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.
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 WAMS, 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 problem of storing nuclear waste.
Wind and sun systems generate “problematic waste”
Harjanne 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 crazy everywhere like they are in Germany.
Read more at No Tricks Zone
I guess Greenpeace idiots dont have much over them in Finland
All I can say is WOW! Now I think there’s no way to get rid of fossil fuels nor that they are causing anything remotely like a climate crisis. But using nuclear power plants, due to their high density power production and ability to provide base level electricity with long times between refueling are an excellent source of electricity with no pollution associated with coal (not related to CO2). Recognizing you can’t power a modern society on expensive, extremely intermittent electricity from so-called “green energy” sources (that still need significant fossil fuels to make) is a big step forward that the Germans and many others in Europe don’t get.
We must always keep in mind that climate change is the vehicle by which activists hope to achieve various objectives that can’t make it on their own merit. The mindless pawns on the street carrying signs are unaware of this. They just do and think what they are told. The core members of the various green movements are the ones promoting these other objectives. We know from defectors that some organizations have the objective of forcing de-industrialization. Scarce and expensive energy is a means of achieving that objective. There are others that believe the middle class is living an excessive and sinful life style and limiting energy is a means to force a reduction in life style. Nuclear energy reduces the impact not using fossil fuels. It would appear that the German greens have the objectives de-industrialization and degrading life styles but the Finnish greens do not.
With today’s latest technology nuclear power is safer than ever and if we ever start using Thorium reactors the fuel can’t be used to make a bomb. However, this late in the game there is no way enough nuclear power plants can be built to make up for the loss of fossil fuels.