Swiss voters are heading to the polls after a campaign by scientists and environmentalists argued that the nation's greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced.

Campaigners are backing a government plan that requires Switzerland to achieve "net zero" emissions by 2050, after initially proposing even more ambitious measures.

They argue that the country will be hard hit by global warming and is already seeing the effects of rising temperatures as glaciers melt at an alarming rate.

The plan also sets aside more than 3bn Swiss francs (£2.6bn) to help wean companies and homeowners off fossil fuels.

However, the nationalist Swiss People's Party, which demanded a popular vote on the bill, claims the proposed measures will cause electricity prices to rise.

Projections based on counted votes suggest that 88% of those who took part in the referendum have approved plans to raise the country's business tax to 15%, compared with the current level of 11%.

Meanwhile, 58% appear to have supported the proposed climate law, despite the fact it was rejected in 2021 for being too expensive.

"The supporters have reason to rejoice," Urs Bieri of the GFS Bern Institute, a research group, told Swiss broadcaster SRF.

"But by no means everyone is in favour of the law. The argument with the costs has brought many 'no' votes."

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Greenpeace Switzerland welcomed the first results of the referendum.

"This victory means that at last the goal of achieving net zero emissions will be anchored in law," Greenpeace's climate and energy expert George Klingler said.

"That gives better security for planning ahead and allows our country to take the path toward an exit from fossil fuels."

Swiss glaciers experienced record melting last year - losing more than 6% of their volume.

This shocked scientists, who said a loss of 2% would once have been considered extreme.

Matthias Huss, a glaciologist at the Swiss Institute for Technology in Zurich, has posted dramatic snapshots of retreating glaciers and rockslides on social media to highlight the changes taking place in the Alps.

"We need to insist on communicating the urgency of climate action," he wrote on Twitter in May.