1. Swiss CO2 Act: status 2026
Swiss CO2 pricing is anchored in the CO2 Act. The current law dates back to 2008 and has been revised several times. The most important political episode of recent years was the referendum in June 2021: a comprehensive revision, which among other things envisaged higher levy rates and a flight-ticket charge, was narrowly rejected by the population with 51.6 percent No votes. That was a political setback, because without this revision Switzerland will not be on track to meet its climate targets by 2030.
After the 2021 rejection, parliament drew up a new, more compact bill which was passed in 2024 and entered into force without referendum. The current CO2 Act runs until the end of 2030 and contains the following core elements. The CO2 levy on fuels for heating (heating oil, natural gas) remains at CHF 120 per tonne of CO2, the statutory maximum rate since 2022. Two thirds of the revenue continue to be redistributed to the population via the health insurer, one third flows into the Building Programme and the Technology Fund. Transport fuels (petrol, diesel) remain outside the direct CO2 levy; there a compensation obligation applies to importers via the Klimarappen (climate centime) system.
Politically, Switzerland is in a peculiar position: it has the highest levy rate in Europe on heating fuels (CHF 120/t corresponds to around EUR 130/t, compared with EUR 65/t in Germany in 2026), but at the same time the weakest steering effect in the transport sector, because pricing there runs indirectly via importers. For households with oil heating, Switzerland is therefore above-average expensive. For car drivers, more or less average.
Another peculiarity: Switzerland has no link to the EU ETS for the building sector, because it is not an EU member. When the EU ETS-2 starts in 2027 for heating oil and gas, that does not directly affect Switzerland. CH policy can decide for itself whether it takes the next step of pricing on its own or links to EU logic via bilateral agreements. As of May 2026 both are possible, but no concrete decision has been taken.
The bottom line that matters most for households with oil heating: until the end of 2030, the CO2 levy stays at CHF 120 per tonne. That is calculable, that is high, and that is tied to refunds. Anyone planning their heating system over the next five years can rely on this stable framework.
2. CHF 120 per tonne and 32 centimes per litre
The mathematical translation of the CO2 levy into the per-litre price is simple. With an emission factor of around 2.65 kilograms of CO2 per litre of light heating oil, the following calculation applies: CHF 120 per tonne times 2.65 kilograms of CO2 per litre divided by 1,000 kilograms per tonne gives CHF 0.318 per litre. Rounded up to the per-litre figure, that's about 32 centimes of surcharge, already included in the gross heating-oil price and paid to the wholesaler, who in turn has to acquire the certificates from Switzerland's BAFU.
Values rounded, emission factor 2.65 kg CO2 per litre of heating oil EL according to the Swiss BAFU. Actual surcharges on the bill may deviate by a few centimes, depending on fuel specification and wholesale tier.
What does that mean in practice?
Anyone refuelling heating oil in Switzerland doesn't see a separate CO2 levy line on the bill. The surcharge is part of the gross per-litre price and is forwarded by the wholesaler to the Federal Customs Administration. For a typical Swiss terraced house with 2,500 to 3,500 litres of annual consumption (CH tanks are often smaller than in Germany, because many Swiss households refill more frequently), this works out to a pure CO2 burden of CHF 795 to CHF 1,113 per year. On average, around CHF 954.
Persona: the Mueller family (3 people, terraced house, Aargau)
The Mueller family has been heating with oil for twelve years, uses an average of 3,000 litres per year, the tank holds 2,500 litres and is refilled twice a year. At a typical gross heating-oil price of around CHF 1.12 per litre in spring 2026, the CO2 levy makes up about 29 percent of the per-litre price, or around CHF 954 of a total heating-oil bill of CHF 3,360 per year.
CO2 burden per tank fill (Mueller family)
The Mueller family pays a net CHF 604 per year in CO2 burden, after refund. If the family were a 2-person household with the same heating-oil consumption (rare, but conceivable in a large house), the refund would be around CHF 175 and the net burden around CHF 779. That makes the social logic visible: households with more people benefit more from the refund per capita, because heating energy does not scale 1-to-1 with household size.
