Hey there! Guess what? Something big happened in Switzerland. The people there had a special vote called a referendum. They were deciding on something really important for the environment.

Swiss Climate Bill

• You know how Switzerland has those beautiful snowy mountains called the Swiss Alps? Well, those mountains have something called glaciers, which are like giant ice blocks. But guess what? Those glaciers are melting really fast because of something called climate change. So the Swiss government wanted to do something about it.
• They came up with a plan, or a bill, to reduce the use of fossil fuels like oil and gas, which are bad for the environment. The bill also aimed to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. That means they wanted to produce as little pollution as possible.
  
  
• On the big voting day, 59.1% of the people said “Yes!” to the bill. They wanted to protect their country’s energy and the environment. But not everyone was happy about it. Some people were worried that it would make energy prices go up.
• Almost all of the major political parties in Switzerland supported the bill, except for one called the Swiss People’s Party. They didn’t like the government’s ideas, so they said, “Let’s have a vote and see what the people think!”
  
  
• You know, Switzerland imports a lot of its energy from other countries. They use a lot of oil and natural gas from abroad. But with this new bill, they want to change that. They want to use more renewable energy sources, like wind and solar power. That way, they can make their own energy and be more independent.
• To help make these changes happen, the government promised to spend a lot of money. They’re going to give 2 billion Swiss francs (that’s a lot of money!) to encourage people to use climate-friendly heating systems instead of gas or oil. They’re also giving 1.2 billion Swiss francs to businesses so they can come up with new eco-friendly ideas.
  
  
• This vote was a big deal for the environment, especially for the glaciers in the Swiss Alps. A really smart person called a glaciologist, named Matthias Huss, was really happy about the vote. He said it was a “strong signal” that people care about the climate.
  
  
• In another part of the vote, the Swiss people also said “Yes!” to a plan to have big companies pay a minimum amount of tax. They want to make sure everyone pays their fair share. That’s really important for a fair and equal society.
• So, all in all, it was a pretty exciting day in Switzerland. The people voted to protect the environment and make sure companies pay their taxes. It’s a step towards a better future for everyone. Oh, and by the way, about 42% of the people went out and voted. That’s pretty cool too, right?

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