The city of Zurich’s direct greenhouse gas emissions are continually falling

The city of Zurich wants to reduce its direct greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2040. The first interim report presented by the city council on Tuesday shows that the city’s residents now contribute 2.4 tonnes of CO2 equivalents per year to emissions.

The city has presented a climate protection plan that contains strategies and packages of measures to further reduce direct emissions in the areas of buildings, mobility and waste.

There is a lot of potential in the buildings

In the building sector, the city wants to reduce emissions by 96 percent by 2040. CO2 emissions are to be reduced, for example, by expanding district heating networks and decarbonizing the heat supply.

In the area of ​​mobility, the expansion of public transport, the promotion of electromobility and the expansion of the bicycle infrastructure should contribute to reducing emissions. In the area of ​​waste management, the amount of waste should be reduced and recycling promoted.

The city’s indirect greenhouse gas emissions are to be reduced by 30 percent per inhabitant compared to 1990. However, this is not easy because infrastructure measures take time and the reduction effects of such measures only develop over the long term and sometimes suddenly.

Plans include, among other things, the expansion of renewable energies and the promotion of energy efficiency. Promoting sustainable consumption and production patterns should also help reduce indirect emissions.

Using a monitoring tool, the “Net Zero Cockpit”, progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions is checked and presented to the public. The tool is freely accessible on the city’s website and shows the current levels of greenhouse gas emissions as well as the planned development until 2040.