I want to preface this with the fact that I myself am a leftist and an active member of the SP/PS, and align with them on 90% of issues. However, I also happen to work in the energy sector, and from this perspective, I have to say that the left in this country have unfortunately dropped the ball hard when it comes to nuclear policy. I do believe there is a genuine discussion to be had about the role of nuclear in our future grid, however some of the “arguments” being presented at this point are crossing the red-line into misinformation. No matter if it comes from the right or left, misinformation poisons democracy, and I feel it necessary as someone who values democracy to correct misinformation where I can, especially when it is coming from my own political circles. So here are some rebuttals to the most common anti-nuclear arguments and non-arguments used in this debate:
- The big one: “Nuclear is dangerous” This is just objectively misinformation and it’s not even controversial. Even counting Chernobyl, the number of fatalities per unit of energy produced is 43x lower than hydropower. If you want to understand why, ask yourself what happens if a dam bursts. Despite this fact, nobody is running around advocating to shut down hydropower, and we all recognise how absurd it would be if someone did.
- “Where will we put the waste?” Quite frankly, CO2 poses a far greater long term risk than nuclear waste. Nuclear waste is actually relatively easy to safely store, and once it has cooled to a certain degree, it can even be used to harvest free heat. Besides, the volume of waste produced is tiny compared to the amount of energy we gain. In my opinion, while this issue does warrant continuous research and improvement, it does not pose a serious threat at all.
- “The costs are too high” Costs are high because we have refused to invest in the technology for years. If we applied this logic 30 years ago when renewables were expensive, we would have invested in coal and oil rather than renewables. Besides, it is hilarious to me that this argument comes from the left rather than the FDP. Since when did the left prioritise profit and GDP growth over climate justice and energy security?
- “We will be dependent on foreign countries” Yes, get over it, it is 2026. Where are you going to get lithium for batteries? Where are you going to get components for wind-farms and solar panels? The fact is maintaining a modern standard of living under autarky is impossible. In an economy as globalised as the one we live in, we will obviously be dependent on foreign countries no matter what we do, and singling out nuclear energy for it is bad faith.
- “Nuclear takes too long to build” This is because Switzerland has ridiculous regulations which equally suffocate renewable development. We live in a country where it can take 15+ years just to approve a wind or solar project for reasons as frivolous as someone saying “I think it’s ugly”. Even if you oppose nuclear, you should oppose this nonsense for the sake of renewables. In other countries, safe nuclear reactors can be built in as little as 6 years, start to finish.
- “Reactors don’t work in summer” And solar panels are severely limited in winter. Nuclear and renewables complement each other’s strengths and compensate each other’s weaknesses, which is why they should be deployed together, a position backed up by studies from the energy sector. I find it especially silly when people treat nuclear and renewables as somehow mutually exclusive.
- “Nuclear distracts from renewables” How? As I said previously, the best solution is a combination of renewables and nuclear.
- “We already voted to ban nuclear” This is a complete non-argument. 10 years is a long time for things to change, and we shouldn’t be forced to abide by a bad decision forever just because people voted for it a long time ago. In 1959 people voted against women’s suffrage. This disastrous decision was finally overturned in 1971. If we abided by the logic of anti-nuclear advocates, we would never have gotten a second vote because “the people have spoken”, this is not the type of country I want to live in. I invite anyone who has informed arguments against nuclear energy to write them in the comments. submitted by /u/Electrical-Pie925
Originally posted by u/Electrical-Pie925 on r/Switzerland