The Swiss Federal Office of Energy (BFE) has held a study on the environmental friendliness of electric cars. The report
The Swiss online magazine “Republic” and the research collective WAV. The BFE has now confirmed the process.
The study
came to a similar result as earlier research: in the vast majority of electric cars are more environmentally friendly than burners. “Extrapolated to the entire Swiss passenger car fleet, around 90 percent of the combustion engines would be worthwhile to replace the replacement by an electric car of the same vehicle class,” write the study authors from the Infras research office. In the rest of the cases, the climate part is unclear that the existing car is efficient enough – or it is so little moving that a replacement from climate perspective does not be worthwhile.
Office published study now – after reporting about it
When this result was available to the office in autumn 2024, it was decided internally against publication. This is intended to show email correspondences that the “Republic” and WAV requested from the office with reference to the public law. The office confirmed that the study first held back.
As a reason, the BFE stated that the question that the study deals with has changed since the concept was created. “The report does not give a clear answer to the question of whether buying a new electric vehicle while selling the used fossil vehicle has a positive or negative impact on the climate. The assumptions taken in the study are vague and therefore difficult to understand.”
That is an excuse, according to the article by “Republic” and WAV. The study gives a clear answer. In addition, electric cars have become more efficient since the study had been commissioned, which is all the more said for the study of the study.
From the emails that the authors of the article received with reference to the public law of the office, it should indicate that those responsible kept the study back for other reasons. The topic was “possibly delicate”, therefore a project manager wrote. Another BFE employee wrote accordingly that the knowledge of the study could be understood as “elite recommendations”. According to the motto: Complete your old combustion engines and buy new electric cars. This apparently did not appear to be opposed to the office-it held back the findings on the environmental friendliness of electric cars from the public.
The “Republic” journalist and the WAV journalist obtained a publication of the study and published it on-line
. After the article was published, the BFE now put the paper on its website
.