BERLIN (AP) — Swiss voters are going to the polls Sunday to decide on a bill aimed at introducing new climate measures to sharply curb the rich Alpine nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The referendum was sparked by a campaign by scientists and environmentalists to save Switzerland’s iconic glaciers, which are melting away at an alarming rate.
Campaigners initially proposed even more ambitious measures but later backed a government plan that requires Switzerland to achieve “net zero” emissions by 2050. It also sets aside more than 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.357 billion) to help wean companies and homeowners off fossil fuels.
The nationalist Swiss People’s Party, which demanded a popular vote on the bill, claims the proposed measures will cause electricity prices to rise.
Backers of the plan argue that Switzerland will be hard-hit by global warming and is already seeing the effects of rising temperatures on its famous glaciers.
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Swiss glaciers experienced record melting last year, losing more than 6% of their volume and alarming scientists who say a loss of 2% would once have been considered extreme.
“Let’s act as long as we can still prevent the worst,” he recently wrote on Twitter.
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