A recent article from the World Economic Forum gives this good news but tempers it with further news that there is a “slow-down in rates of renewable energy use across the EU.” This makes it possible that the whole of the EU will miss its 2030 target of at least 32% renewal contribution to energy consumption. Click here to read the whole article.
How does Switzerland compare? Consulting the worlddata.info page indicates that Switzerland per capita (6,904.07 kWh) averages more energy consumption than Europe per capita (5,437.14 kWh). As of 2015, renewable energies accounted for 25.3% of total energy consumption, a modest increase from 1990 when it was under 18%. The largest sources of energy are water (61%) and nuclear (17%). Solar constitutes only 0.04% of total energy production as of 2017. Water resources in mountain areas are particularly sensitive to climate change and glacier shrinkage is already affecting hydropower production throughout the Alps.
An informative website for all things related to the climate is Climate Change Post from the Netherlands which provides the latest news on climate change and adaptation based on scientific journals with a focus on Europe.
The Swiss government has set a target to cut fossil fuel use by 20% by the year 2020 and to this end, there are government subsidies available for solar, wind, and geo-thermal energy producers. Consult this article for useful resources in your area.
Climate change forces Alps to use artificial snow