What does the CO2 burden concretely cost you per year?
Work out in 60 seconds how much the CO2 levy puts on your heating-oil tank fill and how that compares with alternative heating systems. The energy-cost calculator shows it scenario-specific.
Calculate in 60 seconds3. Refund via the health insurer
The politically most important element of the Swiss CO2 levy is the redistribution. Unlike in Germany, where the climate-money has been announced since 2021 but has not been paid out by May 2026, Switzerland established a functioning payout mechanism from the start. Two thirds of the CO2 levy revenue (around CHF 900 million per year) flow back automatically to the population, via the health-insurance premium bill as an annual per-capita credit.
How does the payout work?
The Federal Council sets a per-capita amount annually. As of 2024 this was around CHF 87 per person per year. The concrete amount is calculated by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (BAFU) and adopted by the Federal Council; the level varies depending on the actual CO2 revenue of the previous year. The payout is processed via all mandatory health insurers. Concretely: the health insurer deducts the refund from your monthly premium, or credits it to the annual closing statement. You don't need to apply, declare or remember anything; the credit appears automatically on your premium bill with the note CO2 levy redistribution.
The social logic behind it
The per-capita refund is socially well thought out. It works progressively: households with below-average fossil consumption (small flats, heat-pump heating, no own car) receive more back than they pay in via the CO2 levy. Households with above-average consumption (large houses with oil heating, several cars, lots of heating oil) pay net more. This makes the CO2 levy socially acceptable; it doesn't act regressively. A recent study by ETH Zurich showed that about 60 percent of Swiss households are net beneficiaries or neutral.
What does that mean for an average family?
A four-person family with oil heating and 3,000 litres of annual consumption pays CHF 954 in CO2 burden and gets CHF 350 back, so a net CHF 604 burden. A four-person family with a heat pump and average electricity consumption pays maybe CHF 200 of CO2 burden via other components (mobility, etc.) and likewise gets CHF 350 back, so net CHF 150 in the plus. That is the politically intended signal: those who use a heat pump benefit; those who use heating oil pay more, but can switch by changing system.
Why does it work in Switzerland but not in Germany?
Switzerland has a peculiarity that makes the refund trivial: every resident is mandatorily insured with a health insurer, the health insurers have central data on every insured person and collect monthly premiums. This means there is an existing, complete payout channel to every individual. In Germany this mechanism is missing: there is no universal file of bank accounts for all citizens, the tax identification number is not universally linked to accounts. The German delay on climate-money is primarily an infrastructural problem that Switzerland has long since solved through its health-insurance system. More on the Swiss pricing concept can be found in our glossary entry on the CO2 levy and on the pass-through effect.
4. Building Programme cross-subsidy
The second third of the CO2 levy revenue (around CHF 450 million per year) does not flow back to the population, but into the Building Programme. This is the most important energy-renovation subsidy in Switzerland, jointly operated by the federal government and 26 cantons. Through this channel, heat pumps, building-envelope insulation, window replacement, comfort ventilation and other renovation measures are supported.
The political logic is an elegant cross-subsidy: those who consume heating oil and pay the CO2 levy indirectly finance the subsidy for renovation measures that reduce heating-oil consumption. The pricing thus dissolves itself in the medium term, which is the core of the steering levy. Unlike in Germany, where the BEHG revenue in the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF) is used for broader climate policy, Switzerland has a very direct link here between fuel levy and heating-replacement subsidy.
Who can use the Building Programme?
In principle, all property owners in Switzerland who implement an eligible energy measure on their building. The concrete subsidy conditions vary considerably per canton, because the programme is organised federally. The federal government provides the funds, the cantons define the exact subsidy rates and conditions. That means: anyone renovating in the canton of Zurich can receive up to CHF 25,000 for a heat pump. Anyone renovating in the canton of Aargau gets different rates, similar but somewhat lower.
