Jenny Cleland, inspired by Switzerland’s and Norway’s responses to climate action, says New Zealand can also change to sustainable energy.

I had mixed emotions returning to New Zealand from Switzerland and Norway. These countries share a lot in common with us, but in New Zealand we have not always made smart, long-term decisions regarding our natural resources.

Norway and Switzerland have their environmental problems but strong government leadership and infrastructure investment is now bearing fruit and the two countries are prepared to cope with climate change in the future. I found the locals were knowledgeable about issues of global warming and supportive of government-led changes. Maybe our isolation in Aotearoa makes it easy for us to be complacent — especially when our nearest neighbour, Australia, is noted for its lack of leadership on climate change.

New Zealand, Switzerland and Norway are all small in landmass and have populations of between four and eight million. We share stunning mountain landscapes and rely on tourism to boost our economies. We value farming as an important part of food security. We have abundant resources for producing energy, both sustainable such as hydro, solar, wind and biomass (wood) as well as using carbon-emitters such as oil. But as much as the three countries share, it is interesting to see how differently each has managed their resources over time.

Swiss Care of Forests

Switzerland has had significant environmental issues to deal with. Early in the 19th century deforestation was rife and erosion and flooding were affecting communities. A law was passed in 1876 to protect the forests which have since doubled in size. Now, 72 per cent of forests are owned by the public, who have the legal right to enter all forests no matter who owns them. Forest health is enhanced with selective logging and the number of tree species is being increased so that forests will have more tolerance to rising temperatures. Clear-felling is banned for the reasons we have seen recently in New Zealand, with floods in Tolaga Bay washing the forest slash onto farmland.

Preserving Water

Switzerland is the water reservoir of Europe as snowmelt and rainfall give birth to four major rivers that flow through Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and France. I was amazed that people were able to swim safely in Lake Geneva which has cities and intensive farming and horticulture on its shores. I enjoyed the quality and taste of the tap water. I found that the Swiss were proud of their clean swimming and drinking water. However, water quality has not always been high.

Up until the 1950s all waste water, including industrial, was dumped into the lakes and rivers. By the 1980s Lake Geneva was polluted to the point where it was unsafe for swimming and eutrophication had almost wiped out the fish population. At that time, only 15 per cent of Swiss dwellings were connected to a wastewater system. By public demand, in part motivated by a typhus epidemic in Zermatt in which three people died, the “Protection of Waters against Pollution” became law in 1971. This saw federal government and local authorities subsidising wastewater treatment plants in local communities. Now, over 97 per cent of wastewater is treated and there has been a significant improvement in the quality of rivers and lakes.

The next challenge for the Swiss authorities is to develop the technology to filter out micro-pollutants such as hormones, chemicals, pesticides and drug residues which harm plants and animals. The goal is to achieve this by 2040. The projected cost is a huge 1 billion Swiss francs! The “polluter-pays” principle applies and everyone pays a monthly fee towards waste water treatment.

Hydro Electricity

Electricity generation is another area where the Swiss have demonstrated long-term thinking and utilised their resources in an environmentally sustainable way. The new national energy strategy will be implemented by 2050 and will focus on more energy-efficient buildings, machinery and transport as well as increased use of renewable energy such as hydro power.

Unlike New Zealand, Switzerland has many small-scale hydro constructions (around 638) and each produces at least 300 kilowatts. Because of the large number of rivers and lakes, hydro generation is the main source of renewable electricity. Electricity grids will be upgraded to be more efficient and the CO2 levy will rise. The goal of the new energy strategy is to reduce energy consumption per capita by 13 per cent on 2000 levels by 2035. They will phase out nuclear power generation by 2040 as a reaction to the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The Swiss have an extensive train network which is impressive in its reliability and efficient timetabling. They say that a train one minute behind schedule is OK, two minutes behind and the train is late, but three minutes behind is a national disaster!

Many city-dwellers don’t own cars, which reduces CO2 emissions, and bicycles for hire are available in the cities. Electric trams share the road with cars. Electrification came about through coal shortages during WWI and WWII and it was completed by 1960. So, quite by chance, the Swiss are in a strong position to meet their CO2 emission target.

Challenge to Reduce Waste

Switzerland does not use landfills for non-recyclable rubbish but incinerates it at 1,000°C in purpose built facilities and the energy produced is used to heat buildings. However, they also produce more waste per capita than anywhere else in Europe.

Norway Leads with Clean Vehicles

In planning for the future Norway is also doing much the same as in Switzerland. They lead the world in conversion to zero-emission vehicles — electric or hydrogen. As an incentive, there is no purchase or import tax for zero-emission vehicles and this is off-set with a high tax on petrol and diesel cars. And there is no annual road tax, a 40 per cent reduction on company car tax, a 50 per cent reduction on ferries and no re-registration tax. By 2025 it will not be possible to buy a new petrol or diesel vehicle.

It is ironic that while much of Norway’s wealth is derived from oil, it is planning for a future that is not carbon-based.

New Zealand Can Step Up

New Zealand is lagging behind these countries with our lack of firm policy and strategies to achieve reductions in emissions. But I am encouraged, because Switzerland and Norway have managed to make huge environmental improvements in a relatively short time frame. This was achieved with strong government leadership and legislation, often the result of public pressure, large financial investment and a “polluter pays” philosophy.

I think we can learn from them as we, too, are motivated by love of our land and want a safe future in this country.

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 231 October 2018: 10-11