Germany: Fighting Climate Change And Phasing Out Nuclear Power Are Two Sides Of The Same Coin [View all]

[kristopher]

In response to (nuclear industry generated) criticisms of the path Germany is following as articulated in a recent WP article:

Germany: Fighting Climate Change And Phasing Out Nuclear Power Are Two Sides Of The Same Coin
By Climate Guest Blogger on Apr 27, 2012 at 2:26 pm
by Arne Jungjohann

Recently, the editorial board of the Washington Post asked if the world can fight global warming without nuclear power, looking to Germany and Japan for the answer.

Both countries are known for a nuclear shutdown path. In Japan, only one of the 54 nuclear reactors currently remains in operation. Germany has closed eights reactors following the nuclear catastrophe of Fukushima in March 2011 and the remaining nine are scheduled to be closed by 2022.

...

If you look at the most recent emissions data, however, the opposite is happening. Germany reduced its carbon emissions in 2011 by 2.1 percent despite the nuclear phase out. How can that be?

The cut in greenhouse gases was mainly reached due to an accelerated transition to renewable energies and a warm winter. In addition, the EU emissions trading system capped all emissions from the power sector. While eight nuclear power plants were shut down, solar power output increased by 60 percent. In 2011 alone, 7.5 gigawatts of solar were installed. By the end of last year, renewable energies provided more than 20 percent of overall electricity.

...

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/04/27/472713/germany-fighting-climate-change-and-phasing-out-nuclear-power-are-two-sides-of-the-same-coin/?mobile=nc



Last year in the US, with the largest nuclear fleet in the world, carbon emissions increased 3%.