In the midst of the European energy storm, Switzerland seems to live in a bubble of prosperity. In a recent publication, the geopolitical analyst Velina Tchakarova showed how the Swiss industry continues to grow in front of the European Union. And the data does not deceive anyone: in the first quarter of this year the Helvetic industrial production increased by 8.5% year -on -year, while in Germany last June registered a collapse of 1.9%, the worst data in years. The contrast is even more evident in the long term: since 2011, Swiss industrial production has grown almost 40%, compared to German stagnation.
The Swiss road. True to its neutrality, but knowing how to position itself, the Swiss industry is dominated by sectors of high added value and low relative energy consumption, such as pharmacist and biotechnology. But here is the most revealing: that low energy consumption is not only efficiency, but also outsourcing (a sophisticated strategy of offshoring verde). An EBP consultant study for the Federal Environmental Office (BAFU) shows that two thirds of Switzerland’s environmental footprint are generated outside its borders. The Umwelt Schweiz 2022 report confirms this pattern: the country reduces its internal impact at the expense of moving it abroad.
There are different examples that illustrate it well: the Roche company announced in May a new biopharmaceutical plant in Shanghai, the Lonza company operating in Guangzhou or, the most striking case, Siegfried managing a global network with headquarters in different countries that allows it to distribute phases of the chain outside the Helvetic territory. Together, these movements illustrate how the Swiss industrial “miracle” retains the added value at home while displacing the most polluting and expensive part abroad. To this is added an electrical system less vulnerable to gas: hydroelectricity and nuclear represent a good part of its mix.
The Labyrinth of the EU. At this time it is going through an industrial decline: Eurostat reported that in June the production fell 1.0% in the EU as a whole and 1.3% in the Eurozone. The setback was already coming from last year, when the manufacturing volume was 2% lower than in 2022. And Ing Think analyzes warn that European industrial production is maintained 5% below two years ago, a prolonged stagnation signal.
To this fall is added a perfect storm: high energy costs, CO₂ rights and an internal debate about its energy model. France, with a reactor -based system, leads the block that defends nuclear energy as a backbone of the transition. Spain and Portugal, with solar and wind abundance, claim otherwise: more interconnections and networks to take advantage of renewable surplus. In addition, the tireless search by the EU is added to look for another output to stock up that is not Russia in terms of gas.
While Switzerland transfers its heaviest loads to Asia, Europe is enclosed in its own rules, paying CO₂ rights that further increase its energy intensive industries. Switzerland outsourizes, Europe internalizes. Switzerland harvest added value, Europe assumes added costs.
The awkward contrast. Here the paradox emerges. Switzerland exhibits an expansion industry, favorable environmental statistics and a more stable electricity supply. Everything seems to indicate that it has found the perfect formula to prosper in the midst of European chaos. For its part, the European Union is paying the Price of being a pioneer: its factories face much higher energy costs, its energy intensive industries lose competitiveness and its governments carry the pressure of fulfilling strict climatic objectives.
But Swiss success relies on a small print. The Umwelt Schweiz 2022 report supports that two thirds of the country’s environmental footprint are generated outside its borders. That is, Switzerland retains at home the added value of its pharmaceutical and technological industry, while the energy cost and pollution are transferred to other places. That apparently virtuous model implies a strategic risk: to depend on global supply chains and expose themselves to political vulnerabilities in Asia.
In climatic terms, the question is inevitable: are global emissions really reduced when Switzerland “is cleaned” at the cost of others getting more? Or, in other words, isn’t its industrial miracle with another way to outsource the environmental invoice?
Forecasts On paper, Switzerland seems greener and more prosperous. But the true story is told in the chimneys of China and in the closed factories of Germany. The Helvetic miracle works, to a large extent, because the energy and climatic invoice is paid by others. While industrial production collapses in the European Union, in Switzerland is triggered. However, that balance, sustained in global chains and in others, could be broken when geopolitics tightens. The real unknown is not how much the Swiss miracle can last, but who is willing to pay his invoice.
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