Germany’s Green party has backed Economy Minister Robert Habeck’s plan to extend the life of two nuclear power plants, despite bitter divisions within the party.
During a meeting on Friday evening in Bonn, the party congress defeated a motion to block the extension.
But the Greens, which have a long-standing opposition to nuclear power, ruled out any procurement of new nuclear fuel, potentially blocking any further extension.
Green party co-leader Ricarda Lang said a permanent return to nuclear “will not happen with us,” DW reported, adding that renewable energy was the party’s vision for Germany and “nuclear power is not the future.” Habeck offered the same assurance, according to Bild.
Germany’s plan to shut its three remaining reactors amid Europe’s worst energy crisis in half a century has come under scrutiny from both within and outside of Germany. This week, climate activist Greta Thunberg questioned the logic of closing down nuclear power only to replace it with greenhouse-gas-producing coal.
Habeck has proposed keeping two of the plants open, while the third is to be shut down on schedule. But pro-nuclear members of the governing coalition are urging that all three remain open.
