Switzerland has pursued a policy dependent on international carbon offsets, but its achievement rate for the 2030 target stands at only 0.36%, and the number of approved ITMOs remains limited. The article examines the current status and challenges of efforts to count emissions reductions from overseas projects toward domestic reductions.
Switzerland has pursued international carbon-offset projects for more than a decade, but doubts about their effectiveness are mounting. It has promoted a method of incorporating emissions reductions achieved abroad into its domestic targets under bilateral agreements, but the actual contribution toward meeting its 2030 reduction target remains low. Against the 34 million tonnes of reductions Switzerland had envisaged, the achievement to date stands at only 0.36%.
The government is reported to have approved 6 ITMOs (internationally transferred mitigation outcomes) under this framework, with 28 more under review, making future progress a focus of attention. At the same time, concerns have been raised about the quality of emissions reductions domestically and overseas. In particular, the credits from a project to introduce electric buses in Bangkok have been judged to lack quality.
A study in Nature also reviewed the track record of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol, finding that the achievement rate for similar credits was below 16%. The ITMOs purchased by Switzerland have been described in this context as “not high quality,” prompting calls for stronger verification and transparency. South Alliance and Fastenaktion also argue that Bangkok’s buses might have been electrified by 2030 even without the support, while KliK denies the speculation.