Delia Berner

Without the polluter-pays principle, international climate policy cannot be funded – without tax justice, it is not feasible. A mini-world tour with an unequal but perhaps soon symbiotic duo.

Switzerland is not prepared for the burgeoning expectations regarding its future contribution to international climate finance. New funding sources must be found if additional funds are to be allocated for climate protection and adaptation in the Global South.

Switzerland is celebrating the world's first carbon offset programme under the Paris Agreement that will help the country fulfil its own climate goals. Emissions are being reduced in Bangkok through the co-funding of electric buses. A detailed study by Alliance Sud and Fastenaktion reveals that the investment in electric buses in Bangkok would have taken place by 2030 even without an offset programme.

The fuss over who should pay for the loss and damage caused by global warming is now decades old. This year, for the first time, the UN Climate Conference in Dubai will be negotiating payment modalities. Results are urgently needed.

Switzerland will be voting on urgent climate goals in June. Meanwhile, the Government is relying on offsets abroad for one third of its emission reductions up to 2030. That is not how climate justice works.

On paper, Switzerland has more than tripled its support to developing and emerging countries for climate protection in the last ten years. – Is that true? A look at the "accounting" of the Swiss Confederation.