Switzerland to lift ban on building nuclear power plants By Reuters

ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss government said on Wednesday it plans to lift a ban on building new power plants to bolster local energy supplies at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions.

Energy Minister Albert Roești said the government will present a proposal to amend the nuclear legislation by the end of 2024 so that it can be debated in parliament next year.

“In the long term, new nuclear power plants represent a possible way to ensure our supply in a geopolitically uncertain time,” Roești said in a press conference.

Failure to preserve the option could be seen as a betrayal by future generations, Roesti argued.

Switzerland decided to phase out nuclear power after the 2011 nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan.

In 2017, Swiss voters approved a government plan that included a ban on building new nuclear power plants.

At the end of 2019, the Muehleberg nuclear power plant went offline. Three nuclear stations remain.

Roești also reiterated that the government felt it was meeting its climate change commitments, responding to a European court ruling in April that ordered it to do more.

KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz, which along with Greenpeace brought the case to court, rejected this and said Switzerland was still not meeting its obligations.