Swiss want early nuclear phase outSwitzerland is getting the chance to vote on a proposal to phase out nuclear power earlier than the government wants. An initiative brought forth by an alliance of environmental groups, political parties, anti-nuclear organizations and trade unions, including the Green Party and Greenpeace Switzerland, seeks to impose a statutory limit of 45 years on the operating lives of the country's nuclear power plants and a ban on new construction. If approved, nuclear power would ultimately be phased out by 2029. The government had previously decided, after Japan's deadly Fukushima accident, to phase out the five nuclear reactors which generate 40 percent of the country's electricity -- by 2035. Further, the reactors would not be replaced at the end of their productive lives. The decision to close Switzerland's nuclear plants six years early is still up in the air, as formal legislation on the phase-out decision is still pending, as is an energy policy that would address the loss of capacity. For more:
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