Nuclear phase-out initiative

The federal popular initiative "For the orderly phase-out of atomic energy (nuclear phase-out initiative )" was a popular initiative of the Swiss Green Party . She called for nuclear energy to be phased out by 2029. The Federal Council and Parliament rejected the initiative. It came to the vote on November 27, 2016 and was rejected by the people and the cantons .

occurrence

The nuclear phase-out initiative was submitted by the Green Party and other organizations in response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster on November 16, 2012. It was signed on January 15, 2013 with 107,533 valid signatures.

background

Switzerland has been getting some of its electrical energy from nuclear power plants since 1969 . By 1984 five nuclear power plants were connected to the grid, which currently (as of 2016) cover 34% of the electricity demand. There were a number of nuclear phase-out initiatives by 2003, but none of them were successful.

After the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, the Federal Council decided in May 2011 to phase out nuclear power in the medium term. This decision of principle was confirmed by Parliament. According to the proposal passed by parliament, the construction of new nuclear power plants will be banned, but existing plants will be allowed to operate as long as they are classified as safe by the federal supervisory authority. The resulting future production deficits are to be covered as part of the Energy Strategy 2050 by increasing energy efficiency and increasing the expansion of renewable energies .

After the Federal Council suspended the general license application for the replacement of the Mühleberg nuclear power plant , BKW Energie decided to take its existing nuclear power plant off the grid by 2019 for reasons of profitability.

See also : List of nuclear reactors in Switzerland

Goals of the initiative

The initiative called for a ban on the construction of new nuclear power plants and wanted to limit the life of all existing nuclear power plants to a maximum of 45 years. An earlier shutdown of the nuclear power plants for safety reasons remained possible. The first block of the Beznau nuclear power plant , which had been on the grid for more than 45 years at the time of the vote, should have been shut down one year after the initiative was accepted - i.e. in 2017.

The initiative planned to take the existing nuclear power plants off the grid as follows:

• Beznau 1 and 2 and Mühleberg : 2017
• Gösgen : 2024
• Leibstadt : 2029

This would mean that the nuclear phase-out would have been achieved by 2029 at the latest.

Claims for compensation

According to the current legal situation, nuclear power plants can in principle be operated indefinitely as long as they are safe. It was expected that the operators of the nuclear power plants would have made high demands on the federal government for compensation after the initiative had been accepted, as they would no longer have been able to amortize their investments . According to the Federal Council , such demands in the billions were announced before the vote.

text

The nuclear phase-out initiative was worded as follows:

I.

The federal constitution is amended as follows:

Art. 90 nuclear energy

1 The operation of nuclear power plants to generate electricity or heat is prohibited.

2 The implementing legislation is based on Article 89 paragraphs 2 and 3; it focuses on energy saving measures, efficient use of energy and the generation of renewable energies.

II

The transitional provisions of the Federal Constitution are changed as follows:

Art. 197 no. 9 (new)

9. Transitional provision to Art. 90 (nuclear energy)

1 The existing nuclear power plants are to be finally decommissioned as follows:

a. Beznau 1: one year after the adoption of Article 90 by the people and the cantons;

b. Mühleberg, Beznau 2, Gösgen and Leibstadt: forty-five years after they went into operation.

2 The premature decommissioning to maintain nuclear safety is reserved.

argumentation

The Federal Council and Parliament recommended that the initiative be rejected. The National Council rejected the initiative by 134 to 59 votes with two abstentions, the Council of States with 32 to 13 votes without abstentions.

Per

The proponents of the initiative put the following arguments in the foreground:

safety

Switzerland's nuclear power plants are not safe enough. At 47 years of age, Beznau I is the oldest commercially operated nuclear power plant in the world, which is a major safety risk. The other nuclear power plants are also too old, which increases the risk of an accident in Switzerland.

Fixed shutdown dates

In the Federal Council's Energy Strategy 2050, there is no fixed term limitation. The maximum duration of 45 years required by the initiative is comparatively long: the nuclear power plants that have already been shut down worldwide were taken out of operation after an average of 25.6 years. In addition, fixed shutdown dates create planning security.

Good feasibility

The nuclear phase-out is easily feasible. Switzerland already covers almost two thirds of its energy consumption with renewable energies. It is quite possible to produce a third more renewable electricity within 13 years. The hydropower complements the solar energy and wind power plants when the latter due to the weather provide too little power.

In addition, during the temporary shutdown of Beznau I for safety reasons, there were still more electricity exports than imports .

Cons

Most of the opponents of the initiative were in favor of an exit from nuclear power, but wanted to implement it through the Energy Strategy 2050 . Opponents opposed the initiative mainly for the following reasons:

Security guaranteed

The running time restrictions are set arbitrarily and have nothing to do with the actual condition of the nuclear power plants. The Swiss nuclear power plants are extremely safe in international comparison, as the operators are legally obliged to always upgrade their power plants to the latest technology and are also checked by the nuclear safety inspectorate ENSI .

Supply shortage

As a result of the initiative, a good third of electricity production will be lost within 13 years. This failure cannot be compensated for in this short period of time. Investing in renewable energies is not worthwhile, as these are heavily subsidized abroad .

