Municipalities on the way to net zero
Municipalities are currently facing major challenges in fulfilling their role model function in climate protection. Continuous work is necessary in order to achieve the goals set by society and protect the climate. A solid database and a coherent definition of targets and measures are important in this regard. In recent years, Swiss Climate has supported various municipalities on their journey towards net zero.
From accounting...
The commitment to a sustainable energy policy has a long tradition in the municipality of Cham. The municipality of Cham has been an energy town since 2001. With the new Energy and Climate Concept 2035, the municipality has set itself ambitious goals. The aim is to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the municipality by 2050. Within the administration, the net-zero target is already set for 2030.
In 2019 and 2021, Swiss Climate drew up a CO2 balance sheet for the municipal administration in accordance with international standards ISO 14064-1 and the GHG Protocol to help it achieve its targets. Swiss Climate also provided support in other municipalities in balancing the greenhouse gas emissions of the administration or the municipal area. For example, in Saas-Fee, Bremgarten bei Bern and Oberägeri.
...about the strategy...
For example, Swiss Climate supported the municipality of Zermatt in the development of a net-zero energy and climate strategy: the CO2 and energy balance identified the most important fields of action so that measurable indicators and interim targets could be developed in a participatory process with the administrative departments. A CO2 reduction pathway was defined as an overarching goal in order to minimise the impact of measures from different fields and track the overall development of the municipality.
...and the action plan...
The city of Liestal has been involved in the Energy City programme since 2008. In 2022, the city began developing a sustainability strategy. The greenhouse gas balances drawn up were used to record the current situation and measure the effectiveness of the measures already implemented and planned (monitoring and controlling). When planning measures, Swiss Climate analysed the most important fields of action and the reduction potential of individual measures. The findings of the assessment and the measures derived from it were then fed back into the sustainability strategy and financial planning.
...to dealing with residual emissions.
The municipality of Cham has set itself the goal of ensuring net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the municipality by 2050 in accordance with the national climate targets. Within the administration, the target is already being set for 2030. As part of this, a sink project is to be developed on the municipal territory of Cham, which will enable the municipality of Cham to assume full responsibility for the administration's residual emissions from 2030.
Swiss Climate supported the municipality of Cham with a preliminary study to identify potential carbon sink projects in the municipality. The preliminary study enabled the municipality of Cham to make an informed decision as to which projects it would like to investigate in more detail for its net-zero strategy. In a next step, the possibilities of two promising project types were analysed in more detail and various partnerships and options for project cooperation were examined in the form of an in-depth feasibility study.
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