Heat pumps (HP) are a key solution for decarbonizing building heating systems. However, their adoption remains slow due to high upfront costs, technical challenges, and limited financial support. This study examines the impact of mandatory requirements to transition to HPs, combined with subsidy schemes, based on real-world case studies from two Swiss cantons. Two approaches of establishing the subsidy level are distinguished: i) LCOH-based subsidies, bringing down the levelized cost of renewable heating to the level of a gas boiler; and ii) Capital expenditure-based (CapEx-based) subsidies, which, in pure form, are designed to entirely repay the extra investment cost for installing the renewable heating system relative to a gas boiler. We find that current subsidy levels cover only a small portion of the additional investment costs compared to gas boilers and in most cases, they somewhat exceed the LCOH-based subsidy level. Today's subsidy levels can be considered as good compromise between the two ways studied (i and ii), while opportunities are shown for some adaptations in the studied regulatory frameworks. These findings provide practical guidance for designing effective subsidy schemes for other Swiss cantons and other countries aiming to decarbonize building heating systems.
Veintirés años y dos meses es un cuento de corte realista, cercano al llamado "realismo sucio" norteamericano. En él, se relata un reencuentro entre amigos de la adolescencia, ahora tocados por la edad y la distancia, y cómo tratan de resolver aquellas diferencias que los separaron cuando jóvenes, mientras lidian con el día a día y los problemas maritales en que se hallan.
The replacement of fossil-fuelled heating systems with systems using renewable energy sources is a central energy and climate policy concern and one of the prerequisites for reducing CO2 emissions to a climate-friendly level. The Swiss decarbonization strategy considers the use of electric air-to-water heat pumps (HP) operated with electricity generated from renewable sources or from a power mix with low CO2 content. However, the installation of HPs, which is essential for decarbonizing heat supply in buildings, is proceeding very slowly, and fossil fuel heating replacement is still the rule rather than the exception. This study investigates how a strong climate protection law (Energy Act of Basel-Stadt) has managed to overcome resistance to the installation of HPs, which is observed in many other Swiss cantons. The research question to be answered is whether the experience made with HP implementation in one location (with Basel-Stadt as forerunner canton) would be similarly viable in another location (Canton of Geneva). The results indicate that although the two cantons have different characteristics in terms of building stock, the potential of buildings where HP installation is considered 'easy' is high in both cases (50% in Basel-Stadt and 40% in Geneva). This is equivalent to 40% (in both cities) of the energy used for thermal use that is currently produced by fossil energy and that could be instead generated with HPs. Although there are many factors to take into account in order to design effective policies that are truly effective for the extensive installation of HP, it is worth remembering that there are many cases where it is already possible to easily install a HP today, and these should be the starting point.
Fake news have acquired an overwhelming expression in the development of social networks, which ensures their accelerated propagation and reproduction. As mediators of communication between organizations and audiences, Public Relations (PR) professionals are a field of actionwhere the challenges of misinformation are particularly critical in building and maintaining the institutional image and reputation, organizational differentiation and building relationships of trust with their stakeholders.In this article, we present a research proposal oriented to current and future PR professionals, for the evaluation of the awareness of the phenomenon, in its historical and conceptual context and in the specific context of social networks; the evaluation of the effects of fake news in organizations; the evaluation of sociocultural measures and mitigation of the phenomenon; and the evaluation of strategies and specific measures of the profession, in the preventive and reactive domains, to combat the organizational effects of fake news.
