Swiss voters rejected three proposed initiatives calling for the country to introduce more environmentally friendly regulations that would have helped Switzerland meet its carbon emissions goal under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Among the rejected trio of proposals was a ban on synthetic pesticides that would have made Switzerland the first country in Europe and second in the world, after Bhutan, to outlaw such chemicals. This was backed up by a limit on subsidies for those farmers who complied and was also rejected.

A new CO2 law aiming to reduce emissions was also narrowly opposed, with 51.6 percent of voting against a proposal to use tax policy to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent of the levels measured in 1990 over the next nine years.

If the law had passed, taxes on fuel oil and natural gas would have increased and a new tax on outbound flight tickets would have been imposed while introducing financial incentives to install charging points for electric vehicles.

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While the first two initiatives were strongly opposed by the Swiss government, which said the proposals would risk undermining the country's food sovereignty, the rejection of the new CO2 law by voters represents a defeat for national authorities who backed it. 

According to Antoinette Gilson, one of the people who wanted to implement the artificial pesticides initiative, the result doesn't mean the Swiss are not concerned about the environment.

"People find it very hard to think about problems in the future and don't see the urgency of these problems," she said. 

"When they are having a difficult time during the COVID-19 pandemic they are thinking about more immediate concerns."

Somehow confirming her words, other more controversial initiatives were given the go-ahead by citizens in the latest national referendum.

About 60 percent of voters agreed to extend the government's emergency powers to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, while 57 percent of voters approved for an expansion of police powers under the new anti-terror law.

Under the new law, police will be able to take preventative action more easily when faced with a "potential terrorist," including putting suspects above the age of 12 under surveillance, limiting their movements and obliging them to face questioning.

With a court order, police will also be allowed to place anyone aged over 15 under house arrest for up to nine months.

_{Cover image: Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann}