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False Signal – Council of States Committee Advocates Extended Operation of Nuclear Power Plants
no name given ·
Greenpeace Schweiz ·
2026-08-21
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Justice · carrying
Knowledge
The extended operation of existing nuclear power plants is a false signal because it costs billions, carries safety risks, and does not protect the climate; Switzerland should instead invest in renewable energies.
Switzerland can supply itself 100 percent with renewable energy.
The Energy Committee of the Council of States wants the Gösgen and Leibstadt nuclear power plants to be operable for up to 80 years and demands that the Federal Council create the legal foundations for this. The text assesses this as a false signal and calls for the effort to be invested instead in the expansion of renewable energies. Greenpeace expert Lukas Bühler argues that an extended operation would cost billions and require state support. He considers nuclear power an outdated technology that does not save the climate and points to the warming of rivers by cooling water. He also identifies safety risks of aging reactors, such as the non-replaceable wear of the reactor pressure vessel and more frequent malfunctions. The text connects the current experience of heat summers with the appeal to rely on solar, wind, and hydropower.
- What, according to this text, is the root of the evil?
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Ignorance, illusion, a false view of reality
- Where does the evil reside?
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in the economy, politics, or social structures
- What helps against it?
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practical action towards the neighbour, good works; insight, learning, enlightenment, right understanding
- What is human being according to this text?
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self-determined, the author of one's own actions
- Where is history heading?
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it is getting better, development towards the good
- What does the text base its claim on?
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on argument, logic, science
- To whom does the text's call for devotion apply?
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also to animals, plants, and all of creation
- Where is the text's criticism directed?
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at others, at society, at other groups
Related texts from other traditions
by similarity of the analysis, one text per tradition
What the text calls for
- in den Ausbau erneuerbarer Energien investieren (social)
- die rechtlichen Grundlagen für Überzeitbetrieb schaffen (social)
Measured
- Basic stance
- -1 from -2 to 2
- Insistence
- 2 of 3
- Reach
- 4 of 5
- Concreteness
- 2 of 3
- Boundary
- 1 of 3, named: Parlamentarier:innen der Ständeratskommission
- Time
- past 0, present 2, future 2
Analysed with qwen3.8-27b, version v3.
The same standards apply to every tradition, see Values.
Full text in English
The Energy Committee of the Council of States wants the existing Gösgen and Leibstadt nuclear power plants to be able to operate for 80 years. It demands that the Federal Council create the legal basis for this and take further necessary measures. With this, the parliamentarians are sending a wrong signal. Switzerland should better use its resources for the expansion of renewable energies.
Lukas Bühler, energy expert at Greenpeace Switzerland, says:
"Retrofitting the existing Gösgen and Leibstadt nuclear power plants for an 80-year extended operation will cost billions. No operator will make such 'significant investments,' as the committee calls them, without state support. However, instead of investing this money in an outdated technology, it should flow into the expansion of renewable energies. For a secure and independent energy supply of Switzerland, we must rely on solar, wind, and hydropower. Switzerland can supply itself 100 percent with renewable energy."
"This year's heat summer shows that we must do everything to contain the climate crisis. Nuclear power will not save the climate. On the contrary: Nuclear energy and global warming are incompatible. The nuclear power plants exacerbate the consequences of the climate crisis for our water bodies by discharging warm cooling water into the already overheated rivers. The warm river water in turn leads to the power plants having to throttle their operation."
"Switzerland already operates the oldest nuclear power plant park in the world today. Aging nuclear power plants are a major safety risk. For example, the reactor pressure vessel is subject to wear that affects the integrity of a nuclear power plant, but this cannot be replaced. The older a power plant is, the more frequently disturbances and unplanned shutdowns occur."
Contact
Lukas Bühler, Energy Expert, Greenpeace Switzerland, +41 76 406 70 23, lukas.buehler@greenpeace.org
Greenpeace Switzerland Press Office, +41 44 447 41 11, pressestelle.ch@greenpeace.org
Full text in the original
Die Energiekommission des Ständerats will, dass die bestehenden Atomkraftwerke Gösgen und Leibstadt 80 Jahre lang laufen können . Sie verlangt vom Bundesrat, dafür die rechtlichen Grundlagen zu schaffen und weitere nötige Massnahmen zu treffen. Damit setzen die Parlamentarier:innen ein falsches Signal. Die Schweiz sollte ihre Kräfte besser für den Ausbau erneuerbarer Energien nutzen.
Lukas Bühler, Energieexperte bei Greenpeace Schweiz, sagt:
«Die bestehenden Atomkraftwerke Gösgen und Leibstadt für einen 80-jährigen Überzeitbetrieb zu rüsten, wird Milliarden kosten. Kein Betreiber wird solche ‹erhebliche Investitionen›, wie es die Kommission nennt, ohne staatliche Unterstützung tätigen. Doch statt das Geld in eine veraltete Technologie zu stecken, sollte dieses in den Ausbau der erneuerbaren Energien fliessen. Für eine sichere und unabhängige Energieversorgung der Schweiz müssen wir auf Sonnen-, Wind- und Wasserkraft setzen. Die Schweiz kann sich zu 100 Prozent erneuerbar versorgen.»
«Der diesjährige Hitzesommer zeigt, dass wir alles tun müssen, um die Klimakrise einzudämmen. Die Atomkraft wird das Klima nicht retten. Im Gegenteil: Die Atomenergie und die globale Erhitzung sind nicht vereinbar. Die AKW verschärfen die Folgen der Klimakrise für unsere Gewässer, indem sie warmes Kühlwasser in die schon überhitzten Flüsse leiten. Das warme Flusswasser wiederum führt dazu, dass die Kraftwerke ihren Betrieb drosseln müssen.»
«Die Schweiz betreibt heute schon den ältesten AKW-Park der Welt. Alternde Atomkraftwerke sind ein grosses Sicherheitsrisiko. So unterliegt zum Beispiel der Reaktordruckbehälter einem Verschleiss, der die Festigkeit eines AKW beeinträchtigt, doch dieser kann nicht ersetzt werden. Je älter ein Kraftwerk ist, desto häufiger treten zudem Störungen und ungeplante Abschaltungen auf.»
Kontakt
Lukas Bühler, Energieexperte , Greenpeace Schweiz, +41 76 406 70 23, lukas.buehler@greenpeace.org
Medienstelle Greenpeace Schweiz , +41 44 447 41 11, pressestelle.ch@greenpeace.org