The German Review

The German Review

Early splits in Germany's government?

An argument on nuclear energy is the new German government's first test.

Jörg Luyken's avatar
Jörg Luyken
Jan 14, 2022
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The shell of the last verbotene firework had barely thudded back to earth over New Year when the first dispute in Germany’s new political era began to fizzle.

The spark had been set in the evening of December 31st by the European Commission, which published its proposal for which energy sources should be classified as “sustainable” and thus eligible for billions of euros in funding as part of the “Green New Deal.”

The Green party, who now head the German climate and environment ministries, were left rubbing their eyes on January 1st at the news that the Commission had endorsed both nuclear energy and natural gas as sustainable technologies.

The Chooz reactor in France. Photo: Wikipedia Commons

Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) reacted by calling the proposal “greenwashing” and “a dilution of the good label of sustainability.”

“Nuclear energy is neither green nor sustainable - it’s high-risk,” chimed in the Greens’ Bundestag leader, Katharina Dröge.

The outrage among the Greens was echo…

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