Anti-nuclear movement in Switzerland

In 2008, nuclear energy provided Switzerland with 40 per cent of its electricity, but a survey of Swiss people found that only seven per cent of respondents were totally in favor of energy production by nuclear power stations. Many large anti-nuclear demonstrations and protests have occurred over the years. Several referenda to ban nuclear power have been rejected by the Swiss people.

Early years

The Swiss parliament promulgated the "Nuclear Energy Act of 1959", and the first three nuclear power plants entered production between 1969 and 1972 without significant anti-nuclear mobilization. Protests started in the late 1960s, principally against a planned nuclear power plant in Kaiseraugst, a small village not far from the city of Basel. This site was to be the focal point of the Swiss anti-nuclear movement for the next two decades. [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=Kn6YhNtyVigC&pg=PA63&lpg=PA63&dq=anti-nuclear+switzerland&source=web&ots=rns_MNr9nL&sig=9wkp2JxYnT3iK1UnPPiELsyVQy4&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result#PPA64,M1 Marco Giugni "Social Protest and Policy Change"] p. 64.] A major occupation took place in 1975 in Kaiseraugst, after construction work had begun. The occupation was organized by the "Non-violent Action Kaiseraugst" and lasted about 10 weeks, between April and June 1975. Fifteen thousand people participated. Following this, a number of other non-violent actions were formed nationwaide, and mass demonstrations became national in scope. A demonstration held in Bern on April 26, 1975, attracted 18,000 people and was supported by more than 170 associations and parties. A period of intense mobilization occurred in the period from 1975 to 1981.

After Chernobyl

From 1986 to 1990, the Chernobyl disaster brought another peak of anti-nuclear protests in Switzerland, which "increased public awareness toward nuclear energy and favored the acceptance in 1990 of a popular initiative for a ten-year moratorium on the constrution of new nuclear plants." With the exception of this ten-year moratorium, the Swiss public has rejected every referendum to ban nuclear energy since the 1970s. [http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/internal_affairs/Atomic_energy_unpopular_despite_widespread_use.html?siteSect=1511&sid=9764817&cKey=1222187180000&ty=st Atomic energy unpopular despite widespread use] ]

In 2008, nuclear energy provided Switzerland with 40 per cent of its electricity, but a survey of 1,026 Swiss people found that just seven per cent of respondents were totally in favor of energy production by nuclear power stations. Double that percentage were fully opposed. Most of the survey respondents said they were fairly in favor (33 per cent) or fairly opposed (38 per cent). Eight per cent had no answer. One of the most contenious issues is the disposal of radioactive waste. At present, spent nuclear material is "kept in temporary aboveground facilities while politicians and communities wrangle about where to bury it."

References