Replacement with environmentally harmful electricity

The foreseeable supply shortage means that more electricity will have to be imported from abroad, which not only makes Switzerland dependent on other countries, but is also harmful to the environment . This is because the imported electricity comes mainly from environmentally harmful sources such as the conversion of coal into electricity .

Claims for damages

The claims for damages that the federal government will have to pay are “money out of the pockets of the citizens”.

Slogans

The initiative was supported by the Greens , the SP , the Green Liberals and the EPP . The remaining major parties - namely the CVP , the BDP , the FDP and the SVP - rejected the proposal.

Opinion polls

Institute	Client	date	Yes	Rather yes	Tie No answer	Rather no	No
Leemann / waterfalls	Tamedia	November 11, 2016	52	5	1	4th	38
possibly Bern	SRG SSR	November 6, 2016	33	15th	6th	14th	32
Leemann / waterfalls	Tamedia	November 1, 2016	50	6th	1	6th	37
Marketagent.com	Switzerland on Sunday	October 31, 2016	51.5		24.6		23.9
Leemann / waterfalls	Tamedia	October 18, 2016	48	7th	2	6th	37
possibly Bern	SRG SSR	October 8, 2016	39	18th	7th	14th	22nd

Comments: Figures in percent. The date indicates the middle point in time of the survey, not the point in time when the survey was published.

Voting results

Majority map

The initiative came to the vote on November 27, 2016. It was rejected by the people (1,098,464 yes, 1,301,520 no) and the stands (5 yes, 18 no).

Yes (4 ² / ₂ items)

No (16 ⁴ / ₂ Scores)

Nuclear phase-out initiative - preliminary official final results

Canton	Yes (%)	No (%)	Participation (%)
Aargau	37.1%	62.9%	43.7%
Appenzell Ausserrhoden	42.6%	57.4%	44.9%
Appenzell Innerrhoden	34.2%	65.8%	38.5%
Basel-Country	50.4%	49.6%	42.7%
Basel city	60.5%	39.5%	52.9%
Bern	43.8%	56.2%	43.2%
Freiburg	48.5%	51.5%	45.3%
Geneva	59.0%	41.0%	45.4%
Glarus	38.5%	61.5%	36.6%
Grisons	44.1%	55.9%	43.6%
law	57.5%	42.5%	42.1%
Lucerne	39.0%	61.0%	44.3%
Neuchâtel	56.8%	43.2%	45.3%
Nidwalden	35.0%	65.0%	49.2%
Obwalden	35.1%	64.9%	49.8%
Schaffhausen	46.9%	53.1%	63.0%
Schwyz	31.9%	68.1%	47.2%
Solothurn	39.5%	60.5%	45.1%
St. Gallen	39.9%	60.1%	44.0%
Ticino	46.3%	53.7%	44.2%
Thurgau	40.2%	59.8%	43.8%
Uri	40.5%	59.5%	39.8%
Vaud	54.6%	45.4%	47.9%
Valais	46.7%	53.3%	48.3%
train	37.9%	62.1%	51.0%
Zurich	47.1%	52.9%	46.2%
Swiss Confederation	45.8%	54.2%	45.0%

Web links

• Explanations of the Federal Council (PDF; 270 kB) of October 4, 2016

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b The} nuclear phase-out initiative has come about. NZZ , January 17, 2013, accessed on October 3, 2016 . 
2. ^ Federal popular initiative "For the orderly exit from atomic energy (nuclear exit initiative)". (PDF) Come about. In: Announcements of the departments and the offices. Swiss Federal Chancellery , January 15, 2013, accessed October 4, 2016 . 
3. ^ Nuclear power plants in Switzerland. kernenergie.ch, accessed on October 4, 2016 . 
4. ↑ Energy Strategy 2050 - This is how our nuclear power plants are to be replaced. Observer , October 3, 2016, accessed October 5, 2016 . 
5. ^ One yes and seven no since 1979. In: Schweizer Fernsehen. November 27, 2016, accessed November 27, 2016 . 
6. ↑ Historical: Federal Council decides to phase out nuclear power. Tagesanzeiger , May 25, 2011, accessed October 5, 2016 . 
7. ↑ No new nuclear power plants in Switzerland. Tagesanzeiger , September 19, 2016, accessed October 5, 2016 . 
8. ↑ BKW, media release of March 14, 2011 ( Memento of the original of December 15, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
9. ↑ ^{a b} Referendum of November 27, 2016 - explanations by the Federal Council. (PDF) Swiss Federal Chancellery , accessed on October 6, 2016 (official voting booklet). 
10. ^ Federal popular initiative 'For the orderly exit from atomic energy (nuclear exit initiative)'. Swiss Federal Chancellery , accessed on October 6, 2016 . 
11. ↑ arguments. (No longer available online.) Proponents of the initiative website, archived from the original on October 24, 2016 ; accessed on October 24, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
12. ↑ No to the nuclear phase-out initiative. CVP , accessed October 24, 2016 . 
13. ↑ No to the nuclear phase-out initiative - unanimous decision of the assembly of delegates. AVES - Action for Sensible Energy Policy Switzerland, May 30, 2016, accessed on October 24, 2016 . 
14. ^ "For the orderly exit from atomic energy (nuclear exit initiative)". Politnetz.ch, accessed on October 23, 2016 . 
15. ↑ Preliminary official final results. Swiss Confederation, November 27, 2016, accessed on November 27, 2016 .