Germany plans to phase out nuclear energy by year's end, with its three remaining plants generating around 6% of the country's electricity.

The Russian-Ukrainian war has led to concerns about gas supplies in Germany.

Germany's sanctions on Russia have sparked an energy crisis, threatening its political stability.

High energy prices are causing German companies to lose competitiveness and outsource production or rely on foreign components.

64% of Germans, including 40% of Green Party voters, support restarting nuclear power plants.

Restarting nuclear power plants in Germany could reduce carbon emissions by 2.5-3 million tons annually.

Germany relies heavily on Russian energy, with 55% of its natural gas, 50% of its coal, and 35% of its oil coming from Russia.

A ban on Russian gas imports would lead to a 2.2% decline in Germany's GDP in 2023, according to six major German economic research institutes.

Germany's 2023 growth forecast has been cut to 1.5% from 3.5% due to the war.

Germany may extend the lifespan of its three remaining nuclear power plants, set to close by year's end.

61% of Germans support extending the lifespan of nuclear power plants beyond the end of the year.

However, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck has ruled out extending the operation of the country's last three nuclear power plants, citing it would only save 2% of natural gas usage.

Despite this, Germany is delaying the shutdown of two nuclear power plants until April 2024 due to a natural gas shortage.

Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim 2 nuclear power plants will be kept in reserve until mid-April.

Delaying Germany's nuclear plant shutdowns could help if Russia cuts off natural gas supplies.

Russia cutting gas supplies could shrink Germany's economy by 12%.

German emissions are likely to increase with nuclear power plants being replaced by coal-fired ones.

The postponement of the nuclear power plants' closure is not expected to solve Germany's looming energy crisis, which is mainly due to a lack of natural gas.

Germany plans to phase out nuclear energy by year's end, with its three remaining plants generating around 6% of the country's electricity.

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Content: Global News
Germany says restarting nuclear plants is not a solution to gas shortages
Speaking at the "Right Questions" event organized by the German newspaper Bild on Friday evening, Birbuck said she believed a final exit from nuclear power by the end of this year was right based on "the facts I know now and given what the challenge is."
She said the challenge was not electricity supply but gas, saying “I don ’ t see nuclear power as a solution ” in light of the Russo-Ukrainian war and the looming energy crisis.
According to the current law, the remaining three nuclear power plants in Germany must be closed by the end of this year at the latest, as the three plants account for 6% of the total electricity generated in Germany, and so far about 10% of the electricity in Germany is generated by natural gas.
In repeated remarks, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck stressed that the main shortage is not electricity, but gas and heating for the industrial sector, and nuclear power plants cannot address this.
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The Russian-Ukrainian war has led to concerns about gas supplies in Germany.

Germany's sanctions on Russia have sparked an energy crisis, threatening its political stability.

