Activists and environmentalists obstruct the highway in Lausanne

Environmental activists have blocked a highway exit this morning in Lausanne. They belong to a new movement, Renovate Switzerland, and are asking the Federal Council for an action plan to ensure that one million buildings are upgraded in terms of energy efficiency.

Action began around 8 a.m. on the highway that leads to La Maladière, the southbound entrance to Lausanne, which is usually heavily trafficked during rush hour. Five activists sat on the roadway to prevent the traffic from getting through, a Keystone-ATS journalist on the scene reported. The police responded with multiple patrols.

Renovate Switzerland is the Swiss branch of a newly created «civil resistance» motion that already exists in a dozen other countries. In France it is called Dernière Rénovation and in the USA Declare Emergency. The operation in Lausanne this morning is the first on national territory.

In a dossier sent to the press, Renovate Switzerland promises to continue its protest actions until the Federal Council has listened to its request. Namely: the implementation of a national plan to renovate one million buildings by 2040.

Subsidies for energy renovation should amount to one billion francs per year from 2023, that is five times more than today. The activists are also advocating for the training of 100,000 additional workers in the construction industry.

«Such a plan will dramatically reduce CO2 emissions, reduce our energy dependence on foreign countries and cut our energy bills in half,» says Renovate Switzlerland, which calls Swiss buildings an «energy sinkhole.»