On 18 June 2023, the Vaud electorate accepted, with 62.72 % yes (117,178 votes to 65,354), the popular initiative "For the protection of the climate", launched by the Greens and Young Greens. The text writes into the cantonal Constitution an obligation for the state and municipalities to significantly reduce the climate impact of each of their policies, with a horizon of carbon neutrality by 2050.
The cantonal government and the Grand Council recommended a yes. A counter-project had been rejected by the Grand Council (77 no, 52 yes). The FDP issued no recommendation; the SVP was the only governing party to fight the initiative head-on. Turnout was 41.68 %.
Nearly three years on, the debate has shifted from the constitutional principle to its concrete translation: a second-generation climate plan and a draft framework law on sustainability and climate.
▲ Overall result Yes : 62,72 % (117 178) No : 37,28 % (65 354) Turnout : 41,68 % | ▼ Vote map A detailed district-by-district breakdown was not widely published; cantonally the yes wins clearly, carried by the urban centres and the Lake Geneva arc. |
Actors and figures
▲ Yes camp • The Greens and Young Greens of Vaud (initiators) • Socialist Party of Vaud • Cantonal government (recommendation) • Majority of the Grand Council | ▼ No camp • SVP Vaud and its president Kevin Grangier • Part of the business community • FDP — free vote, no recommendation |
Arguments and verdicts — nearly 3 years on
▲ Arguments FOR Writing climate into the Constitution gives a solid basis for an ambitious cantonal policy. « An important green light for a more ambitious climate policy in our canton. » — The Greens of Vaud, on voting night ✓ Confirmed The new article served directly as the foundation for the second-generation Vaud Climate Plan (PCV2), adopted by the cantonal government in January 2025, and for the draft framework law on sustainability and climate (LCDC). The constitutional basis was indeed activated. Source: RTS Vaud, 18.06.2023; Canton of Vaud, PCV2, 01.2025 Carbon neutrality by 2050 will be anchored in cantonal law. ~ Partly confirmed The target is in the Constitution, but its legal transposition is unfinished: the LCDC framework law, meant to set the milestones (−50 % emissions by 2030, −70 % by 2040), was still in consultation by mid-2026. The anchoring in principle is secured; the binding obligations remain to be voted. Source: Canton of Vaud, LCDC consultation, 2026 | ▼ Arguments AGAINST The cantonal bank (BCV) will no longer be able to lend to an SME whose premises are heated with oil. « Will it still be able to lend to a Vaud SME whose premises are heated with oil? » — SVP Vaud, 2023 campaign ✗~ Partly disproven Nearly three years after the vote, no provision has restricted the BCV's lending on this criterion. The constitutional article is programmatic; it targets the action of the state and municipalities, not the credit terms of institutions. The fear did not materialise — but since the implementing law is not yet finalised, the file remains open. Source: BCV, annual reports 2023-2025 |
Factual assessment · 2026
1 Confirmed | 2 Partial | 0 Disproven | 1 Too early |
Second-generation Vaud Climate Plan: over 80 measures | Cantonal government VD, January 2025 |
| ✓ | The PCV2 translates the constitutional target into more than 80 impulse measures, with interim goals of −50 % emissions by 2030 and −70 % by 2040. The promise of a "more ambitious" policy became a quantified roadmap. Source: RTS Vaud, 2025; Canton of Vaud |
Framework law on sustainability and climate (LCDC) in consultation | Canton of Vaud, 2026 |
| ~ | The draft, meant to give the targets binding force, was still in consultation by mid-2026. The legal architecture is taking shape, but the legislative lock is not yet in place. Source: Canton of Vaud, LCDC press release |
Impact on purchasing power: no measurable effect so far | Assessment 2023-2026 |
| ~ | The SVP feared a drain on household purchasing power. Three years on, no quantified effect is attributable to the constitutional article itself, absent any triggered fiscal measures. The final verdict will depend on the content of the future law. Source: AfterVote observation |
Three years after the vote, the factual verdict is nuanced. The initiators got what they sought: a constitutional foothold that did trigger a fleshed-out climate plan and a legislative project. On that ground, their bet paid off.
The opponents, for their part, warned of immediate concrete consequences — for the BCV, for purchasing power. Those fears did not materialise within the observed window, but they were not absurd: a statement of principle always ends up translating into measures, and that is precisely what the framework law is preparing. Their case was premature rather than unfounded.
The essential remains: a Constitution sets a course, not a budget. The real test of the 2023 yes has not yet taken place — it will come the day the Grand Council must turn ambition into quantified, payable obligations.