The Swiss Nuclear Forum has backed a Federal Council proposal to lift the ban on the construction of new nuclear power plants, arguing that only an energy policy open to all technologies will reconcile the challenges of security of supply, climate targets, and the growing need for electricity.

The proposal was presented as an indirect counter-proposal to a federal popular initiative* aiming to enshrine technology neutrality at the constitutional level.

Lifting the ban would strengthen innovation in Switzerland and send a strong signal in favour of the long-term operation of existing nuclear power plants and the preservation of know-how on Swiss soil, the forum said in a position paper.