Going green: Swiss officials must take trains for some trips

GENEVA (AP) — For Swiss federal officials, it’s no more jetting to Paris for their business trips. Under new rules announced Thursday by the finance department, federal officials will have to take the train, not a plane, where available for work trips. The move puts into action a government decree last year that aims to help reduce the officials’ carbon-dioxide emissions 30% by 2030. In some cases officials will be required to take the train even when that’s slower than flying. Starting July 1, all federal staffers will be required to take trains for official trips from the Swiss capital of Bern to places like Paris, Florence, Leipzig in Germany and Salzburg in Austria.