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Abruptly stopping energy imports from Russia would cause significant economic losses for Switzerland: GDP would fall by 3-4%, economists say
from ETHZ.
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AFP
This is the question that agitates all of Europe: how serious would a rapid boycott of Russian energy imports be? An exit from Russian oil and gas would hit the Swiss economy hard: if imports were to be stopped soon, for example in the context of a tightening of sanctions once morest Russia, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would fall by 3 to 4 % In two years. This is the result of calculations by the ETH Zurich Center for Economic Research (KOF), writes the “SonntagsZeitung”. This corresponds to a loss of approximately 3,000 francs per Swiss citizen. An increase in unemployment is also expected, although less pronounced.
According to ETH expert Yngve Abrahamsen, such a crisis would be “big enough to cause a recession in normal times”. Today, however, the post-Covid economic recovery might help “overcome a recession”. Yngve Abrahamsen also believes that phasing out the supply of Russian raw materials would be “feasible”. He is convinced that part of the Russian imports might be replaced by other sources.
Meanwhile, politicians are calling for a faster restructuring of energy supply to become less dependent on Russia. The Socialist Party (PS) is putting on the table a plan to replace a third of gas heaters with heat pumps and wood heaters within a year. In addition to the cantonal subsidies, the owners should also receive a federal subsidy of 12,000 francs for the renovations. Replacing gas heaters would cost the Confederation 3 billion francs.
(cle)
