The car as a scapegoat The car as a scapegoat once again? When asked by STREETLIFE, Knutti qualifies his statement. According to the ETH professor, he was certainly not making a recommendation on how people should live in Switzerland. But: “I do agree that road mobility is the biggest driver of CO2 emissions in Switzerland, accounting for around 25 percent. Because that is a fact, the figures can be measured”. He does not want to spoil the fun that drivers have with their vehicles. But: “It won't work completely without change. Many people feel that they are entitled to certain things that harm our climate. We will certainly have to question that in the future.” Knutti does not want to ban the car. Nevertheless, his views are not only met with approval. SVP politician Mike Egger, for example, not only finds the ruling from Strasbourg wrong (“ridiculous!”). He also has a clear stance on the image of Switzerland as a climate sinner: “Switzerland is on a very good path. This is proven by numerous statistics, which Mr Knutti could also analyze. Namely that greenhouse gas emissions have been massively reduced since 1990. Per capita by over 37 percent”. With this figure, Switzerland is one of the few industrialized countries to achieve the interim targets of the Paris climate goals. According to Egger, there has also been a significant reduction in oil consumption over the last 20 years. “This shows that thanks to innovation, economic progress and our prosperity, we in Switzerland have probably taken the right measures to significantly improve Switzerland's environmental footprint.” The SVP man does not deny that mobility causes a lot of CO2. But he insists on seeing the reasons in a broader context: Basically, the population growth in Switzerland should also be taken into account, says Egger. In the last 20 years, Switzerland has grown 16 times faster than its neighbor Germany. Switzerland has even grown faster in absolute terms. “More and more people - and even Mr. Knutti can't argue this away - cause more emissions, more electricity consumption, more traffic jams or, quite simply, more resource consumption. You simply have to take that into account, otherwise you can't achieve your goals.” Support from the left But not everyone is so critical of the ETH professor's statements. Knutti receives support from Green politician Marionna Schlatter (Zurich), for example. The sociologist told STREETLIFE that Switzerland has actually failed to introduce effective measures to better protect the climate. “I'm talking about a ban on combustion engines, for example, as is already planned in other countries,” says Schlatter. For her, the quicker the ban is introduced, the better. It's not about making the car the scapegoat. But: “We have a problem and we have to solve it”. In addition, there are already many attractive alternatives, even if they are perhaps not all fully developed yet. Schlatter: “Strasbourg has more or less officially said that Switzerland is doing too little in terms of climate protection. I think that's good, because that's also my opinion.” Barbara Schaffner from the Green Liberals (ZH) takes a somewhat more differentiated view. Strasbourg probably had no choice but to recognize climate impacts as a threat to health, says the National Councillor. “Although I welcome this in principle, I can also see the discussions that such a ruling will trigger in Switzerland. In terms of timing, this is certainly not entirely fortunate,” says the politician, alluding to the upcoming EU negotiations. The question remains as to what the climate ruling will actually trigger in Switzerland. Mike Egger answers this question with a provocative counter-question: “I don't know. But what if we just take note of it all - and that's that?” Either way, the ruling from Strasbourg is likely to be the subject of much discussion in the coming weeks. Not only in politics, but also on the street.