By 2050, Switzerland will phase out nuclear power in favour of renewable energy sources. The Greens: “A historic result that projects us into the future”.
Switzerland has decided to turn the page definitively on energy. Citizens of the Alpine nation were called upon to ratify by referendum the energy transition law, which requires the progressive phase-out of nuclear energy, while at the same time encouraging the development of renewable energy sources.
The popular vote indicated a clear majority in favour, at 58.2 per cent: a figure higher even than expected, given that pre-vote polls had predicted a narrower result. Only three cantons, out of twenty-six in the confederation in total, voted "no" to the new legislation, which was backed by both the government and parliament. In Zurich, Switzerland's most populous canton, the margin was even wider: "yes" votes came in at around 60 per cent. In Geneva, meanwhile, the farewell to nuclear power proved a plebiscite: around 70% in favour.
"This is a historic day for all ecologists. This way our country will be able to enter the twenty-first energy century," declared Green Party MP Adèle Thorens Goumaz, speaking to public broadcaster RTS. But standing alongside the environmentalists was almost the entire Swiss parliamentary spectrum, with the sole exception of the SVP (Swiss People's Party), the anti-European, anti-immigration populist movement.
For Switzerland, this is the outcome of a long process of reflection that began in the wake of the Fukushima disaster. Indeed, a few weeks after the accident in Japan, the Swiss Confederation had decided to close some of its five nuclear reactors from 2034 onwards, although the authorities had explained that the shutdown should come after 50–60 years of operation for each plant. A first referendum attempt (to close three reactors) had failed in November 2016: at that time, 45.77 per cent of voters had voted in favour.
Hence the government's decision to draw up a new reform, this time setting 2050 as the date for the complete phase-out of nuclear power. The first nuclear power plant due to cease operations should be the one at Beznau, located in the northern canton of Aargau, not far from the border with Germany. It has in fact been in service for 47 years. It is the oldest nuclear power plant in the world, following the closure of the Oldbury reactor in the United Kingdom, ordered in 2012.
At the same time, Switzerland has launched a plan for a significant reduction in consumption: the strategy aims to achieve, through residential and industrial energy efficiency, a decrease of 16 per cent by 2020 and of 43 per cent by 2035 (relative to 2000 levels). The government in Bern has estimated the cost that the measures will entail for Swiss households: 40 francs (36.5 euros) per year on average compared to today. An additional burden that could, however, be more than offset by the efficiency policies themselves.