The Russia-Ukraine war, along with the looming specter of an energy crisis this winter in Europe, could possibly prompt Switzerland to ban the non-essential use of electric vehicles.
Within this speculated move, Switzerland might become the first European country to prohibit its citizens from driving or purchasing essential electric cars. According to the Telegraph, roughly 60% of the country's energy supply leans on the usage of hydroelectric power.
Other sources of Switzerland's energy consumption include: Nuclear power, fossil fuel plants, and solar and wind generation, according to the Telegraph.
The publication also reports that Swiss officials are pondering steps to mandate the indoors-heating maximum to 68 degrees.
The government has also proposed cutting the operating hours of stores and recommending a lower resolution for video-streaming services, as a means of managing energy consumption and avoiding a blackout, according to reports.
The Telegraph reports that Swiss officials ideally want to phase out the usage of nuclear energy in the country. However, there are "significant discrepancies" in how much electricity the country generates — from a month-to-month perspective — along with how much energy would be required to fulfill the needs of the people.
"In the wetter months, rainfall and snow pumps up hydroelectric power, meaning the country exports much of what it is able to generate. Switzerland then imports during the colder months, when production is lower. This has left the Swiss vulnerable to energy shortages in Europe because of the war in Ukraine," writes the Telegraph.
According to reports, Switzerland's emergency response to energy risks has a two-tiered classification — emergency and crisis.
There's no word on how long a proposed EV ban in Switzerland would be implemented.
Back in September, Neil Chatterjee, the former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, revealed that he had been tipped off to Western Europe's energy crunch back in 2019, when his FERC colleagues from Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic foretold Russian President Vladimir Putin's long-term plan of controlling European nations through oil and natural gas rationing.
"We saw this years in advance," Chatterjee told Newsmax. "They were warning us back then, about how Putin could weaponize natural gas."
After that conversation, Chatterjee and then-Energy Secretary Rick Perry — both Trump administration officials — tried to alert energy companies and affiliated industries in the United States to Putin's prospective plans.
However, Chatterjee said the warnings largely fell on deaf ears domestically — particularly among Democrats.
The environmentalists in America have "thrown up obstacles" to the Biden administration exporting oil and natural gas to its European allies, said Chatterjee a few months ago.
"The reality is, Russia needs the [worldwide market] money. They get their money from oil," said Chatterjee, while adding that Putin has been using the threat of depriving Western European nations of natural gas as "political currency."
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