Swiss will struggle to hit 2030 climate target: minister

Switzerland will struggle to meet its 2030 climate target, environment minister Albert Rosti admitted Thursday, citing budget constraints.

Switzerland has pledged to halve its 1990 greenhouse gas emission levels by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

"I don't think we can say just yet that we will miss the 2050 target," Rosti told Thursday's edition of Le Temps newspaper. "It stems from the will of the people and must be met."

But he added: "The situation is more complicated for 2030."

Of the three major greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide accounts for about 66 percent of the warming effect on the climate.

A significant portion of Switzerland's CO2 reductions relies on purchasing carbon credits abroad, which allows companies and countries to offset their excess emissions by financing projects that cut greenhouse gases in other nations.

A significant portion of the reductions will have to come through these international certificates, which are expensive.

Rosti told Le Temps: "In the current budgetary context, I don't see how the country could find the additional 300 to 400 million Swiss francs ($370-$495 million) necessary."

The wealthy Alpine nation's focus had primarily been on reducing CO2 emissions, while more recent measures had focused on adapting to the consequences of global warming.

"We also have to be realistic: Switzerland accounts for only one-thousandth of global CO2 emissions," Rosti added.

"We will only achieve climate goals if all countries act together.

"Unfortunately, I have doubts about the world's ability to successfully make this transition. Without action from them, the heat will continue to rise."

Switzerland's priority at the CO31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey in November was to "establish a genuine international roadmap," he said.

"This may seem modest, but it is ambitious given the current disagreements."