Germany Is Wrong About Nuclear Power
Volkswagen's boss is right to criticize his country's decision to privilege coal over atomic power. Berlin is a long way from hitting its climate targets.
Coal and lignite still produce a frightening 35% of Germany’s electricity. It would be far better to preserve its nuclear power plants.
Photographer: Bloomberg/BloombergHerbert Diess is no stranger to controversy, some of it inexcusable. With a strongly-worded critique of German climate policy, the Volkswagen AG boss has provoked yet another row. This time, though, he is spot on.
“If we’re really serious about climate protection, the nuclear power plants should run for longer,” Diess told Tagesspiegel last week when asked about chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision after the Fukushima disaster to shut down her country’s nuclear fleet by 2022. Closing Germany’s last coal-fired power plant in 2038 – as decided in January by a government-appointed commission – is “far too late,” Diess said. We “should have quit coal first and then nuclear.”