Germany's Emissions Increase due to Nuclear Plant Closure

Following the Japanese Nuclear disaster in 2011, Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel vowed to be the first western leader in closing Nuclear plants across her country. By the summer of 2013, eight of Germany's nuclear complexes have been completely shuttered, revealing that she made true on her promise. While nuclear power used to form a whole quarter of Germany's energy production mix, it is now substantially less than that and falling. At the time, Merkel was applauded for her efforts and viewed as the leader in the elimination of nuclear power among the world's advanced economies. An expert even told New York Times that Germany could function as a "laboratory" for clean energy experimentation and implementation in a developed economy.

This effort was a massive failure. The culprit? A combination of lack of planning on the government's fault and the little compound known as coal. There were no immediate replacements for these nuclear plants right off the bat, so the country's economy did whatever was viable at the time, which was to construct coal plants. Germany's percentage of coal electricity went from the 2010 level of 43% to 52%. The country now boasts increased carbon emissions, enmity from a formerly supportive greenpeace, and eight closed nuclear facilities. A solution would be, of course, to reopen said closed plants and start from the bottom with a more concrete plan, although barriers that stand in the way are the effort it will take to refurbish the plants and a lack of support form now-irritated environmentalist groups.

I believe that Germany's failure to establish a good and well-executed plan for replacement sources was the downfall of this attempt. Furthermore, I believe that it should be more cautious in it's plant closures and recognize that economic viability and the general market system needs to be the driving force behind increased environmental awareness.