Switzerland

According to the Swiss national greenhouse gas inventory (submission 2024), the agricultural sector contributes 14% to overall greenhouse gas emissions in Switzerland. Due to its unique geographic conditions, almost three quarters of the agricultural area in Switzerland is grassland. Accordingly, the ruminant population and particularly cattle herds are large in Switzerland. The contribution of livestock-derived emissions is thus comparably high and estimated at more than 80% of all agricultural greenhouse gases ( Figure 1 ).

Figure 1 : GHG-emissions from agriculture in Switzerland in 2016. Allocation to animal categories (% without arable crop production) and emission categories (kt CO 2 equivalents) (based on Bretscher et al. 2018).

Bretscher, D., Ammann, C., Wüst, C., Nyfeler, A., Felder, D. 2018: Reduktionspotenziale von Treibhausgasemissionen aus der Schweizer Nutztierhaltung. AGRARForschung, 9 (11+12): 376-383.

In 2023 the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG), together with the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO), published its updated climate strategy for agriculture and food. The strategy contains three main targets to be reached until 2050 (Figure 2):

(1)     Domestic agricultural production contributes at least 50% to the food requirements of the population in Switzerland, taking into account the production potential of the location and the carrying capacity of the ecosystems.

(2a)   The diet of the population in Switzerland corresponds to the recommendations of the Swiss food pyramid, and the greenhouse gas footprint of the diet per capita is reduced by at least two thirds compared to 2020.

(2b)   Greenhouse gas emissions from domestic agricultural production are reduced by at least 40% compared to 1990. The remaining emissions are offset as far as possible.

Figure 2: Development to date (light), target paths (dark) and milestones for the food system: percentage change compared to 1990 (2a) and 2020 (2b).

The necessary legal provisions to achieve these targets will mainly be regulated in the agricultural policy. Hereby, the focus lies on eight sub-goals:

• Achieving resource-conserving consumption patterns
• Minimise food waste
• Aligning (international) trade relations sustainably
• Optimise production portfolios
• Minimise nutrient losses into the environment
• Conserving water resources
• Maintain soil fertility and increase carbon storage
• Reduce energy demand and strengthen renewable energy production

Specific provisions are partially already included in the current agricultural policy and will be developed further in future policy frameworks. Implementation of mitigation measures will be promoted mainly via financial contributions for sustainable production systems. Adoption of mitigation strategies in practice will be accompanied by a coherent development of the general agricultural policy, a broad participation process among all stakeholders, and an expansion of scientific knowledge.

Switzerland is a founding member of the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA). It considers the GRA to be a valuable platform for enhancing understanding emissions of agricultural greenhouse gases and developing effective mitigation strategies. Switzerland anticipates learning from the successful approaches of other countries through the exchange of experiences and advancing research on agricultural greenhouse gases. It also offers to share its experiences and scientific knowledge with other countries, particularly those that share a similar landscape and climate. In addition, Switzerland expects and has made considerable progress in research on GHG mitigation through participation in multi-national projects facilitated by the GRA.

In Switzerland, many public research institutes, universities, and technical high schools (as well as private institutions and initiatives), are involved in both basic and applied research. A long research tradition combined with the most advanced scientific technologies have contributed to valuable advances in agricultural technologies, management, and policies.

The following scientific institutions and research groups are currently conducting research in the field of agricultural greenhouse gas emission in Switzerland. For more information on the individual projects and initiatives, please directly contact the indicated institutions or persons: