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Protesters from the group Renovate Switzerland glued themselves
to the motorway surface around the northern entrance to the
Gotthard Tunnel, the group said.
The 17 km (10 mile) tunnel is one of the main routes connecting
northern Switzerland to Italy, and is a bottleneck for
travellers heading from northern Europe southwards.
Police were called to the scene and eventually removed the seven
protesters, who held a banner saying "renovate", after their
action began just after 10 a.m.
"Renovate Switzerland is back on the streets," the group said
via Twitter. "This is an appeal to our fellow citizens. Let's
demand together that the Swiss government finally declares a
climate emergency."
The group said it wanted the government to take climate change
seriously and renovate the country's buildings by 2035.
Switzerland is warming at more than twice the global rate and
its glaciers are melting fast.
In response, the government wants to invest 4.1 billion Swiss
francs ($4.54 billion) on renovating buildings, modernising the
transport infrastructure and other measures to halve greenhouse
emissions by 2030 from 1990 levels.
Karuna Babajee, a 19-year-old student, said she was scared to
take part in the protest but felt compelled to act.
"I'm doing it because I'm terrified and angry that my generation
is being sentenced to death," she said.
Police from the Swiss canton of Uri were called to the scene
removed the protesters after 30 minutes. The group, all aged
between 19 and 60 were arrested.
Police told Reuters the road had been cleared traffic had now
resumed under the tunnel after the protest, although there were
tailbacks of 17 km.
($1 = 0.9037 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Alison Williams)
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