A statement by the Green Liberals on their own profiling met with incomprehension on both sides of the Zurich cantonal council.
In Zurich, too, a large part of the natural gas comes from Russia.
Two weeks ago, all factions in the Zurich cantonal parliament condemned the Russian army’s attack on Ukraine. The impetus was given by the GLP, whose parliamentary group leader Michael Zeugin (Winterthur) read the sharply worded paper.
Now the Green Liberals wanted to double again on Monday, but on their own and with a focus on energy policy. That was less well received, even though witness again thanked the government council for the quick financial help and the unbureaucratic admission of refugees. Then it was all about energy.
According to the GLP statement, the war in the Ukraine clearly shows how susceptible Switzerland is to blackmail with its dependence on fossil fuels. Oil and gas from Russia and other unjust states pose a high risk to Switzerland’s security. The answer to Putin’s war is therefore: heat pumps, solar panels, wind turbines.
Missed profiling
The Green Liberals call on the government council to take immediate measures to reduce dependence on oil and natural gas. As a result, the declaration contains parts of their party program: among other things, accelerated approval procedures for the use of any type of renewable energy, including wind turbines.
Furthermore, the GLP demands that all fees for the construction of plants for the generation of renewable energy are to be waived. A promotional loan for additional one-off support for production capacities should be approved as soon as possible. A stimulus program to increase the storage capacity also features in the catalog in order to increase the security of the energy supply.
The green-liberal solo run causes allies and opponents to shake their heads. When asked, Green parliamentary group leader Thomas Forrer (Erlenbach) distanced himself most clearly: “The war in Ukraine is not an issue for party political profiling, at least not for the Greens,” he notes. In terms of content, they largely shared the demands of the GLP.
It goes without saying that it is important to become independent of fossil fuels, says Forrer. In this respect, security policy today is also energy policy. Much of what the GLP wants has already been implemented, for example in the revised Energy Act, but the measures need to be accelerated. However, the Green faction leader has set a clear limit: the fact that the GLP wants to make it possible to renovate building shells for five years without a building permit is out of the question: Measures that make sense in terms of energy policy must also be carried out correctly in accordance with building law, says Forrer.
Security is not just about energy
On the bourgeois side, the approach of the GLP faction is more difficult in terms of content. Breaking down the overall energy situation to the canton of Zurich is not wrong in itself, says Hans-Peter Brunner (Horgen), deputy faction leader of the FDP. However, with its energy mix, Switzerland is comparatively less dependent on oil and gas than other countries.
In the short term, dependency cannot be reduced, says Brunner. In the long term, the FDP also advocates moving away from fossil fuels. To do this, however, the security of the power supply must be guaranteed, and the GLP does not comment on this. In general, she emphasizes the importance of energy in security policy. In view of the violence in Ukraine, however, it is also important for the army to improve security, the FDP politician notes.
SVP faction leader Martin Pretty (Wiesendangen) is amazed. The Green Liberals were also responsible for the problem of lengthy building permits. However, their list of demands leads to problems with the electricity, as the necessary band energy is still missing. The SVP has been calling for an “electricity general” for a long time. Pretty is surprised that the GLP has no long-term perspective.
In the SP, on the other hand, the one-sided party-political approach is met with incomprehension. In terms of content, the demands of the GLP largely matched their own positions, says SP parliamentary group leader Markus Späth (Feuerthalen). In order to be able to implement this, the GLP is dependent on the so-called climate alliance with SP, Greens, AL and EPP in the cantonal council.
Compared to the joint statement two weeks ago, Späth clearly sees the actions of the GLP group as a step backwards. If anything, he would have wished for a joint declaration by the Climate Alliance on energy issues.