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Content: World Vision: Restarting nuclear power, dragging the German government into crisis
November 06, 2022 00: 03
Eastern Network Television
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With Germany following the NATO sanctions against Russia, the German energy crisis is deepening and leading to serious political instability.
The gold-painted sign “Made in Germany ” has been peeled off. First, the business community complained about the high price of electricity in Germany, averaging 0.37 euros per kilowatt-hour (kWh), compared with 0.18 euros in France, 0.24 euros in the United Kingdom and 0.10 euros in Hungary.
Even if the German government proposed energy subsidies, but other European governments such as Britain and France will do so, German companies still can not compete. The result is that more and more industrial products that Germany was proud of in the past, either set up factories in foreign countries or import some foreign parts to complete in Germany.
In addition, some townships began to have problems with the opening up and strengthening of thermal power generation and transmission, and now there are rare power outages, which have caused great dissatisfaction among the public.
The Minister of Economy and Deputy Prime Minister Hajbek have become the target of attacks by the industrial sector, the German opposition, and the Liberal and Social Democrats in the government, focusing on Habek, who has no economic expertise but is responsible for the environmental ideology, and the government ’ s lack of understanding and compassion for industry, and has been deceiving the three nuclear power plants.
Halbek has always stressed that the German people have long been the majority of anti-nuclear power, but the latest poll shows that 64% of the people support restarting nuclear power to increase supply and reduce electricity prices due to the energy crisis, with 40% of the Green Party voters.
In addition, the Green Party has spoken out in favor of improving climate change, but has been hiding experts ’ suggestions that turning on nuclear power could cut Germany ’ s carbon emissions by 25 million to 30 million tons a year.
In addition, Halbek stressed that the nuclear fuel rods needed for the nuclear power plant may not be available by early next year, but the expert opinion is that the old nuclear fuel rods can also be used and the nuclear power plant can be gradually opened.
Halbek stressed that it would take a long time to open the safety inspection of nuclear power, but the world-famous German Technical Supervision Association immediately hit the face, claiming that they did a comprehensive inspection in March, all three nuclear power plants are normal, as long as limited further testing and monitoring, restart is not a problem at all.
The opposition party also criticized the three-party coalition government for delaying the setting of a gas price cap until March next year. At that time, the weather in Germany has begun to warm up. As a result, the opposition party and the public demand that Habaker resign, which can be regarded as the ruling coalition's biggest crisis to date.
Ph.D., Freie Universität Berlin

High energy prices are causing German companies to lose competitiveness and outsource production or rely on foreign components.

64% of Germans, including 40% of Green Party voters, support restarting nuclear power plants.

Restarting nuclear power plants in Germany could reduce carbon emissions by 2.5-3 million tons annually.

Germany relies heavily on Russian energy, with 55% of its natural gas, 50% of its coal, and 35% of its oil coming from Russia.

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Ukraine and energy crisis, Germany to revise economic outlook
2022 / 3 / 30 21: 53
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FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany ’ s government economic adviser today revised his country ’ s growth forecast for 2022, warning that the war in Ukraine and soaring energy prices will damage Europe ’ s largest economy.
The German Council of Economic Experts now expects Germany ’ s gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by only 1.8 percent this year from last year, down from its previous forecast of 4.6 percent.
"Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine and energy prices are making the economic outlook dramatically worse," they said in their latest report.
The experts, whose forecasts are being watched by Prime Minister Olaf Scholz ’ s government, said they expect inflation to hit a decades-high 6.1 percent in 2022 as energy costs and supply chain disruptions continue to drive prices around the world.
These experts expect inflation to fall back to 3.4% in 2023, while economic output should rebound by 3.6%.
The conflict in Ukraine has dashed hopes that Germany will finally emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and return to growth.
Germany ’ s export-oriented industry is particularly vulnerable to supply chain bottlenecks and raw material shortages caused by the outbreak, and the pace of economic recovery has lagged behind other major European economies such as France and Italy.
Achim Truger, one of the consultants, said: “The supply chain has been strained by the Covid-19 outbreak, and this war has put additional pressure on it. ”
"At the same time, soaring natural gas and oil prices are putting pressure on business and private consumption."
German car giants Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz have been forced to cut some of their factory production due to the lack of vital parts from their Ukrainian factories, and exports to Russia have stopped.
Germany is also more dependent than other European countries on Russian oil, gas and coal for its industrial operations and home heating needs.
Germany imports 55% of its natural gas, half of its coal and about 35% of its oil from Russia.
Berlin has vowed to move away from its dependence on Russian energy in the near future by switching to other suppliers and accelerating the development of renewable energy.
But Germany has resisted calls at home and abroad to boycott Russian energy, fearing it would have a devastating impact on the economy.
German Economy and Energy Minister Robert Habeck launched Germany ’ s Tier 1 gas emergency plan earlier today amid growing concerns that Russia could shut down energy supplies in response to Western sanctions against it for waging war.
Hubbard also called on citizens and businesses to reduce their energy use.
"We are in a situation where saving every watt helps," he said. 1110330
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A ban on Russian gas imports would lead to a 2.2% decline in Germany's GDP in 2023, according to six major German economic research institutes.

