The CO2 Act has been fully revised several times since the 2000 CO2 Act. On 15 March 2024, the National Council and the Council of States agreed on a new legal text that will enter into force on 1 January 2025.&nbsp;
Article 1 of the CO2 Act states that its purpose is to implement the objectives set out in the Federal Act on Climate Protection Goals, Innovation and Strengthening Energy Security (Switzerland's climate framework law). Article 3 set outs quantified greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets: 50% reduction by 2030 (compared to 1990), and 35% on average betwen 2021 and 2030 (compared to 1990). It also states that the Federal Council may set benchmarks for individual sectors.
Other measures include: vehicle emissions limits and ETS. The Act also provides an exemption for companies for the CO2 levy, if they commit to reducing their greenhouse gases in return. They would need to inform the federal government via an annual report, and submit a decarbonisation plan within three years of the start of the reduction commitment, outlining the measures they will take to significantly reduce GHG emissions from the energy use of fossil fuels by the end of 2040. There is also q requirement to update this plan every three years. 
This Act also includes an amendment to the Unfair Competition Act, which now bans statements about climate impact that cannot be substantiated (i.e., there is an obligation to provide evidence of proof of such climate claims).

CO2 Act

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Partial Revision of the CO2 Ordinance: Explanatory Report (2020)

Amended/Updated

Switzerland

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

A tax advantage is a fiscal incentive where the government reduces or exempts selected activities, goods or actors from taxes.

Tradable permits are market-based tools that grant permission for specific activities, frequently used to regulate emissions. These permits can be issued within a trading system to manage environmental impacts.

A ban is a legal action that prevents the sale or supply of a product or service, or that recalls a product from the market. Examples are bans on SF6, greenwashing, fossil fuel advertisement or single-use plastics.

A target to reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas over a specific time frame

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

Energy derived from biological compounds that are renewable due to their short life cycle within the carbon dioxide cycle.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Any compulsory, unrequited payment to the government levied on corporations or individuals. This can be for environmental reasons, such as introducing a Carbon tax to set a price that emitters must pay for the greenhouse gases they emit.

The activities of industries that transforms raw materials into finished goods through industrial processes.

The activities of industries involved in the production, distribution, and sale of energy, including electricity, gas, and renewables.

This sector involves managing waste treatment, sanitation, pollution control and environmental cleanup.

This sector involves the wholesale and retail selling of goods.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

Activities of businesses and institutions that provide financial services and products to individuals and organisations.

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

the fair distribution of risks and opportunities of climate change and the transition to a regenerative economy, cognisant in particular of disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities and the working class

Procedural justice means ensuring that decision making is safe, transparent and inclusive, emphasizing the agency and influence of vulnerable groups and those most impacted.

Partial Revision of the CO2 Ordinance: Explanatory Report (2020)

Target

Policy instrument

Climate justice

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance