Swiss Review 2/2020

Swiss Review / April 2020 / No.2 13 Red amid verdant green – both colours mean something to Environment Minister Simonetta Sommaruga. Archive photo: Charly Hug mate action while she was still a member of the Council of States in 2006, proved adept at turning this to her advantage. Soon the new environ- ment minister was inviting young ac- tivists into her office. She also took to the streets in September as tens of thousands walked through Berne to call for concrete action on climate change – this was also a good par- ty-political opportunity before the federal elections. Change in priorities And yet, the Greens celebrated an his- toric election victory while the SP haemorrhaged votes. Sommaruga now has high expectations to live up to within her party, who see her as their green totem. This has implica- tions on how she manages DETEC. Christian Democrat Leuthard fo- cused on infrastructure from the out- set, ensuring long-term funding for road and rail connections. During her time in office, the second Gotthard road tunnel got the go-ahead. The Federal Office for the Environment, on the other hand, played a second- ary role, usually only making head- lines in relation to wolves and bears. Unlike her predecessor, Sommaruga is positioning herself much more as an environment minister. For her, en- ergy and transport policy is not just a matter of infrastructure or supply se- curity but has just as much to do with the climate. She has added input to is- sues such as agricultural policy, the protection of drinking water and the use of herbicides and insecticides, while biodiversity conservation is at the very top of her agenda. And she has interpreted her role this year as president of the Swiss Confederation in the same way. Speaking to the as- sembled business, political and aca- demic elite at the WEF in Davos in January, Sommaruga made a dra- matic appeal for more action on cli- mate change. “The world is on fire,” she told participants, before present- ing a video about the decline in bees and biodiversity. Make no mistake, the environment minister means business. For the sake of the bees in her garden – and elsewhere. STEFAN BÜHLER IS DOMESTIC NEWS EDITOR AT “NZZ AM SONNTAG”