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Content: Institutes: Germany is threatened with severe deflation if it imposes a ban on Russian gas | DW Arab News | Breaking news and views from around the world | DW | 13.04.2022
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Germany threatened with severe deflation if Russian gas embargo
In forecasts supporting the German government ’ s position, six influential German institutes have warned against an immediate ban on Russian gas imports because, in their view, it would cause a sharp economic contraction.
A poll also showed that a majority of Germans reject such a ban.
Nord Stream pipe in Lubmen, Germany.
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Germany ’ s leading economic forecasters warned on Wednesday that the country would face an economic downturn in 2023 if imports of Russian gas were stopped immediately in the context of sanctions imposed on Moscow for invading Ukraine.
According to the six influential institutes, GDP in Europe ’ s top economic power will fall by 2.2 percent in 2023 if gas supplies, on which Germany is particularly dependent, are cut.
The cumulative decline for 2022 and 2023 will amount to about 220 billion euros, or 6.5 percent of annual wealth, according to the institutes.
Stefan Coats, vice president of one of the institutes, said in a statement: "If gas supplies stop, the German economy is threatened with a severe contraction."
The GDP decline could reach 5% in the second quarter of 2023, before the economy rebounds late in the year.
Tough discussions are taking place among EU countries over the possibility of a ban on Russian gas, and Berlin is one of the main opponents of an immediate halt to imports, saying the country ’ s economic and social peace is at stake.
Economists are debating the consequences of such a decision and Germany ’ s ability to find alternative sources of energy in the near term.
Before the attack on Ukraine, Berlin had been importing more than 55 percent of its needs from Russia, but it has reduced that share to 40 percent and is trying to find other suppliers.
Germany does not expect to phase out Russian gas until the middle of 2024 and at the end of March launched the first phase of its emergency plan to ensure supplies of natural gas in the face of the risk of halting Russian supplies.
Overall, the institutes noted that the German economy was "passing through a period of volatility" at a time when the lifting of restrictions against the epidemic allowed economic activity to revive.
Supply chains "remain under pressure" at a time when China is imposing new restrictions and the war in Ukraine is having "negative effects on the economy both in terms of supply and in terms of demand," she said.
The aftermath of the war forced the institutes to cut their growth forecast for 2022 to 2.7 percent from 4.8 percent in October.
This is reflected in the inflation rate, which is expected to reach 6.1% this year and perhaps even 7.3% if the gas supply is stopped, which will be “the highest rate since the establishment of the Federal Republic. ”
In 2023, the figure will be 5.0% if supplies stop and 2.8% if they continue.
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Can the gas supply be stopped?
A majority of Germans are against the ban.
A majority of Germans oppose a total ban on Russian energy imports, according to a poll conducted by the "Demoskopi Alnsbach" institute for the German newspaper "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" published on Wednesday (13.04.2022).
The results showed that 57% of those polled support the continuation of oil and gas imports from Russia, while 30% support a complete ban on Russian energy imports.
The survey was conducted between March 25 and April 6, meaning most of them were surveyed before the atrocities were discovered in the Ukrainian town of Bucha on April 3.
Many Germans believe that the war in Ukraine has had significant economic effects for them, with 68% of respondents saying the effects are higher heating costs and 51% saying the effects are higher fuel prices.
Forty-seven percent of respondents said they were turning down heating in their homes for this reason, 37 percent said they were using less of their cars for this reason, and 54 percent said they were taking prices more seriously when shopping.
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Germany's 2023 growth forecast has been cut to 1.5% from 3.5% due to the war.

