Users in Switzerland do not pay the full costs of transport and energy. External costs amount to 11 to 16 billion Swiss francs. These are the costs of environmental damage, security costs, long-term climate risks, and non-covered infrastructure costs. These external costs lead to market failures, and the wrong actors must pay the costs of economic behaviour that wastes resources and leads to wrong allocations. This is neither efficient nor fair. In order to correct this situation, new price signals are necessary: prices that reflect the polluter-pays principle and include external costs. Providing bases for decision-making to scientists, policy actors, and economic actors, the report analyses the state of the art discussion in the energy and transport sector in Switzerland and presents recent quantitative estimates. The report may also serve as a basis for the everyday actions of indiciduals.

The Forgotten Billions

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