The Swiss Parliament has approved a November 2017 agreement for linking the Swiss and EU emissions trading schemes (ETS). The EU and Swiss ETS both cover the 2013-2020 period (with negotiations under way to extend beyond 2021) and have similar structures. The Swiss ETS already meets two of the three fundamental requirements to link to the EU ETS, i.e. covering large and energy-intensive installations since 2013 (over 50 companies emitting around 5 MtCO2) and introducing an absolute emissions cap. The country will revise its CO2 Act and CO2 Ordinance, in order to include CO2 emissions from civil aviation and thermal power plants in the Swiss ETS, as it is already the case in the EU ETS.
The linking agreement must now be ratified by the President of the Federal Council of Switzerland and the EU before it can enter into force on 1 January 2020. Liking the ETS systems is expected to reduce Swiss emissions at a lower cost and improve trading and pricing. It will also enable Swiss companies to operate in the same emissions market as their business partners in the European Union and to have a greater flexibility in meeting their CO2 targets.