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Content: Global Economic News
Germany is under constant threat of inflation.
Economic growth forecast reduced to 1.5%
German interest payments are expected to reach 30 billion euros in 2023.
German Chancellor Olaf Schulz has warned of a permanent inflationary spiral in Germany.
"This is exactly what we need to focus on right now," Schulz said during the German Industry Day event in Berlin, referring to the "focused campaign" announced by representatives of employers and workers on July 4, stressing that difficult problems can be better solved through cooperation rather than working against each other.
Schulz said former economy minister Carl Schiller called the "focused campaign" a "community table of rationality", adding that this is exactly what the next campaign is about.
The term "concentrated campaign" has been known since the time of the first coalition government between the Christian Alliance and the Social Democratic Party.
The economy minister at the time, Schiller, in 1967 invited representatives of the government, the central bank, employers' unions and trade unions to sit at the same table in order to face the first economic crisis in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Referring to climate protection, digitization and the Russo-Ukrainian war, Schulz said Germany faces major challenges, explaining that the goal is for German industry to emerge stronger from this transformation, not with fewer jobs, but with more.
Schulz said the German government “rolled up its sleeves ”, referring to the promises he made a year ago on German Industry Day when he was a candidate for chancellor, adding that these promises were fulfilled, including the firm expansion of renewable energy sources and the abolition of the clean energy tax on the electricity bill.
What Schulz did not mention was that a year ago he said his goal was to lower the price of electricity for the industrial sector.
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said inflation was eroding the fundamentals of the economy, two days after official data showed German producer prices jumped 33.6 percent year on year in May.
Lindner told the German Confederation of Industry: “Inflation erodes the economic basis of everything else. ”
He said Germany should expect interest payments of 30 billion euros ($31.65 billion) in 2023, compared with 4 billion euros in 2021.
Meanwhile, the Confederation of German Industries significantly cut its economic forecast for this year and announced that it expects the German economy to grow by only 1.5 percent.
The EU had forecast 3.5 percent growth this year before the start of the war in Ukraine.
Sigfried Rosform, president of the federation, said: "The double crisis of the war and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic are causing problems for the industry."
Rosform expects a recovery, in the sense of returning to the pre-crisis level of the coronavirus pandemic, at the end of the year at the earliest, provided that Russian gas continues to reach western Europe, he said, "The outage will have catastrophic effects on production industries and will inevitably lead to an economic recession."
Companies' orders are currently piling up at a record level, Rosform said, adding that production is partly being hit hard by supply bottlenecks, noting that uncertain economic prospects and increased uncertainty due to the war are hampering companies' ability to invest.
The war in Ukraine exposed the vulnerabilities of the industrialised country, Germany, in the security of the supply of energy, raw materials and basic technologies.
In light of the high inflation caused by the sharp rise in energy and raw material prices, Rosform said "cost burdens are increasingly suffocating companies" and called on the German government to significantly reduce electricity tax and grid fees.
Germany ’ s opposition leader said on Monday that the country ’ s three remaining nuclear power plants should remain in operation longer than planned to compensate for reduced Russian gas imports via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
Friedrich Meretz, head of the opposition Christian Democratic Party, has openly criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz ’ s reaction to the war in Ukraine and subsequent efforts to reduce Germany ’ s dependence on Russian energy imports.
Experts say it is only a matter of time before Russia ’ s energy supplies to Germany are cut off – whether by their political decisions or by the will of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The response from Germany ’ s political circles was to flirt with other countries for supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and to urge the German people to reduce domestic energy consumption.
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Germany may extend the lifespan of its three remaining nuclear power plants, set to close by year's end.

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Gas crisis prompts Germany to consider extending life of remaining nuclear plants
Germany may extend the life of its three remaining nuclear power plants, the economy ministry said on Monday, as public support for them grows in the face of a possible Russian gas outage.
Germany's remaining nuclear plants are due to close by the end of the year, after former chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to phase out nuclear power in the wake of Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.
The three plants accounted for up to 6 percent of Germany ’ s electricity production in the first quarter of 2022.
The ministry said the country's power grid operators had requested a new assessment on the viability of nuclear power.
"We will now conduct another assessment and then make a decision based on the clear facts," a ministry spokesman said, adding that the results of the new assessment were expected to be released within a few weeks.

61% of Germans support extending the lifespan of nuclear power plants beyond the end of the year.

