduction of assets abroad is possible and a capital movement control is introduced to prevent the subsequent deduction of taxable assets. Banking secrecy must also be completely lifted with respect to the tax authorities in Switzerland.

Financing

The demanded taxes provide the federation with the necessary financial resources to be able to pursue an effective climate policy both within the country and on a global level. Financial burdens, on the other hand, are very limited and minimal in comparison to the revenue (new federal staff required in the tax area).

Impact

The tax provides a socially responsible fundraising for climate policy, especially for the balancing of resources in favor of the Global South.

Social Compatibility

A climate asset tax is a central component of climate justice. It taps social wealth where it has been increasingly concentrated in recent decades. It takes into account the fact that both global warming and the growing inequality in wealth distribution have increased massively over the same period. The tax also increases the acceptance of many other measures such as incentive levies urging the population to change everyday habits and consumption patterns, and partially resigning from especially harmful consumption (like flying, driving SUVs or eating a steak every day).

Questions and Uncertainties

It is necessary to examine which form of collection is appropriate to ensure that the tax is levied in such a way as to maximize the yield of the tax without creating negative side effects. Two possible variants are:

• A one-off levy. In order to prevent taxpayers from having to sell all of their securities in large quantities during the same period, which could cause their prices to fall significantly, a transfer of securities is negotiated with the tax authorities. All assets must be disclosed to the authorities and a bundle of securities must be transferred to the confederation with the same level of risk as the total assets.
• An annual tax of, for example, 2% of the assets for 10 years. In this variant, it is particularly important to use capital controls to prevent taxable capital shares being created outside the country.

Description

Switzerland is well placed to meet the challenges presented by the rapid decarbonization of the economy. Thanks to the large GDP, Switzerland can afford to have the 13th highest per-capita government spending among OECD countries (OECD 2020), maintaining a low tax pressure on citizens and businesses operating in the country (FDFA 2020). However, the financial virtuosity of Switzerland is partly based on its status as a tax haven. In particular Switzerland used to offer advantageous terms to foreign corporations, and because of that Switzerland was placed on the grey list of the European Union. This changed with the tax reform, the approved in May 2019 (FDF 2020a), that resulted in the removal of Switzerland from the EU’s grey list (European Commission 2020). However, Switzerland continues to have a reduced taxation regime for foreign wealthy individuals. In 2018, 4557 people profited from the lump-sum taxation and paid a total of 821 million CHF. While some cantons abolished this tax, so far the Federal Council rejected the abolition of expenditure-based taxation for economic reasons (FDF 2020b). We therefore propose the abolition of the lump-sum taxation on the federal level.  

Financing

Assuming the worst-case scenario in which all beneficiaries of the lump-sum taxation will move their fiscal residence abroad, the abolishment of the sum-lump tax will result in ~CHF 800 mio of missing revenues each year.

Impact

This policy will not have a direct impact on GHG emissions but has important consequences for regarding the aspect of climate justice. The money collected by this measure will be used to fund climate friendly projects and mitigation measures.

Social Compatibility

Historically, the Swiss fiscal regime contributed to international tax avoidance, and to increased profits for foreign corporations and wealthy individuals with fiscal residence in the country. Switzerland benefited from additional fiscal revenues that are not available to other countries, these resources would be extremely valuable to finance environmental and social public investments in other countries. The abolition of tax havens and international tax avoidance is an important goal to ensure climate justice. 

Questions and Uncertainties

Individuals benefiting from lump-sum taxation might move their fiscal residence to other fiscal havens, however this is not a reason not to implement this policy.

Description

The institution of a climate policy delegate of the Federal Council is created. The delegate will coordinate the climate policy projects of the confederation, cantons and municipalities, maintain a lively exchange with NGOs and climate movements, create a monitoring process and draw up an annual report.
The delegate must have a strong and independent position, comparable to the position of the Swiss National Bank. This person of course needs a strong and competent staff and open insight in all data of any importance to GHG-reduction and climate justice.

Each year, the delegate convenes a conference to discuss progress in climate policy. Invited to the conference are representatives from politics, authorities and associations as well as from the Climate Councils. The conference discusses measures to keep Switzerland on track with regard to climate targets. The outcome might be appropriate recommendations.

Financing

Usual federal budget.

Impact

The implementation of a climate policy as outlined in the Climate Action Plan must be conceived as an ongoing process which needs monitoring and measures to ensure its implementation.
First of all, it is necessary to establish a whole set of measurements, of a Climate Action Plan. This must be done through political processes in combination with a broad mobilization of the population as described above (for instance in the form of climate councils). 

Second, we need firm action to assure the necessary progress of actions. A climate delegate must coordinate and focalize this process.

Questions and Uncertainties

The delegate is unlikely to have much effect on its own. However, in combination with a strong climate movement and corresponding pressure on policymakers, such an institution can make a significant contribution to ensuring that this pressure is systematically translated into an appropriately effective climate policy.

Description

Switzerland is introducing all democratic rights for non-Swiss citizens who have been resident in Switzerland for at least five years. The major challenges posed by climate change are increasingly affecting everyone. It is therefore all the more urgent that all those affected be given full democratic participation rights.

Impact

At the end of 2019, 2'111'412 people with foreign passports were living in Switzerland. 1'376'575 of them had a C settlement permit entitling them to unlimited residence in Switzerland and 713'911 people had a B residence permit valid for 5 years (EU/EFTA countries) or one year (all other countries). Residence permits are usually renewed. For both categories, it can be assumed that these people are living in Switzerland for a longer period or permanently. People with a foreign passport and a long-term or permanent permit account for around 24.5% of the total resident population. The importance of extending democratic rights to this part of the population is correspondingly high, especially in such a great political transition as the one that will be needed in Switzerland to reach net 0 GHG emissions by 2030.

Description

Switzerland introduces the right to vote and stand for election for all people who have reached the age of 14.

Impact

Global warming particularly affects the younger generations. It is therefore more than justified to grant this generation full democratic rights, as the Canton of Glarus has done since 2007. The proportion of 14 to17-year-olds in the resident population is just over 80'000. Around 320'000 people would therefore benefit from such an extension of democratic rights (in combination with voting and election rights for non-Swiss).