Cham – a municipality that sets an example
Cham is a municipality in the canton of Zug with just under 18,000 inhabitants. Since 2001, Cham has been a certified energy city and has been awarded the "Gold" Energy City label since 2004. Due to changes in energy policy frameworks and increased action required in the climate sector, the foundations for engagement by the municipality of Cham have been further developed. The municipality of Cham has set itself the goal of ensuring net-zero greenhouse gas emissions on its territory by 2050, in line with national climate goals. Internally, the administration is already aiming for this goal by 2030. Within this framework, a carbon sink project is to be developed in the municipality of Cham, through which the municipality can take full responsibility for the residual emissions of the administration as early as 2030.
Swiss Climate supported the municipality of Cham through a preliminary study to identify potential projects. The study examined existing project ideas that meet the requirements of the municipal administration and analyzed the implementation potential of existing as well as new carbon sink projects in the municipality for each project type. The preliminary study enabled the municipality of Cham to make an informed decision about which projects it would like to further investigate for its net-zero strategy.
In a next step, the possibilities of two promising project types were examined in more detail, and various partnerships as well as options for project collaboration were explored through an in-depth feasibility study. This process involved gathering the interests of various stakeholders. Furthermore, an analysis was conducted to determine the role that the municipality of Cham can play in potential project development and how the carbon sequestration can be accounted for to the municipality. It also identified the concrete next project steps that may be necessary in the future.
The feasibility study enabled the municipality of Cham to make an informed decision on how it can support or develop projects in the coming years to achieve its net-zero goal.
In this project, the following services from Swiss Climate were utilized:
- Preliminary study for the development of a climate protection project in the municipality of Cham.
- Feasibility study for a detailed analysis of the feasibility of two specific project types