Title:

Content: MOSCOW, June 24 — PRIME.
According to a survey by ARD-Deutschlandtrend, almost two-thirds of Germans are in favor of extending the life of nuclear power plants, and the majority support more large-scale use of coal power.
The poll was conducted for ARD on June 21-22 among 1,248 German voters, with a statistical error of 2 to 3%.
56% of respondents support an increase in the load on coal-fired power plants, 36% disapprove of this measure proposed by the German Energy Ministry as part of an emergency plan for gas conservation.
Of the respondents, 61% supported the initiative of a number of politicians from the former ruling faction of the CDU / CSU and the liberal democratic FDP to continue operating nuclear power plants after the end of the year, when it was planned to completely abandon nuclear energy, 32% of respondents opposed.

However, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck has ruled out extending the operation of the country's last three nuclear power plants, citing it would only save 2% of natural gas usage.

Title:

Content: German Economy Minister Robert Habeck ruled out renewing the country ’ s last three nuclear plants to save gas, saying the plant would only save up to 2 percent of natural gas use.
In a public discussion with the public on the government ’ s Open Day, Haberk said such savings would not be enough to reopen the debate on decommissioning nuclear power because there was a consensus on the issue.
After the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, with the support of a majority of the German people, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a bill to stop using nuclear power by the end of the year; but due to the reduction of natural gas supply in Russia, people are worried about the energy crisis this winter, attitudes have changed, and the three-party coalition is also divided on the issue.
"It was the wrong decision to do so because there was not much savings," said Mr Harbaugh.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Harburg's Green Party began as an anti-nuclear movement.
On the other hand, Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the Free Democratic Party reiterated his position that extending the life of nuclear power plants for a limited period of time would be better than reusing coal-fired power.
“We shouldn ’ t be too critical, we should keep all possibilities open, ” Lindner said, adding that in the current situation, he was open to extending nuclear power“ for a few years. ”
In addition to the debate over gas-saving measures, Haberke said he was open to extending the life of one of Bavaria ’ s nuclear plants if stress tests showed that it was necessary to ensure grid stability and power supply in winter.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the results of the stress tests should be available by the end of the month or early next month, when a decision will be made.
(Translator: Zheng Shiyun / Authored by: Lu Yingzi) 1110822
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Despite this, Germany is delaying the shutdown of two nuclear power plants until April 2024 due to a natural gas shortage.

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Germany delays shutdown of two nuclear power plants until mid-April
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck announced on Friday that two of the three existing nuclear power plants will remain on standby after the scheduled December decommissioning deadline to ensure an adequate supply of electricity in the event of a gas shortage.
This was a compromise between pro-nuclear activists within the government and members of the Green Party who came from the anti-nuclear movement.
The move, which also requires new legislation and a vote in parliament, represents a sharp turn in policy for Germany, Europe ’ s largest economy, which has been pursuing a multi-year phase-out of nuclear and coal-fired power and will soon phase out natural gas in order to transition to renewable energy.
Although all three of Germany ’ s existing nuclear reactors will be shut down on December 31, Isar 2 and Neckarwetheim 2 in the southern region will remain on standby until mid-April to avoid an emergency.
Both plants generate 1400 megawatts (MW) of electricity and are operated by E.ON and EnBW, respectively, who will be compensated for their personnel costs and operating costs over the next few months.
Harbek said energy supplies are strained, in part because of Russia ’ s invasion of Ukraine, which has led to restrictions or even suspension of Russian gas exports to Europe.
Natural gas accounted for 15.3% of Germany ’ s electricity generation last year.
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Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim 2 nuclear power plants will be kept in reserve until mid-April.

Delaying Germany's nuclear plant shutdowns could help if Russia cuts off natural gas supplies.

