Shutting down, but not shutting up: Germany’s nuclear debate rages on
On Saturday, the final three plants will be taken offline, marking the end of atomic energy in the country and a major victory for anti-nuclear activists, who have spent decades fighting for this moment.
For opponents, the switch-off is nothing short of lunacy — running counter to Europe’s efforts to swap fossil fuels for cleaner alternatives and diversify its energy supply.
The nuclear exit “is a black day for climate protection in Germany,” Jens Spahn, deputy parliamentary leader of the Christian Democrat (CDU) opposition, said this week.
The issue also splits the governing coalition in Berlin, with the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) calling for the nuclear plants to be kept on standby at the very least.
“Shutting down the world's most modern and safest nuclear power plants in Germany is a dramatic mistake that will have painful economic and ecological consequences,” said FDP deputy leader Wolfgang Kubicki.
But Climate Minister Robert Habeck of the Greens insisted in a statement Thursday that switching off the remaining plants — which generated between 4 and 6 percent of the country’s power over the past year — won’t affect energy security.
