German Foreign, Security, and Energy Policy Reset? The Green Party Perspective
July 13, 2011
CSIS, DC
Jurgen Tritten is currently the Chairman of the Parliamentary Group of the Green Party in the German Bundestag. On July 13, 2011, he spoke on a number of issues affecting Germany, including the recent decision to shut down all nuclear power plants by 2022.
Over the past few days, news has been released that Germany has sealed the fate on the future of nuclear power within the country. Parliament has declared the immediate shut down of seven nuclear reactors, followed by the phase out of all nuclear power plants by 2022. This will result in the disappearance of 23% of previous energy supplied to Germany.[1] Possible adverse side effects include a deficit of energy within Germany, leading to an increase in energy imports from France and the Czech Republic, as well as decreased exports from Germany to countries such as the Netherlands. In addition, there is the increased risk of higher energy prices for the EU as a whole.[2]
Many view this decision to shut down all plants as a rather rash decision following the events at Fukushima, Japan. Mr. Tritten argues the opposite. For starters, he says, the decision to shut down nuclear power plants is not a new one. Germany has started closing down plants since the Nuclear Consensus of 2001—10 years ago. In addition, while Germany is the first EU country to phase out nuclear energy entirely, the EU as a whole has seen a decline in nuclear power plants.
One of the biggest issues with nuclear power, Tritten states, is that no one wants to invest. Nuclear power plants are not competitive price wise, with other forms of renewable energy more market compatible.
Finally, one of the reasons renewable energy has become so popular is due to increased national security—mainly due to less reliance on foreign countries. However, with Fukushima as an example, nuclear energy does not provide energy security.
So, is there a need to worry about Germany’s decision? Tritten says no. Germany currently invests 30 billion Euros per year on renewable energy technology. Due to binding EU renewable energy targets, 20% of energy in 2020 must be from renewables, and Germany has already invested much time, research, and money, into other forms of renewable energy. Tritten says that the EU is also lucky due to the presence of a European power grid. This allows energy to be imported and exported across the EU easily. For example, France needs a lot of imported energy in the summer, because for safety reasons many nuclear plants must be shut down due to the heat.
Mr. Tritten is very positive that Germany’s recent decision was the right decision. Overall, it will be very interesting to see how all turns out for Germany in coming years, if recent environmental decisions will help or hurt the Green Party, and if other countries follow in Germany’s example.
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