While Germany recklessly continues to reject nuclear power – Finland welcomes it.
The parliamentary group leader of the Finnish Greens Atte Harjanne thinks EU classifying nuclear energy as a sustainable energy source is right and in WELT AM SONNTAG (WAMS) he explains why his party has dropped its anti-nuclear stance and why he thinks Germany is on the wrong track in terms of energy policy.
German Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant. Finnish Greens think Germany is on the wrong track shutting down nuclear power. Photo: Avda – own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
Finnish Greens now welcome nuclear
The Finnish Greens used to be against nuclear energy, but today this is no longer the case. In 2020 they dropped their anti-nuclear stance because they now view it as a sustainable source of energy that makes it possible to get rid of fossil energy.
The German Greens, on the other hand, remain steadfast and refuse to allow nuclear power. Germany will be closing its last nuclear power plants in 2022. Coal plants will follow and be closed by the end of the 2030s. How the country will keep the lights on remains a mystery.
Nuclear is sustainable – very little waste
In the interview with WELT AM SONNTAG, Harjanne said nuclear power is sustainable and that the amount of waste “is very small compared to the huge amount of CO2-neutral energy that a nuclear power plant produces”. He also said Finland has solved the the problem of storing nuclear waste.
Wind and sun systems generate “problematic waste”.
Harriane also noted, “The production of solar plants and wind turbines also generates problematic waste.”
On why the Finnish Greens have become so open to nuclear energy: “Our ultimate goal is to become CO2 neutral, and for that we want to exhaust all possibilities based on science. If the inclusion of nuclear energy is the quickest way to get us there, the end justifies this means.”
Finland to be carbon-neutral by 2035
Overall, Harjanne expects Finland to be carbon neutral already by 2035, while Germany will need until 2045, if not longer. “If Finland were to go the German way and shut down all nuclear power plants, it would also take us that long or longer.”
Berlin on the wrong track – dependent on imports
Harjanne is satisfied with the EU’s decision to classify nuclear energy as sustainable, telling WAMS it’s “a compromise” but at the same called the classification of natural gas, a fossil fuel, as sustainable “absurd” and said that Berlin “is on the wrong track” and Germany “is making itself dependent on imports”.
Rough transition for Germans
He added: “Getting out of nuclear and coal at the same time means a high demand for gas for a long transition period.”
Nice to see the Greens and politicians are not totally crazy everywhere, like they are in Germany.
via NoTricksZone
By P Gosselin on 12. January 2022
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