The voluntary agreement between Swiss car industry and the Swiss transport ministry set up to deliver improved fuel consumption has failed to meet its target.
The agreement signed in 2002 set a target for the average car registered in Switzerland of 6.4 litres per 100km by the end of 2008. The figure was 7.14 litres, which is down by 3.9% on 2007 but slow progress in earlier years means Swiss cars are still using too much fuel. Switzerland has no car makers on its own soil so the figures reflect international trends, and the failure of Switzerland to keep enough gas guzzlers out of the country.
The decision to create a Europe-wide carbon price was right but creates significant political risk. The good news is it can still be fixed.
It's about time the EU requires parts of key products to be made locally – and nowhere is this more urgent than in the battery sector.
Interactive dashboard: which countries have the greenest tax systems?
Yearly publication analysing and comparing the car taxation systems across 31 countries in Europe.