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Content: Russia threatens to cut natural gas supplies, sparking debate over extension of German nuclear power plant
FRANKFURT, April 23 (AFP) German government economic adviser Jens Grimm said today that Germany should extend the service life of its nuclear power plants to avoid "extreme conditions" and that Russia's suspension of natural gas supplies could cause the German economy to shrink by 12%.
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Veronika Grimm, a member of the German government ’ s Council of Economic Advisers, told Funke Media that extending the service life of nuclear reactors currently in operation in Germany might “provide some breathing space. ”
After the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan, Germany decided to phase out nuclear power, and the last three nuclear plants in the country will be decommissioned by the end of this year.
In extreme cases, the German economy could shrink by as much as 12 percent if Russia cut gas supplies.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the Muenchener Merkur newspaper on Wednesday that it would be "unworkable" to keep the plants running.
Conservative Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soeder, who also pushed for the plant ’ s extension, said this week that it was “of course ” possible.
But the boss of the German energy company RWE, which runs one of the three nuclear plants currently in service, told Die Welt that it was “too late ”.
Apart from safety issues, he said, the issue of access to fuel rods is also an obstacle to the operation of these plants after the end of this year.

Russia cutting gas supplies could shrink Germany's economy by 12%.

German emissions are likely to increase with nuclear power plants being replaced by coal-fired ones.

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Content: Comment

End cheap holidays and voters will react with fury

If foreign travel becomes unaffordable support for sustainable policies will wither

The net zero crusade is in danger of unravelling.

Every time fresh evidence emerges of its true impact, the case for barrelling towards the Government’s self-imposed deadline suffers another damaging blow.

For a better example of the effect that it is having both on people’s lives and electoral politics, you’d be hard pushed to beat the ultra-low emissions zone that Sadiq Khan has imposed on London’s motorists.

The scheme has caused apoplexy among drivers, and with the Mayor accused of ignoring the needs of ordinary people, it represents the most serious threat to his bid to remain in office.

Still, if the capital’s voters think a decision to expand the £12.50-a-day Ulez charge to outer London boroughs is bad, imagine the fury if people wake up one day to discover they can no longer afford to go on holidays abroad.

Decarbonising air travel was always going to come with massive costs.

The chief question is who will foot the bill for such an enormous undertaking. In keeping with all things net zero, it is no surprise to learn that it increasingly looks as if the financial burden is likely to be at least partially shouldered by the consumer.

That such a warning has come from a collective of some of the world’s biggest airlines is no surprise.

The sector talks a good game when it comes to cleaning up its act, espousing the “opportunities” that could come from going green yet it seems reluctant to make the massive investment needed.

In highlighting the costs of switching to more expensive sustainable aviation fuel, the major airlines hope to cajole the Government into partly subsidising the transition.

It is also plainly in the interests of the airline industry to indulge in a little scaremongering.

Stirring discontent and unease throws sand in the wheels of the green revolution, giving big business longer to adapt, and what better way to do that than pointing out that the shift will also partly be paid for out of the pockets of holidaymakers?

Still, at least the impact of net zero has so far remained largely hypothetical

For all the anger about green levies, household energy bills have been driven higher by fossil fuels and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, not the cost of building more wind and solar farms.

Even the Government’s short-sighted petrol and diesel car ban is still years away, albeit looming increasingly large in the rear-view mirror.

A de facto tax on greener flights would be one of the first, real tangible costs that has a big impact on people’s lives.

Prices could jump as much as 20pc, according to the Sustainable Aviation Group.

Yet at the same as highlighting the likelihood of a “green premium”, it can’t quite make its mind up as to how damaging such a development would be.

Though some will be put off, most people will “still want to fly” despite what it calls “slightly higher costs”.

In fact, annual passenger numbers are still expected to “grow significantly” – by nearly 250m by 2050 – because most travellers are “happy to pay a bit more to travel”, it predicts.

It would be easy for the Government to be dismissive, too.

Sitting in Westminster, there will be a temptation to be snobbish about the idea of a week’s all-inclusive in Benidorm – but for many people, getting away every year ranks top of their priorities, and the advent of the budget airline industry means that overseas travel is often cheaper than holidaying in Britain.

