German minister reignites coalition row with call to review nuclear exit

[jgo]

Source: Reuters

Germany's transport minister called for an expert committee to examine whether the lifespan of the country's nuclear plants should be extended, reopening a row within Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition.

Germany's rush to free itself from imported Russian fuels after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine spurred calls for the country's three remaining nuclear plants to be kept open rather than shut at the end of 2022.

Late last year, Social Democrat Scholz attempted to suppress a row between the environmentalist Greens, strong proponents of an exit from nuclear power, and the liberal Free Democrats by ordering that all three be kept running until April.

But Free Democrat Transport Minister Volker Wissing reignited the argument, telling the Frankfurter Allgemeine that the environmental benefits of electric cars would be reduced unless they were charged using nuclear energy, which is emissions-free.


Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/german-minister-reignites-coalition-row-with-call-review-nuclear-exit-2023-01-02/

[nycbos]

1. Of course they should be.

Last edited Mon Jan 2, 2023, 03:00 PM - Edit history (1)

One of the reasons Germany is in such a tight pickle energy wise is because they shut down nuclear plants and made themselves dependent on gas from Russia.

[peppertree]

3. +1

There's a time for everything.

And this ain't it.

[Elessar Zappa]

2. Germany and everywhere else

should be building MORE, not less nuclear plants. It’s our only hope in slowing down climate change.

[ColinC]

4. Perhaps the issue of nuclear waste disposal is worth replacing climate change

[DBoon]

5. The risk of a Fukushima disaster is less than the ongoing destruction from global climate change

Ideally we would be using much more renewable energy as our best alternative, however the damage from occasional nuclear accidents is still far less than what we now see from climate change.