Swiss voters rejected a trio of environmental proposals on Sunday, including a new law intended to help the country meet its goal for cutting carbon emissions under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

A new CO2 law was narrowly rejected, with 51.6 percent of voters opposing it in a nationwide referendum conducted under the country's system of direct democracy.

The result was a defeat for the Swiss government, which supported the new law that included measures such as increasing a surcharge on car fuel and imposing a levy on flight tickets.

The rejection meant it would now be "very difficult" for Switzerland to reach its 2030 goal of cutting carbon emissions to half of their 1990 levels and to become net neutral on emissions by 2050, Environment Minister Simonetta Sommaruga said.

"Today's no is not a no to climate protection, it is...