Regarding lifestyle change, our findings suggest that the reduction in two behaviour patterns (i.e., meat consumption, use of non-electric aviation) could make the costs, and political feasibility of achieving climate neutrality substantially lower. This is especially the case with respect to meat consumption, and especially in countries where meat prices are currently relatively low.

Regarding energy independence, our findings suggest that efforts to achieve self-sufficiency on an annual basis with respect to the future dominant energy carrier (electricity) are likely to require policy changes enabling substantially more solar energy development than is currently feasible in Switzerland, especially if the electrification of heating and transport proceeds at an aggressive pace. Reductions foreseen in net transfer capacity – the utilization of transmission lines with neighbouring countries – will not have a major additional effect. A goal of autarchy
with respect to electricity production would require substantial additional policy changes, such as those that would enable the construction of many thousand wind turbines within Switzerland at a pace far quicker than has been possible in the past. Even under the more challenging conditions, however, decarbonization of the energy system is likely to bring overall cost savings relative to today.