Greta Thunberg Says Germany Should Keep Its Nuclear Plants Open

(Bloomberg) -- Germany shouldn’t close nuclear plants that are currently generating power if it means increasing the burning of coal, Greta Thunberg said.

“If we have them already running, I feel that it’s a mistake to close them down in order to focus on coal,” the Swedish climate activist, 19, said in an interview with Germany’s Das Erste TV channel.

Germany reversed policy by deciding to keep its last two nuclear plants running in an effort to protect the security of its energy supply. That triggered a political firestorm because Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition includes the Green Party, which has long pushed for a permanent exit from nuclear power.

Germany is increasingly relying on coal-fired power stations to fill the energy shortfall triggered by Russia squeezing pipeline flows of natural gas to Europe. Emissions are increasing in the short term while the government works to contain the unprecedented crisis.

The country, which has Europe’s biggest economy, planned to shut down nuclear reactors by year’s end after public opinion turned against the energy source in the aftermath of Japan’s Fukushima disaster.

France usually exports power to Germany during the winter when demand jumps, but outages at Electricite de France SA’s nuclear reactors risk tightening supply across Europe and triggering enforced power cuts.

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