Switzerland’s indigenous energy resources are only sufficient this year until April 12. After this date, Switzerland will live, so to speak, on credit until the end of the year, depending on the import of oil, gas and uranium.
April 12 marks Switzerland’s Energy Independence Day in 2022, the Swiss Energy Foundation (SES) said in a statement. This day aims to mark the strong dependence of Switzerland abroad in terms of energy supply.
According to the SES, three-quarters of energy is imported over long distances, which includes all petroleum products, natural gas and nuclear fuels. Each year, an average of 10 billion francs are transferred abroad for import.
However, the energy turnaround offers the possibility of strengthening Switzerland’s energy independence, continues the SES.
Over the past 20 years, Switzerland has increased its energy independence from around 20% in 2001 to over 25% in 2019. In 2020, a pandemic year, the rate climbed to over 28%, an exception related to lower energy demand due to the shutdown of part of the economy.
For an immediate federal program
With this rate, Switzerland is within the European average. But other countries are doing much better, such as Estonia and Iceland, with a level of nearly 90% energy self-sufficiency.
Due to the war in Ukraine, the SES calls for a faster implementation of the energy turnaround, with the goal of postponing Energy Independence Day to early summer by 2025. Concretely, the development of renewable energies must be massively accelerated, requires the SES. This requires an immediate and time-limited federal program.
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