# Swiss Climate and Innovation Act referendum

On 18 June 2023 Switzerland approved its Climate and Innovation Act with 59.07 percent voting yes and 40.93 percent no; official turnout was 42.51 percent. The result set a statutory course toward climate neutrality in 2050 after a sequence of contested votes over the cost and design of emissions policy. Swiss federal authorities had warned that imported oil and natural gas exposed consumers and companies to both price shocks and external supply risks. The law consequently joined [decarbonisation policy](/drivers/env-decarbonization-policy) to security of energy supply rather than proposing a simple prohibition on petrol, diesel or gas.

The referendum followed an earlier setback. On 13 June 2021 voters rejected a revision of the carbon-dioxide law by 51.6 percent to 48.4 percent. Parliament subsequently developed the Climate and Innovation Act as an indirect alternative to the Glacier Initiative. The legislative text set a long-term goal of net-zero emissions in 2050, with incentives intended to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels. The [National Council](/organizations/national-council) backed the proposal by 139 votes to 51 with two abstentions; the Council of States approved it by 38 to four according to federal explanatory material. The [Swiss People's Party](/organizations/swiss-people-s-party) sought a referendum against the law, arguing in part that substituting electricity for fossil fuels risked higher costs and greater demand on the power system.

On 18 June 2023 the referendum passed. In a statement the same day, Federal Councillor [Albert Rösti](/people/albert-rosti) acknowledged the 59.1 percent result and described an expected shift from oil and gas heaters toward heat pumps and other alternatives, and from combustion-engine transport toward electricity. Federal environmental authorities described two billion Swiss francs in support for replacing oil, gas and resistance-electric heating, alongside 1.2 billion francs for companies developing lower-emission technologies. These sums were proposed programme envelopes, not claims of spending already completed by referendum day.

The political dispute centred on costs, feasibility and the distribution of public support. Supporters argued that a country importing nearly all its fossil fuel supply would become less exposed to external shocks while contributing to limits on [climate change](/drivers/climate-crisis). Opponents pointed to the electricity required for heat pumps, electric vehicles and industrial electrification, and to the need for adequate generation and networks. That challenge intersects with renewable-energy buildout; it is not resolved merely by recording a net-zero target. Another criticism concerns the speed of displacing fossil fuels when the legislation emphasises incentives rather than outright bans, affecting the contested [fossil phaseout](/drivers/fossil-phaseout-struggle). The two referendum results — 2021 rejection and 2023 approval — show a meaningful change in what policy package voters accepted, not unanimity about decarbonisation. The 2023 law has a clear constitutional-democratic mandate to pursue the stated goal, while later emissions, energy prices, grid performance and programme delivery are the indicators needed to judge whether its promises become outcomes.

## Dated facts

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## Methodology

https://factrail.ai/methodology

Canonical: https://factrail.ai/drivers/swiss-climate-and-innovation-act-referendum