Nuclear power - yes please?
Climate activist Greta Thunberg has sparked a lively debate by defending the operation of nuclear power plants: "If we have them already running, I feel that it's a mistake to close them down in order to focus on coal," she said on a German weekly talk show. Europe's papers take different stands on the issue.
Greta is on the wrong track
The Frankfurter Rundschau is puzzled:
“Is the climate-minded young generation a very different breed from the Greens, who also emerged from the anti-nuclear movement forty years ago? As far as Thunberg is concerned, this is obviously the case. ... Thunberg is throwing grist to the mill of the FDP and the CDU/CSU, who decided in 2011 to phase out nuclear power but at the same time stifled the expansion of renewables and thus left the country in a dilemma energy-wise. Leaving the future to them could be (disastrously) dangerous.”
Now call for new nuclear plants
Expressen agrees with Thunberg:
“The biggest contribution Greta Thunberg can make to the climate is to persist in getting her naturally consumption-critical friends on the green left to rethink their position on nuclear power. She has taken the first step in defending the existing nuclear power plants. It's time for Thunberg to take the next step and make the case for new nuclear power plants. It makes a difference for the climate - a real difference.”
Nuclear energy is not miracle cure
In view of France's problems with its underperforming nuclear power plants, De Morgen warns:
“Outdated power plants need a lot of maintenance. This technology is not immune to global warming, which is causing more droughts and floods. Nor can this energy source, which can't compete with cheaper, faster and more flexible technologies on the market, always be relied on. While nuclear energy is being de-tabooed in Brussels as a valuable piece of the energy puzzle, Paris shows that we must abandon our blind faith in miracle cures and easy solutions.”