BERLIN (AP) – Climate activist Greta Thunberg says it would be “a mistake” for Germany to shut down its nuclear power plants if it means the country has to burn more coal to heat the planet.
The federal government is still debating the future of its nuclear power plants, which are due to shut down later this year amid the specter of a looming energy crisis stemming from the war in Ukraine.
Thunberg, who inspired a youth climate movement with her solo protests outside the Swedish parliament in 2018, told German public broadcaster ARD that it was “a very bad idea to focus on coal when that (nuclear) already exists.” .
But she admitted in the interview, which will be broadcast on Wednesday, that there has been a heated debate on the issue in Germany.
When asked if it would be better for the planet if Germany kept its three remaining nuclear power plants running, Thunberg replied: “If we already have them running, I think it would be a mistake to shut them down to focus on coal focus.”
Pressed by moderator Sandra Maischberger Whether she thinks nuclear power plants should be shut down as soon as possible after the current energy crisis is over, Thunberg said: “It depends. We don’t know what will happen after that.”
The 19-year-old’s statements fall into the debate of the German three-party governing coalition about the possibility of suspending the country’s nuclear phase-out.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck, a member of the anti-nuclear Green Party, said keeping the reactors running would do little to deal with a gas shortage.
He recently suggested that two of the plants could exceptionally operate until April, but declined to operate longer on safety grounds. Habeck has separately approved reactivating several coal and oil-fired power plants to secure energy supplies after Russia decided to cut natural gas supplies to Europe.
Environmental activists warn that Germany’s burning of fossil fuels risks missing its climate targets, while conservative lawmakers are demanding that the government should use all available means to generate energy amid tight supplies and high prices.
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Thunberg’s nuclear remarks were welcomed by libertarians and right-wing German politicians who had previously dismissed or harshly criticized her activism.
The teenager, who is finishing high school, said Germany’s decision to go coal-fired shows “what happens when you get too addicted to these types of fossil fuels”.
She has criticized plans to invest in new fossil-fuel infrastructure, saying the focus should be on expanding renewable energy instead. The federal government insists that new gas-fired power plants must be able to use clean hydrogen and that they boost electricity generation from wind and solar.
Thunberg noted that in some countries, such as Sweden, politicians are reluctant to suggest that people should conserve energy, even though it could lower prices.
“I know that people in Germany are talking about saving energy,” she said. “But in Sweden it’s absolutely forbidden to really talk about less energy because then people will say, ‘Oh no, that’s communism and all that.’ So it’s totally insane.”
Thunberg, who is promoting her new book on climate change, said she doesn’t believe there is a single magic bullet to solving the problem, but that as a first step it is important for people to realize the magnitude of the crisis humanity is going through the rise faces temperatures.
“I’m being realistic because if we do the things that we have to do, we can avert this catastrophe,” she said of the future. “But if we don’t do that, we have to face the consequences. So it’s up to us.”
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