Bus i ne s s & Economy Finance Monthly. 18 But the simple truth is that global warming is not going to be solved by taking more action in Western Europe, where the carbon intensity of economic growth (CO2 emissions per unit of GDP) continues to fall and where total CO2 emissions are already lower today than in any non-COVID year since 1964. Nor is the solution to be found in the United States, where total emissions have been falling for more than twenty years. Back in our Alpine paradise, we see that Switzerland’s total CO2 emissions in 2021 – the latest available figures - amounted to just 35 million tons (Mt). That’s for a full calendar year. Compare this to China whose emissions last year were 31.5 million tons per day or to India’s 52.1 million tons per week. Switzerland is responsible for less than one-thousandth of the world’s total CO2 emissions. Obviously, Switzerland is a small country. But its much bigger neighbour, Germany, produces just 1.8% of global emissions and the UK just 1.6%. It takes China just 3 weeks to emit the same amount of CO2 that Germany does in a full year. For all its tiny contribution to the planet’s problem, the fact remains that Swiss glaciers are shrinking. Davos delegates saw far less snow than in previous years and many of the lower-lying ski destinations across Europe are currently struggling to stay open. The symptoms of global warming are clearly visible in Switzerland “Obviously, Switzerland is a small country. But its much bigger neighbour, Germany, produces just 1.8% of global emissions and the UK just 1.6%. It takes China just 3 weeks to emit the same amount of CO2 that Germany does in a full year.”
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