Scientists call for the phasing out of nuclear weapons
“We’re seeing with rapid movement that energy transmission is not working”
Three nuclear power plants are still operating in Germany, and others can be reactivated: is this the way out of the energy crisis? “If you ignore the energy transition illusion, you could still run these nuclear power plants,” says Stefan Ost, WELT editor.
“Rising energy prices and deteriorating security of supply threaten competitiveness and prosperity” – German university professors are calling for a reversal of the phasing out of nuclear power.
KClimate change and the energy crisis have prompted many countries to rely increasingly on nuclear energy. Germany is a special case: without any significant amounts of stationary energy at its disposal (apart from climate-damaging forms of coal and gas), Germany still wants to shut down its last nuclear power plant at the end of the year and rely on the vagaries of wind and sun. A group of 20 professors at German universities is now pushing for a correction of Germany’s energy transition.
In the “Stuttgart Declaration” they called for the phase-out of nuclear power and for ensuring the continued operation of German nuclear power plants “as the third pillar of climate protection” along with sun and wind.
“We demand the immediate lifting of the nuclear phase-out clauses and the examination of the safety-related operating license in order to enable German nuclear power plants to continue operating,” the scientists wrote in the statement. The researchers, who work in the technical and economic departments, warned that “by unilaterally focusing on the sun, wind and natural gas, Germany has entered an energy shortage”.
They want to send their declaration to the Petitions Committee of the Bundestag, which should publish it for the public to sign. If at least 50,000 supporters gather, the scholars can, in accordance with legal procedures, explain their demands to the Bundestag Committee.
Adhering to the phase-out of nuclear weapons slows climate protection
The signatories of the “Stuttgart Declaration” fear economic problems as a result of the phase-out of nuclear weapons, writing that “high energy prices and deteriorating security of supply threaten competitiveness and prosperity.” Sticking to Germany’s nuclear phase-out would slow climate protection because coal power would be required to ensure electricity supplies – as is already happening in Germany.
Initiator Andre Theiss, professor of energy storage at the University of Stuttgart, believes that other researchers will be added: “There is a broad scientific consensus that Germany can no longer ignore the statements of the Intergovernmental Authority on Nuclear Energy as a climate protection technology,” he told the world.
Cooling tower of the Isar 2 nuclear power plant in Bavaria
Source: dpa / Armin Weigel
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has identified nuclear power as a potential tool for climate protection because it generates energy without the carbon dioxide emissions that lead to global warming. The European Union also classifies nuclear power as a sustainable energy source. Nuclear power plants require little space, so unlike wind and sun, they hardly interfere with nature conservation, species protection, and landscape protection. However, unlike other countries, nuclear power has had a hard time in the German media since the 1970s, as media research has determined.
The anti-nuclear movement forms the founding nucleus of the Green Party, whose representatives still fear the danger of radioactive release and the eventual lack of stockpiling of old fuel rods. Nevertheless, Japan and Ukraine continue to rely on nuclear energy, although so far the only two serious nuclear accidents have occurred in these countries with outdated design power plants.
The first nuclear waste repositories in Finland and Sweden are scheduled to become operational. Energy experts at the “20 Years of Energy Transition” conference in Stuttgart have just criticized Germany’s own trajectory: Germany’s transition to energy supply is still in its infancy, complex, costly, technologically immature and ideologically shaped. Keywords will hide serious problems.
Energy researcher Tess reports that the idea of an initiative against the phasing out of nuclear power emerged at the Stuttgart conference.
In addition to Andre Thess, the other signatories of the “Stuttgart Declaration” are: Burak Attakan of the University of Duisburg-Essen, Michael Beckmann of the Technical University of Dresden, Alexander Dilger of the Westphalian Wilhelms University of Münster, Francesca de Marie of the Ruhr University in Bochum, Kirsten Eckert of University of Dresden, Sabine Enders of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Martina Henschel of Chemnitz Technical University, Raffaella Hellerbrand of KIT, Antonio Hurtado of Dresden Technical University, Matthias Kind of KIT, Marco Koch of Ruhr University Bochum, Andrea Luke of University of Kassel , Axel Mayer of the University of Konstanz, Frank Schilling of KIT, Harald Schwartz of BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, Klaus Stegelder of the University of Constance Ruhr University Bochum, Robert Stieglitz of KIT, Gerhard Wegener of the University of Erfurt, Thomas Wetzel of KIT.
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