On Wednesday, the Federal Council’s day was marked in quick succession by two decisions that sparked outraged reactions on the left of the political spectrum and among the Green Liberals. Concerning Switzerland’s climate inaction denounced by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the Federal Council dodged the issue.
After the two declarations of no confidence by the Federal Chambers during the summer session, the position taken by the Federal Council was not surprising. Switzerland is doing enough for the climate. Period. It could have been a little more tactful towards the citizens’ associations that initiated this long procedure all the way to Strasbourg. The ECHR is a jurisdiction fully recognised by Switzerland. Challenging its judgment at the highest level is to weaken its authority.
Regarding nuclear power, this was also expected. Under the leadership of Albert Rösti, in response to the right-wing initiative “Stop the blackout”, the Federal Council is proposing to amend the law and remove the ban on building new power plants that was voted for by the people in 2017 by 58.2% of the votes.
Albert Rösti believes that the situation has fundamentally changed in Switzerland: population growth, war in Europe, self-supply problems or the desire for decarbonisation. He speaks of nuclear power as a “technology of the future to reduce fossil fuels”.
For the former head of Swissoil, this concern to decarbonize and reduce fossil fuels marks a notable change of personal direction. But everyone knows very well that it takes about twenty years to commission a new nuclear power plant. For short and medium term needs, this return to nuclear power is therefore useless.
Albert Rösti knows this well, but he wants to be a visionary, he wants to meet the electricity needs in 20 or 30 years. That said, and he also knows it, the real passion of nuclear supporters is first and foremost money. At the end of last week, the president of the SVP, Marcel Dettling, and the national councillor Christian Wasserfallen (PLR/BE) already made their demands known.
Nuclear supporters want a piece of the cake from the renewable energy fund, which is intended for hydroelectric power, solar energy, wood, biomass, wind power and geothermal energy. For the Bernese PLR: “The population and the economy pay more than a billion each year… It is therefore legitimate to use part of it to build new nuclear power plants.” Except that nuclear energy is not a renewable energy like the others, as long as we do not know what to do with this waste.
The return of nuclear power will therefore initially feed design offices and bring back to Berne its lobbyists who had disappeared. By announcing its desire to reintroduce nuclear power into Switzerland’s energy mix, the Federal Council has launched a political battle that will be long and that will end up in front of the people anyway. Perhaps in 2027, ten years after the vote that banned it. If the vote is yes, the first power plant could see the light of day in 2047. Albert Rösti will then be 80 years old.
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