For Germany's Green Party, the 50-Year Dream to End Nuclear Power Ends in a Nightmare
By Sam Fisher, University of Chicago
It has been a little over a year since Germany’s Green Party killed all of their country’s nuclear energy, and keeping that promise may kill their electoral future too.
Germany’s Green Party has been fighting for the end of nuclear energy since its founders were protestors obstructing nuclear plant construction sites in the 70s. After nearly five decades of activism and political pressure, and a nuclear disaster in Japan to help, they were finally able to pass a historic law to end all German nuclear energy by 2022.[1] But, by the time it came to close the last three nuclear plants that year, the global situation and public opinion shifted, even if the Green Party didn’t want to acknowledge it.
During the Russian-Ukraine war, Germans were terrified about rising energy bills and worsening climate change, not nuclear catastrophes. The week before the last three power plants closed, only 26% of the German public supported the decision, with many fearing the plant closures would lead to higher energy prices.[2] Many environmentalists, like Greta Thunberg, were speaking out against the decision, arguing that these zero-emission nuclear plants shouldn’t be closed when emissions-intensive coal production was simultaneously increasing for the wartime energy shortage.[3] Even Germany’s Green Party was split at the time, with just 56% of their party supporting the decision.[4] Memories of Chernobyl and Fukushima only felt more distant as the real crises of the present day became more palpable.
Political opponents weaponized public discontent to generate outrage against the Greens. The parliamentary leader of the center-right CDU party called the decision a black day for climate protection.[5] The libertarian FDP party (which was in the same governing coalition as the Greens) publicly stated that other countries were still successfully utilizing nuclear energy while Germany was needlessly burdening itself.[6] It also certainly did not help that the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) called the decision a historical mistake.[7] Amid the critical onslaught, citizens became even more unsatisfied with the decision, with over half of the German public convinced the decision was a mistake by the one-year anniversary.[8]
This political uproar could have at least been brushed aside if the shutdowns brought noticeable benefits that one could advertise to the German public, but there were none to be seen. The decision provided no help in lowering energy prices; instead, it led to an increase in energy bills by around 1%.[9] Furthermore, emissions were reduced the following year in spite of ending nuclear power, not as a result of it.[10] The end of new nuclear waste could be promoted as a benefit, but the country was too preoccupied with all of the previous waste it still had to find a place for. Germany could not even claim it was genuinely nuclear-free, as 1.1% of the country’s energy demand was imported nuclear energy from France.[11] Instead, the most noticeable effect of the policy was falling approval ratings for the Green Party, with the governing coalition having the lowest approval rating, with only 19% satisfied with the current government six months after the decision.[12]
One could argue that the Green Party was obligated not to turn against its founding promise. 56% of the Greens' support is still a majority, after all. Some of the Greens' loudest and most vocal parts are anti-nuclear, with many being senior party members. Clearly, the Greens were going to suffer from political outrage no matter what decision they made. Nevertheless, by refusing to extend these last three nuclear plants' lives past April 15th, the Green Party ensured they could never gain the broad public support they obtained in 2021. Instead of acknowledging the concerns of other parties and the general public, the Green Party chose the route that would guarantee their political failure, rather than the more challenging, but survivable option of compromise.
Recent news only further exposes how disastrous this political decision was for the Green Party. Just last month, it was revealed that the Green Party-led Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection had potentially ignored expert opinion and rewrote technical reports, which indicated the nuclear reactors would aid in an energy squeeze, before issuing a press release advocating for the undisrupted dismantling of nuclear energy.[13] Publicized internal emails also allege the Greens intentionally did so to squash any debate on keeping nuclear energy.[14] Since then, the anger surrounding the Greens’ decision has intensified, with critics now demanding Green Party Minister Robert Habeck’s investigation and resignation.[15]
The Green Party’s unwavering determination to achieve its 50-year dream is noteworthy, and perhaps even admirable. However, the Greens refused to ever stray, no matter what, from that promise, and they are now paying the price. The party failed to recognize that policies are made for the people of the present, not the people of the past. Because of that, the Green Party’s political power will likely be operating about as well as the currently dead nuclear reactors.
Bibliography
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[1]Schreurs, Miranda A. “The Politics of Phase-Out.” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 68, no. 6 (November 1, 2012): 34.
[2]T-Online. “Mehrheit der Deutschen dagegen: Atomausstieg laut Habeck ‘unumkehrbar.’” www.t-online.de, April 10, 2023
[3]Hallam, Mark. “Greta: Germany Making ‘mistake’ by Ditching Nuclear for Coal.” dw.com, October 11, 2022.
[4]T-Online. “Mehrheit der Deutschen dagegen: Atomausstieg laut Habeck ‘unumkehrbar.’” www.t-online.de, April 10, 2023
[5]ZDF. “Spahn kritisiert Festhalten am Atomausstieg.” ZDFheute, April 11, 2023.
[6]Münchau, Wolfgang. “The AfD’s Nuclear Option.” New Statesman (blog), September 5, 2023.
[7]Matthes, Sebastian, and Jens Münchrath. “IEA-Chef Fatih Birol: „Der Ausstieg aus der Kernkraft ist ein historischer Fehler“.” Handelsblatt, January 23, 2024.
[8]Verivox. “Mehrheit Der Deutschen Hält Atomausstieg Für Einen Fehler,” April 15, 2024.
[9]Storch, Lorenz. “Winter ohne Atomkraft gut überstanden – und Strom ist billiger.” BR24, April 15, 2024.
[10]Wehrmann, Benjamin. “Q&A - Germany’s Nuclear Exit: One Year After.” Clean Energy Wire, March 26, 2024.
[11]Huneke, Fabian. “Ein Jahr Kernkraftausstieg,” April 15, 2024.
[12]Staudenmeier, Rebecca, and Sabine Kinkartz. “Satisfaction in German Government Plummets.” dw.com, September 1, 2023.
[13]Oliver, Matt. “German Greens Accused of Lying over Nuclear Power Safety to Force Plant Shutdowns.” The Telegraph, April 26, 2024.
[14]Gräber, Daniel. “Habecks Geheimakten - Wie die Grünen beim Atomausstieg getäuscht haben | Cicero Online.” Cicero, April 25, 2024.
[15]Oliver, Matt. “German Greens Accused of Lying over Nuclear Power Safety to Force Plant Shutdowns.” The Telegraph, April 26, 2024.
