Nuclear time space rift3/22/2023 ![]() ![]() The conflict has sent energy prices soaring and Russia in late August halted the flow of gas through the crucial Nord Stream 1 pipeline, leaving Germany racing to diversify energy supplies and build up reserves ahead of the colder winter months. "Extending the operating lives of nuclear power plants exposes us all to an unjustifiable risk," said Greenpeace Germany's executive director Martin Kaiser.įormer chancellor Angela Merkel had pushed through Germany's nuclear exit in the wake of Japan's Fukushima disaster in 2011.īut Germany, which was heavily reliant on Russian gas and oil before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has been hit hard by the fallout from the war and the nation is now bracing for a painful recession. Lang did however welcome that Scholz had made clear that Germany would "definitively" quit atomic power by mid-April and that "no new fuel rods will be procured".Įnvironmental group Greenpeace meanwhile slammed Scholz's move as "irresponsible". Green party co-leader Ricarda Lang criticised Scholz's decision, saying "the Emsland nuclear power plant is not needed for grid stability". We will also work out viable solutions together for the winter of 2023/2024. "We can create the legal basis together immediately. "It is in the vital interest of our country and its economy that we maintain all power generation capacity this winter," Lindner tweeted. The FDP meanwhile celebrated Scholz's decision to keep all three atomic plants online, although it fell short of their demand to extend their lifetimes until 2024.įinance Minister Christian Lindner from the FDP, who has argued that Germany needs to use every energy source it has to help bring down prices and keep the lights on in Europe's top economy, said Scholz had "provided clarity". The order "is a smack in the face for Habeck", wrote the topselling Bild daily.Įven more embarrassing, it comes after the Greens at a congress this weekend backed Habeck's position on decommissioning the Emsland plant. Germany initially planned to exit nuclear power by the end of 2022, but Russia's war in Ukraine and skyrocketing power prices since then have forced a rethink. In the letter, Scholz, from the centre-left Social Democrats, said he was invoking his authority as chancellor to issue a directive. Repeated rounds of talks in recent days failed to resolve the row, and Scholz's statement on Monday evening indicates he pulled rank. ![]() "The legal basis will be created to allow the operation of the nuclear power plants Isar 2, Neckarwestheim 2 and Emsland beyond Decemuntil April 15, 2023," Scholz said in a letter to cabinet ministers seen by AFP.Įconomy Minister Robert Habeck from the traditionally anti-nuclear Greens had recently said two of the three plants would be kept "on standby" until next spring, to help secure energy supplies if needed, in a major U-turn for the Greens.īut that did not go far enough for fellow coalition partner, the liberal FDP, who insisted the third plant, in Emsland in northern Germany, should also stay online. Germany had initially planned to exit nuclear power by the end of the year, but Russia's war in Ukraine and skyrocketing power prices since then have forced a rethink. ![]()
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