- Title: Switzerland votes on speedy nuclear phaseout
- Date: 27th November 2016
- Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (NOVEMBER 24, 2016) (REUTERS) PRO AND ANTI-NUCLEAR EXIT POSTERS ON SIDEWALK POSTER READING (French) "YES TO NUCLEAR EXIT", WITH IMAGE REPRESENTING NUCLEAR REACTOR CAUGHT IN A STORM PRO-NUCLEAR EXIT POSTERS READING (French) "INACTIVE TODAY, RADIOACTIVE TOMORROW" AND "YES TO THE PLANNED EXIT" ANTI AND PRO-NUCLEAR EXIT POSTERS, FROM LEFT TO RIGHT ANTI-EXIT POSTER READING (French) "NO TO UNPREPARED NUCLEAR EXIT", WITH IMAGE OF LIGHTENING AROUND WORD "NO" VARIOUS OF POSTER READING (French) "TAKE OUT THE IMMIGRATION PLUG RATHER THAN THAT OF ELECTRICITY" BERN, SWITZERLAND (NOVEMBER 27, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ENTRANCE OF SCHULHAUS TÜRMLI POLLING STATION IN BERN PEOPLE VOTING INSIDE POLLING STATION BALLOT BEING DROPPED INTO BOX PEOPLE IN WAITING LINE / POLLING STATION STAFF STAMPING PAPERS DOCUMENTS BEING STAMPED VARIOUS OF PEOPLE DROPPING BALLOTS INTO BOX (SOUNDBITE) (French) BERN RESIDENT, STEPHAN, SAYING: "With everything we are hearing, this is a waste of money and I think the Swiss people will have to pay for it anyway, so I think it is better to stop now and start to use and develop renewable energies. If we don't stop nuclear, it will always be difficult to use hydraulic and other renewable energies." PEOPLE INSIDE POLLING STATION DOCUMENTS BEING STAMPED PEOPLE DROPPING BALLOT INTO BOX (SOUNDBITE) (French) BERN RESIDENT, WALTER GRAUB, SAYING: "Switzerland will withdraw from nuclear in accordance with the current law, but we shouldn't accelerate it because the cost will be way too high." VARIOUS OF VOTERS PUTTING BALLOTS INTO BOX (SOUNDBITE) (French) BERN RESIDENT, MYRIAM GRIBI, SAYING: "I think it is a sacrifice that must be done but I understand, it is the contradiction, isn't it? But I also think this is a signal to politics, a signal that we really want to move on and to change. There is never a perfect solution, I think we need to be pragmatic but also we need to take this symbolic decision." PERSON ENTERING POLLING STATION ENTRANCE OF POLLING STATION BERN CANTON, SWITZERLAND (NOVEMBER 23, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MUEHLEBERG NUCLEAR POWER STATION MAN ON BOAT IN RIVER BY THE NUCLEAR POWER STATION NUCLEAR POWER STATION / HOUSES NEARBY VARIOUS OF HOUSES SEEN BEHIND ELECTRIC GRID
- Embargoed: 12th December 2016 12:22
- Keywords: Switzerland referendum atomic energy production nuclear power renewable energy
- Location: GENEVA / BERN / BERN CANTON, SWITZERLAND
- City: GENEVA / BERN / BERN CANTON, SWITZERLAND
- Country: Switzerland
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA0015A7Y6H3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Switzerland votes in a referendum on Sunday (November 27) on whether to make a speedy withdrawal from atomic energy production. The move would reduce nuclear risks but raise reliance on fossil fuels from Germany or imported nuclear power from France.
The opposition Swiss Greens and Social Democrats have pushed for a vote since the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan, but the government and industry oppose a quick exit, saying Switzerland would be unable to replace power supplies with renewable energy.
Recent surveys from the gfs.bern polling institute show the "Yes" and "No" camps in the referendum are neck and neck.
"This is a waste of money and I think the Swiss people will have to pay for it anyway, so I think it is better to stop now and start to use and develop renewable energies. If we don't stop nuclear, it will always be difficult to use hydraulic and other renewable energies," said Stephan, a resident of Bern.
"Switzerland will withdraw from nuclear in accordance with the current law, but we shouldn't accelerate it because the cost will be way too high," Walter Graub said after he voted 'no' to the initiative.
Switzerland prides itself on the fact that two-thirds of its power is hydroelectric, from reservoirs in the Alps, but it also counts on nuclear energy for a third of its power output.
Anti-nuclear groups are pushing for it to follow neighbouring Germany, which shut 40 percent of its nuclear reactors after Fukushima and will close the rest by 2022.
Swiss reactors Muehleberg and Beznau I and II would be closed next year, followed by Goesgen in 2024 and Leibstadt in 2029.
That would leave insufficient time to develop solar and wind alternatives, the government says. Nor would Switzerland be nuclear-free, due to a long-term nuclear energy supply relationship with France which relies on atomic power stations for three quarters of its electricity.
Should the Swiss initiative succeed, the nation's utilities have likewise suggested they would pursue more than 7 billion Swiss francs ($6.89 billion) in "economic damages" from having to shut their plants before the end of their lifespan.
"I think it is a sacrifice that must be done but I understand, it is the contradiction, isn't it? But I also think this is a signal to politics, a signal that we really want to move on and to change. There is never a perfect solution, I think we need to be pragmatic but also we need to take this symbolic decision," said Myriam Gribi who lives in Bern.
The first results will be known on Sunday at around 1200 GMT. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None