Sustainable Pathways towards Net Zero Switzerland (SPEED2ZERO)

SPEED2ZERO will focus on connecting disciplines and institutions of the ETH Domain with private industry, government and policy, aiming to build a community of experts and stakeholders. The focus is on the areas of net zero greenhouse gas emissions, energy, biodiversity and climate change.

Aim of the project

SPEED2ZERO will generate crucial scientific insight and develop interactive visualizations, scenarios, toolboxes, action plans, and technology to enable a sustainable transformation to a net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) and biodiversity-positive Switzerland.

By closely and continuously involving stakeholders during the project, transferred knowledge and know-how will continue to guide decision- and policy-makers towards achieving the climate, energy, and biodiversity goals in 2030, 2050, and beyond.

Research questions (excerpt)

Among other things, the following research questions will be addressed:

• What are strategies, needed technologies, policies, and financial instruments for Switzerland to reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% compared to 1990 by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050?
  
• What are the impacts of different net zero mitigation strategies on biodiversity and energy supply resilience, and how can net-zero GHG and biodiversity-positive goals be synergized?
  
• How do compound extremes (i.e., multiple stressors) caused by climate change affect biodiversity, land use, and the energy supply resilience of different net zero energy transition strategies? How can net zero GHG and biodiversity strategies be optimized under the scenario of compound extremes?

Expected outputs and outcomes

• Coupled climate-energy-biodiversity scenarios for Switzerland up to 2050 with a focus on 2030, including software to assess resilience of policy decisions with respect to climate, energy, and biodiversity security.
  
• Roadmap and action plan for infrastructure and technologies to be deployed by 2030 and beyond (e.g., photovoltaics in the Alps, hydropower, CO₂ Capture and Storage for waste-to-energy facilities).
  
• Prototypes & demonstration of carbon-negative building materials (e.g. at NEST).
  
• Roadmap and action plan for infrastructure that needs to be implemented after 2030 with sufficient preparation beforehand (e.g., CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure, legislation).
  
• Toolbox to analyse different scenario outputs with respect to climate and biodiversity, depending on assumed parameters (open-source, open-data).
  
• Publicly accessible, interactive online tool of the Swiss energy system showing energy supply options and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as direct and indirect biodiversity effects to exchange with the public and increase knowledge transfer and awareness.
  
• Risk analysis of energy supply until 2030 (and beyond) considering new insights from combined climate-energy-biodiversity scenarios.
  
• Recommendations for risk mitigation and stress tests for energy supply and biodiversity impacts under extreme and compound event scenarios.
  
• Prototype of CO₂ Capture and Storage (CCS) in a waste-to-energy plant.
• High visibility of the ETH Domain institutions through multiple stakeholder workshops and public events to engage the public, politicians, industry, and the media.
  
• A strong network of experts and stakeholders to strengthen the science-policy interface in the area of energy, climate, biodiversity, sustainability, and decarbonization.