Swiss Politicians Petition For Country To Keep Nuc

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Switzerland is the latest country to get on board the "nuclear power before country-wide blackouts" trend, following in the recent footsteps of countries like Germany. In fact, a group of Swiss politicians has launched a petition with the intent of revising the country's energy policy to keep nuclear as part of the mix, as a way to guarantee having enough power going forward.

The country had planned to close its 5 nuclear reactors after a decision was made post-Fukushima in 2017. it has already shut down one reactor.

Now, politicians are trying to gather the 100,000 signatures necessary for a referendum to change the country's constitution and prevent nuclear from being shut out. Outcomes can take years to be put into effect after signatures are gathered, Reuters wrote this week.

The politician group, called "Stop Blackouts" said this week: "Until recently, Switzerland had safe and virtually CO₂-free electricity production: the environmentally and climate-friendly combination of hydro and nuclear power is to be abandoned for no reason at all."

President of the committee Vanessa Meury said: "We cannot do without nuclear power plants."

Like Germany, Switzerland is also dealing with potential energy shortages as a result of the Russian war in Ukraine. It has already mulled the idea of four hour regional blackouts in the case of shortages.

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