Federal Council limits response to exceptional summer
Wednesday 26th August 2026 on 19:30 in
Switzerland
The Swiss Federal Council has approved a package worth just over 70 million francs for forests and agriculture, but the response appears restrained in light of the record summer, according to an analysis by SRF.
For forests, the measure is less far-reaching than it initially appears. The federal government is not simply providing new funding, but reversing a controversial cut.
In agriculture, additional loans may help address immediate liquidity problems, but they do little to resolve the structural challenges caused by more frequent dry periods. The federal government had already approved measures to support farmers at the beginning of August.
The new funding is therefore more like watering a lawn during a hot summer: it may ease problems briefly, but does little to address their causes.
The package also contains no measures for particularly vulnerable people, such as those in homes for older people and nursing homes. Environment Minister Albert Rösti said responsibility for heat protection measures largely lay with the cantons, cities and municipalities. The Federal Office of Public Health is to examine whether further federal measures are needed.
At a news conference, Rösti mainly sought to reject accusations of inaction. He pointed to the federal government’s existing climate policy and the many laws and measures already approved. At the same time, he argued that climate policy needed to command a majority, noting that the first CO2 Act had failed to do so.
Rösti, then a leading politician in the Swiss People’s Party, had campaigned against that law. Despite the existing measures, Switzerland is likely to miss its 2030 climate targets. It also narrowly missed its interim CO2 targets for 2024.
Criticism that the Federal Council is moving too slowly on climate protection is therefore likely to continue. The government acknowledges the seriousness of the situation, but its response remains cautious: somewhat more funding, further reviews and few new ideas.