Our political overlords overlook the importance of foreign getaways to the public consciousness at their peril.

Any suggestion that overseas holidays, like electric cars, have become the preserve of the rich, would trigger widespread discontent that would make the Ulez backlash look like a storm in a teacup.

Net zero and the fight against climate change is enough of a confused mess as it is without denying hard-working families a well-earned summer break.

Everywhere our political overlords turn, they run into another humiliating dilemma caused by the blind pursuit of decarbonisation.

On Monday, Germany, bullied into a u-turn by the country’s catastrophising eco-fascists, pulled the plug on its last three nuclear power plants.

The move was a massive victory for the anti-nuclear movement, whose opposition had grown louder following the Fukushima disaster of 2011, but as an act of self-harm there aren’t many greater.

The move is a massive setback for energy security, and German emissions, with much of the lost output having been replaced by coal-fired power plants.

Elsewhere, a crunch weekend meeting of G7 energy ministers ended without an agreement on a deadline to halt new coal investments as the reality of the ongoing energy crunch continues to bite; Joe Biden’s climate presidency has been eviscerated by his approval of another Alaskan gas mega-project in the space of just a few short weeks; and our own Government’s heat pump programme has been a disaster, undermined by prohibitive costs and ineffective technology.

There are worrying parallels with the state response to lockdown with ministers once again enthralled by the science without any real thought afforded to the consequences for a typical household.

That’s not to say the science is wrong – but experts and technocrats don’t live in the real world, nor do they understand what it takes to get elected.

If net zero goes too far, too quickly, there is a risk that the pendulum swings back the other way, setting legitimate efforts to tackle climate change back decades.

The postponement of the nuclear power plants' closure is not expected to solve Germany's looming energy crisis, which is mainly due to a lack of natural gas.

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Content: Germany To Postpone Closure Of Last Three Nuclear Power Plants - WSJ

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MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th August, 2022) Germany, faced with possible energy shortages in the winter as gas supplies from Russia have dropped, intends to postpone the closure of its last three nuclear power plants (NPPs) in a move marking a departure from a two-decade policy to abandon nuclear energy, The Wall Street Journal reported citing German government officials.

The decision, which has to be formally adopted by the cabinet of Chancellor Olaf Scholz and would possibly require a vote in Parliament, could be weeks off, but already now the German government says two key conditions have been met that allow a temporary extension of the life of the three remaining NPPs, currently expected to close December 31: the possibility of a gas shortage and the confidence that a longer operation of reactors would pose no safety concern, according to the officials.

"The reactors are safe until Dec. 31, and obviously they will remain safe also after Dec. 31," the WSJ quoted a senior official as saying.

Scholz last week said for the first time that it could make sense to keep Germany's last three nuclear reactors online.

However, even if the life of the three German NPPs is extended, this will not be a panacea for Germany's looming energy crisis this winter as the country is mainly missing natural gas, primarily used for heating and manufacturing.

The European Union has been seeking to diversify energy imports and reduce dependence on Russia after Moscow started its special military operation in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has repeatedly said that Russia has never used gas supplies to punish anyone, but sells energy solely in its own interests, to increase the welfare of Russians and on a commercial basis.

The German government has also outlined measures to reduce gas and power consumption in the country over the next two years. The measures in particular include lowering the temperature in public buildings. According to Germany's energy regulator, gas consumption will have to be cut by 20 percent if Germany wants to avoid a gas shortfall during this coming winter and next winter.

The three officials who spoke to the WSJ said the extension of the NPPs' life would only be made for several months.

The power plants in question are Isar 2 in the southern state of Bavaria, Neckarwestheim 2 in Baden-Wurttemberg and Emsland in Lower Saxony. They are operated, respectively, by E.On SE, EnBW AG, and RWE AG.

After the start of Russia's special military operation to denazify and demilitarize Ukraine, the West has stepped up sanctions pressure on Russia, which has led to an increase in prices for energy and food in Europe and the United States.