Switzerland’s two centre-left parties have called on the government to present a plan for an opt-out from atomic energy in the wake the nuclear accident in Japan.
The Social Democrats and the Greens have demanded that the three older reactors of Beznau I and II and Mühleberg be shut down as quickly as possible, saying they are not safe. The other two plants, Leibstadt and Gösgen, should be taken off the grid in the medium term, they said.
The parties want the government to boost the promotion of renewable energy resources and energy-saving measures instead. Energy policy is expected to be discussed in a special session of parliament in June.
They welcomed a statement by Energy Minister Doris Leuthard on Monday to re-examine safety in Swiss nuclear plants and to suspend temporarily requests for replacement facilities.
Leuthard’s centre-right Christian Democratic Party also hailed the move, adding that further decisions over Switzerland’s energy policy could be taken once details of the nuclear disaster in Japan were known.
However, the rightwing People’s Party and the centre-right Radicals have accused Leuthard of rushing into her decision.
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Dominique Bourg, a philosopher and professor at the Institute of Land Use Policies and Human Environment at Lausanne University, predicts that while life is going to get hard for countries that rely on nuclear power, there’s currently no major alternative. On Tuesday Japan was still scrambling to avert a meltdown at a stricken nuclear plant…
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She has also decided to suspend requests to build new replacement nuclear power stations in Switzerland possibly delaying the timetable for a nationwide vote in 2013. Leuthard reaffirmed that there was no direct danger to the Swiss population from the nuclear incidents in Japan or from Switzerland’s five nuclear power facilities. “Safety and the wellbeing…
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Kurt Herren, the town’s mayor, said he wanted to see a detailed analysis by the Swiss authorities when more was known about the Japanese nuclear power plant accident that followed Friday’s deadly earthquake and tsunami. “We’re appalled by what has happened in Japan and I find it a pity that the whole focus is being…
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Every year the plant is subject to a thorough overhaul. The Axpo company wants to keep Beznau 1 running until at least 2023 and to take it off the grid once Beznau 3 is operational. (Pictures: Thomas Kern, swissinfo.ch)
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