‘Nuclear Power? No, Thank You!’: Germany’s Energy Revolution Post-Fukushima

When on 11 March 2011 the 9.0 Great East Japan Earthquake and resultant tsunami crippled the cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, thus sending several reactors into core meltdown, the German outcry against nuclear energy was almost unanimous. On Saturday, March 12, some 60,000 people demonstrated against the continued operation of one of the country’s oldest nuclear power stations by forming a 45-kilometer human chain from the power plant to the regional capital. Two days later, more than 100,000 demonstrators took to the streets in 400 towns and cities across the nation. Faced with the rising public pressure, the federal government shut down the country’s seven oldest reactors and imposed a technical audit on all nuclear power plants. In addition, the cabinet appointed an independent ethics committee on the safety of the nation’s energy future.1 Upon completion of the review process, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on May 30 that Germany would phase-out nuclear power by 2022. Parliament passed the respective bill with an overwhelming majority on 8 July 2011. A heated public debate had come to an end: nuclear power was done for and over with.