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![Simonetta Sommaruga was on a working visit to California this week.]()
keystone-sda.ch
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1/18
Simonetta Sommaruga was on a working visit to California this week.
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![Blick editor Nicola Imfeld was able to accompany the Federal Councilor.]()
Nicola Imfeld
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2/18
Blick editor Nicola Imfeld was able to accompany the Federal Councilor.
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![Even if the work visit is virtual - there are still gifts.]()
keystone-sda.ch
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17/18
Even if the work visit is virtual – there are still gifts.
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![Sommaruga receives a ball as a gift from California.]()
keystone-sda.ch
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18/18
Sommaruga receives a ball as a gift from California.
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Meeting room in Bern, Wednesday evening: Simonetta Sommaruga (61) is currently in a zoom chat. “It touches my heart when I see how frightening the situation must have been,” she says, demonstratively laying her right hand on her heart. But everyone at the other end of the line is frowning in confusion. “You can’t hear anything,” and “I think it’s muted,” people mutter. Sommaruga notices the unrest and looks questioningly at her technician. “Sorry,” he says and hastily grabs the mouse. New attempt: “Can you understand me now?” Asks Sommaruga and smiles.
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It’s a situation everyone in the home office knows. But Sommaruga is not in an ordinary zoom chat. The environment minister is doing pioneering work this week. Sommaruga is on a working visit in California Monday through Thursday. The special thing about it: The Federal Council’s PC-24 jet never took off from Bern-Belp in the direction of San Francisco. Sommaruga’s flying visit is the first ever green trip by a Federal Councilor. Everything takes place virtually – company visits, joint events and bilateral discussions with politicians.
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Drones and Time Difference
“This is a pilot test,” says Sommaruga to Blick. «With a virtual trip you save a lot of time and CO2. The potential is great. ” In California, drones are even used so that the Federal Councilor thinks she is in the “Golden State”. The technical implementation is a hoot. A good dozen people are involved.
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“It feels like I’m in California,” enthuses Sommaruga. The meetings are also scheduled in real time – despite the time difference of nine hours. Wednesday in particular turns into marathon day for the Federal Councilor. It starts in the morning with the Federal Council meeting. The day ends late in the evening with a visit to California. “Let’s get ready here,” says a visibly tired Sommaruga shortly before 10 p.m.
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Climate change hits California hard
The environment minister chose California because of climate change. The state is badly affected. Year after year, new records are set in the forest fire season. 2020 was the worst year on record. 18,000 square kilometers of land are charred – that’s roughly half the area of Switzerland as a whole.
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The pictures from San Francisco last September went around the world. It was no longer dark in the city at night. The sky appeared in a red-orange light – 24 hours and 7 days a week. Even in the metropolis of San Diego you couldn’t see a blue sky for weeks because of the smoke. The air quality there has meanwhile reached the alarming value of 220 – twice as high as in the Chinese smog hell of Beijing on the same day.
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“Switzerland is also affected by climate change, albeit less severely than California,” says Sommaruga. «This is a global problem. The aim of the working visit is to learn from the experiences from California. ” To this end, the environment minister will meet with the Californian lieutenant governor Eleni Kounalakis (55). A one-to-one conversation – look has to leave the meeting room.
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Again and again dropouts
Technically, not everything is going smoothly on this first virtual journey. On Tuesday, a representative of the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) wants to show the Americans a video about the Swiss national parks. In California you can see the excerpts – but without sound.
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Or on Wednesday: An expert’s picture freezes over and over again in the zoom chat. His colleague at the California Forestry and Fire Safety Authority is doing worse. Sommaruga listens to his halting remarks for minutes. None of this is understandable. At some point it gets too colorful for a participant in San Francisco. He bursts in: “If you turn off the video, it might get better.” Sommaruga smiles.
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Stadler Rail in California
A high-level conversation at the beginning of the week shows that there is another way: when the Federal Councilor exchanged views with Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss (85) and ex-US presidential candidate Tom Steyer (63), the connection was stable. The virtual visits to electrical manufacturer Tesla and the Swiss train manufacturer Stadler Rail also work.
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Stadler Rail proudly tells Sommaruga about the first hydrogen-powered train built for California. «The exchange is important to us. These companies are investing in a climate-friendly future – in clean technologies and mobility that works without fossil fuels, ”says the Federal Councilor.
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Her closing words after a long week: “We keep on fighting.” So: “We will keep fighting.” By that she means climate change – but also a little bit of technology.
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