Climate Change

By 2050, Switzerland wants to be climate-neutral. A new calculation model from PSI illustrates the complex interdependencies between technology, demand for critical raw materials, and environmental impacts on the road to climate neutrality.

Turning carbon dioxide into valuable substances: That is the goal of Empa researcher Carlota Bozal-Ginesta. In her research project, she wants to combine machine learning and high-throughput experiments to develop better electrodes for CO₂ electrolysis. For this, she has now been awarded the two-year Empa Young Scientist Fellowship.

Not only are the numbers of species declining, but the composition of species communities is also changing. This is shown by a new study published in the journal “Nature”.

A pioneering study has revealed how climate change is impacting glacier-fed streams and the essential microbiomes they contain – which could change radically by the end of this century.

Switzerland’s glaciers are in increasingly poor shape. If greenhouse gas emissions are not cut drastically soon, they could cease to exist by 2100 – so says ETH Professor Daniel Farinotti in this ETH News interview to mark the first World Day for Glaciers.

Over the past decade, extreme events such as heat, drought, storms and pests have taken a heavy toll on Swiss forests. In order for forests to continue to fulfil their functions for people and the environment in the future, they must be made more resilient to climate change. This is the conclusion of the 2025 Forest Report published by the Federal Office for the Environment FOEN and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL.