Swiss follow Germany on nuclear energy

Article first published as Swiss Follow
Germany in Phasing out Nuclear Energy
on Technorati.
First it was Germany and now its Swiss! The two countries had decided to phase out nuclear energy. Germany wants to eliminate nuclear energy by 2022 while the Swiss want
to eliminate it by 2034. Nuclear energy provides 22% of
Germany's energy needs and 40% of
Switzerland's energy needs. Ministers,
Heads of Delegation of member states
and international organization are
meeting on after a Japan crisis IAEA ministerial meeting to strengthen nuclear safety throughout the world. Phasing out nuclear energy is costly
for both countries. The cost of
electricity would rise. The efforts to
reduce carbon emission are
compromised. Germany plans to build
24 large coal burning power stations. This produces tons of carbon dioxide
emissions which lead to global
warming. Both countries will have to
spend money on importing natural
gas. Germany is more likely to depend on
France and Czech for electricity. This
means that France and Czech will have
to build more nuclear power stations
to meet the Germany's needs.
Germany will also have to depend on Russia for gas. The striking question is: Why has Swiss
followed the Germany example? Is it
because of Japan's Fukushima Diiach
nuclear plant accident? Or is it because
of upcoming 23 October elections? The decision to phase out nuclear
energy by two countries seems to be
politically motivated. German's Merkel
had made this decision after she had
lost her majority in the upperhouse
parliament at regional elections. To protect he CDU party in 2013 national
elections, she has to make a U turn on
her nuclear policy. Unlike Japan, Swiss has little
probability of natural disasters like
tsunamis and earthquakes. So the
Japan Fukushami accident is not the
reason why Swiss may decide to
phase out nuclear energy. It appears that the decision made by the two
countries is a means of staying in
power by taking the advantage of the
citizens by Japan nuclear accident. The
citizens of Swiss, Germany and the
world as a whole had already been threatened by the Japan incident. As a
result, a political party which
spearhead nuclear energy
development may de-campaign itself. Although countries call for stress tests
on nuclear plants and safety
strengthening, the future of nuclear
energy seems bleak. Nuclear energy
producing countries are more likely to
follow the Germany and Swiss trend.