Switzerland’s building renovation rate remains too low to meet its climate targets, while recent regulatory changes risk weakening incentives for energy-efficient refurbishment. This project develops and evaluates new policy measures to accelerate low-carbon renovations. Combining surveys, interviews, a field experiment, and techno-economic modelling, it will provide evidence-based recommendations for federal and cantonal decision-makers.
Switzerland must reduce CO2 emissions from the building sector by 82% by 2040, yet current renovation rates remain too low. This challlenge intensifies as regulatory changes – including reduced refurbishment subsidies and the abolition of imputed rental value tax deductions – jeopardise renovation incentives. This project identifies and evaluates new policy measures to accelerate energy-efficient and low-carbon renovations within this transformed regulatory landscape. Through five integrated work packages, we will: (1) define differentiated policy measures; (2) analyse building owners’ perceptions and valuations of renovation investments via a representative survey and interviews with institutional actors; (3) test specific measures to foster renovation investments in a field experiment; (4) model the economic and emissions impacts of the identified policy measures, and (5) formulate specific policy recommendations. Our evidence-based approach combines stated preferences, revealed behaviour, and techno-economic modelling to deliver concrete guidance for federal and cantonal decision-makers to meet Switzerland's climate targets.
