Germany rejects nuclear energy

The German government has passed a decision to shut down all its nuclear power plants by 2022, according to Norbert Roettgen, the country’s Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. He made this statement after a meeting of the ruling coalition on the night of May 30 chaired by Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel. The Ethics Commission for a Secure Energy Supply, established by Merkel after the accident at the Japanese Nuclear Power Plant Fukushima-1, had advised the German government to swiftly abandon nuclear energy. The members of the commission believe that the resulting energy shortage can be compensated for from other sources. According to Roettgen, the seven oldest reactors, which have been temporarily shut down within the framework of the moratorium announced by the government, as well as the Kruemmel Nuclear Power Plant, will be permanently closed. Six more reactors will be shut down by 2021, and the three newest ones will cease operations by 2022. The moratorium was announced in response to the earthquake that caused the disaster at the Japanese nuclear plant. At present 23 percent of Germany’s energy is produced by nuclear plants. Representatives of the energy sector assert that the nuclear exit will have a disastrous effect on German industry. One of Germany’s biggest energy companies, RWE, has even tried to appeal in court against the moratorium.