A complete overview of subsidy rates per canton, application routes and the MuKEn regulation (Model Regulations of the Cantons on Energy) can be found on our dedicated sub-page Building Programme Switzerland 2026 subsidy. There the top subsidy cantons are tabulated, the application route is described step by step, and the most common mistakes when applying are named.
Indirect subsidies via other channels
Besides the Building Programme there are other subsidy channels, likewise financed from CO2 revenue. The Technology Fund supports risk investments in climate-friendly technologies. The Confederation's Climate Protection Programme supports smaller pilot projects. These channels are less directly relevant for private households, but part of the broader use of CO2 levy revenue.
Bottom line on the cross-subsidy
A typical Swiss heating-oil household pays around CHF 318 annually (= one third of the CHF 954 CO2 burden) into the Building Programme. Over ten years that's CHF 3,180. If this household switches to a heat pump itself, it typically receives CHF 15,000 to CHF 25,000 of subsidy back from the Building Programme, depending on canton and system. That means: the switch to a heat pump recovers the cross-subsidy paid in over years in one fell swoop. Economically that is a strong signal in favour of the switch, which Switzerland has set very clearly politically.
Model your heating-oil burden and alternatives
The energy-cost calculator shows you how CO2 burden, heating-oil price fluctuations and subsidies play out over the years. In 60 seconds with your own consumption values.
Start energy-cost calculator5. CH/DE/AT comparison
Anyone placing the Swiss value in the European context sees a clear hierarchy. Switzerland has the highest CO2 levy rate, followed by Liechtenstein (same rate due to customs union), then Sweden (CHF 130/t in domestic fuel levy, similarly high). Germany sits at EUR 65/t in 2026, Austria at around EUR 55/t via the National Emissions Trading Act. The EU ETS-2 from 2027 will harmonise pricing in DE and AT and organise it market-based.
| Country | CO2 price 2026 | Heating-oil surcharge EUR/L or c/L | 3,000-L tank burden |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | CHF 120/t | ~32 centimes/L | ~CHF 954 |
| Germany | EUR 65/t | ~17 cents/L | ~EUR 517 |
| Austria | EUR 55/t | ~15 cents/L | ~EUR 437 |
Swiss values according to BAFU CO2 Act, German values according to BEHG 2026, Austrian values according to NEHG 2026. CHF/EUR exchange rate variable, here only as an order-of-magnitude comparison. Values 2026, as of May.
What explains the difference?
Switzerland is politically more ambitious at CHF 120 per tonne, because it has anchored the net-zero climate target by 2050 in law and uses pricing as a central steering instrument. Germany and Austria have similar climate targets, but lower prices, because they are integrated into the EU ETS-2 system from 2027 and the transitional logic is more compromise-based.
The second major difference is the refund. Switzerland has the highest price, but also the most direct refund via the health insurer. Germany has a lower price, but the climate-money has not been paid out so far (as of May 2026). Austria had the climate bonus, which was abolished at the end of 2024. If you calculate the net burden per person, Switzerland is more expensive for above-average heating-oil users; for below-average users, thanks to the refund, it is often cheaper than DE or AT.
What does that mean for the future?
With the ETS-2 start in the EU from 2027, rising CO2 prices in DE and AT are expected, with estimates between EUR 80 and EUR 120 per tonne by 2030. This brings the DE/AT price closer to Swiss levels. Switzerland will probably not raise further (statutory maximum reached), but could move into a second stage from 2031. Until then, the Swiss rate remains the benchmark against which the EU orients itself.
For personal heating decisions in Switzerland, the bottom line is clear: the CO2 burden will not fall over the next five years, it is stable at a high CHF 120/t. Anyone keeping an oil heater for the next 10 to 15 years will pay CHF 9,500 to CHF 14,000 in cumulative pure CO2 burden (minus refund). Those who switch to a heat pump avoid this burden and additionally claw back the Building Programme subsidy paid in over years.