Switzerland: initiative to set up a Climate Fund widely rejected by Swiss voters, with 70,7% of the votes

Swiss voters rejected the creation of a climate fund by 70.7% on 08/03/2026.

This popular initiative, supported by the Swiss Socialist Party and the Swiss Green Party, called for "significantly more resources to be invested in limiting global warming and managing its consequences", according to the Swiss Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications.

In the run-up to the vote, the Federal Council (which voted against the initiative on 29/01/2025) and Parliament had called on the people to vote against it, acknowledging nonetheless that "major investments are needed to protect the climate".

As the President of the Swiss Confederation, Guy Parmelin, pointed out in a speech, investment in climate protection amounts to "CHF 2 billion a year".

Setting up this fund would have represented "a considerable burden for the Confederation, which would have had to spend between CHF 4 and 8 billion extra per year (representing 0.5% to 1% of Switzerland's GDP), or even go into debt. And this at a time when finances are under strain", Guy Parmelin continues.

According to…