Switzerland will use international carbon credits to meet nearly half its 2030 emission reduction goal, the government said on Friday.

The country aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 50% beneath 1990 levels by 2030, it said in a statement intended to form part of Switzerland’s INDC to a Paris global climate deal.

According to the statement, domestic emissions must be cut by at least 30%. The last 20% may be attained through projects carried out abroad.

The announcement extends Switzerland’s current 2020 goal to cut emissions 20% below 1990 levels, which it said it would deepen if big emitters sign a comprehensive pact.

The pledge represents a return by Switzerland to using international credits as a cheaper way of meeting its emission targets.

It is also in contrast to the neighbouring EU, which set a 2030 goal to cut emissions 40% without any further use of international offsets.

Switzerland relied heavily on buying UN-backed offsets to meet its 2008-2012 goal under the Kyoto Protocol but then shifted focus with a policy that forced companies to instead source more expensive domestic carbon credits costing over $100 each.

Switzerland faces some of the highest costs in the world to reduce its greenhouse gas output beyond current levels of around 50 million tonnes of CO2e a year, largely because its hydro and nuclear-based power sector is already 95% emission-free.

By Ben Garside – ben@carbon-pulse.com