A return to nuclear power in Germany would be “logical,” the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, told dpa in an interview.
“I think it makes sense. It’s a logical situation,” Grossi said, noting that Germany is the only country in the world that has completely phased out nuclear power.
Policymakers in Berlin may wonder why others don’t, he said during an interview Wednesday at the UN Climate Summit in Baku.
“You might ask yourself: Why does the rest of the world see things differently?” Grossi said. He added: “I respect German politics, and you are going through a complicated phase, so we will see.”
The IAEA official noted that all other countries had announced similar intentions since “selling back. Some are visible, some are not so visible.”
He said it is “not surprising” that now German groups want to return to nuclear power.
Grossi pointed out that nuclear power plants emit almost no greenhouse gases that harm the climate. For the world, he said, it would therefore be a “very bad idea” to eliminate nuclear power.
“That is why countries with nuclear weapons want more nuclear weapons,” he said. “Many countries that didn’t have nuclear weapons want nuclear weapons.”
Merkel initiates nuclear disarmament
Last week the opposition CDU-CSU in the Bundestag parliament described the closure of nuclear power plants in April 2023 during the energy crisis as an aberration promoted by the leftist movement. Now, a reassessment is needed to determine whether resuming operations is still possible “under acceptable technical and financial conditions,” it said.
Angela Merkel, who was chancellor of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, initiated the denuclearization following the Fukushima disaster in Japan.
Grossi emphasized that he does not want to call the denuclearization of Germany a mistake. “I am not against the democratic decisions of our member states,” he told dpa.
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