Selected environmental performance indicators
Environmentally related taxation is low and decreasing
Agricultural nitrogen remains a source of concern
Designated areas for biodiversity have varying levels of protection
Swiss GDP growth is in line with growth in the OECD as a whole
Public health expenditure is high and increasing
Well-being perception is generally higher in Switzerland than in the OECD overall
Half of the energy supply comes from fossil fuels
Renewables rely heavily on hydropower
Energy consumption is decreasing and becoming less intensive
Road accounts for the lion's share of energy consumption in the transport sector
GHG emissions are decreasing
Air emissions are declining
Material productivity is on the rise
Municipal waste generation is rising
Half of municipal solid waste is recycled
Use of nutrients in agriculture remains excessive
There are few protected areas under federal law
Water abstraction is declining
Biodiversity implementation gaps are particularly significant
Implementation gaps are directly related to the shortage of inspections
More businesses voluntarily adopt environmental management systems
A relatively low environmentally related tax base (% GDP) is balanced between transport and energy
Switzerland has one of the narrowest tax differentials between diesel and petrol
Most Swiss non-road GHG emissions remain unpriced or low priced on an effective carbon rate basis
Carbon prices under the Swiss and EU ETS have reached equally low levels
Swiss fossil fuel consumer support represents a notably low ratio compared with total tax revenue
Total public environmental protection expenditure was stable over 2000-13
Environmental public R&D (% of total public R&D) needs to be reprioritised
Environmentally related patents as percentage of all technology patents
Growth in ODA and in mainstreaming of environmental considerations
Surface water quality (2011-14): status is mixed
Freshwater abstraction as % of total renewable resources is relatively modest
Switzerland is No. 2 among OECD countries in population connected to sewage treatment plants
Some 70% of sewage treatment is tertiary and the share continues to grow
The nitrogen balance is little changed but phosphorus has declined
Agricultural pesticide use intensity is about average
Water prices in Swiss cities are fairly high by OECD standards
Ecological payments to Swiss farmers are growing
How the proposed tax on nitrogen surpluses would work
Prioritisation of river rehabilitation involves cost-benefit analysis and managing synergies and trade-offs
A nomogram is used to determine the necessary space for surface waters
The minimum flow differs depending on whether the rights of use were granted before or after 1991
Urban areas and forests expanded while agricultural areas shrank
Landscape fragmentation is highest in the Jura and Swiss Plateau, but mountain regions are also increasingly fragmented
Few habitats of national importance are strictly protected, and they are mostly in mountainous regions
More than one in three species is threatened
Among OECD countries, Switzerland's shares of threatened species are high
Swiss biodiversity-related official development assistance is lower than in many other OECD countries
Switzerland has lower levels of strict protected areas than other OECD countries
Most protected area categories have seen little progress since 1990, except for biotopes of national importance
Designated areas for biodiversity have varying levels of protection: Share of the territory protected, by category
Public expenditure on biodiversity increased significantly over 2006-14
Nitrogen fertiliser use remains high while pesticide use has stabilised
Ammonia emissions have declined more slowly than NOX emissions
Switzerland, an early leader in organic farming, has been overtaken by other OECD countries
Biodiversity promotion areas (formerly ecological compensation areas) are eligible for direct payments
Intensity of forest resource use is relatively high