Germany's Burgeoning Anti-Nuclear Movement Promises to Derail
Merkel's Energy Policy 

By Tina Gerhardt
The Huffington Post
September 27, 2010 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tina-gerhardt/germanys-burgeoning-anti_b_740232.html

Last week, between 40,000 and 100,000 people took to the
streets of Berlin to demonstrate against German Chancellor
Angela Merkel's recent decision to extend the life span of
Germany's 17 energy-producing nuclear reactors by 12 years,
on average, beyond the expiration date of 2021, which had
been agreed upon by the previous center-left (Social
Democrats-Green) coalition in 2002.

Merkel's decision has reignited Germany's anti-nuclear
movement. A poll conducted last week by ZDF television found
sixty-one percent of Germans oppose the plan of Merkel's
center-right coalition of Christian Democrats (CDU) and Free
Democrats (FDP). Last week's protest was the largest anti-
nuclear demonstration since Chernobyl in 1986, an event that
some of the protestor's signs - stating "Never again
Chernobyl" - referenced.

And the demonstration last week is only the beginning. In
November, over sixty organizations and thousands of activists
will gather in Gorleben, Germany to stop trains from
delivering nuclear waste. Although actions take place year-
round at Gorleben, they reach their peak every fall when
spent fuel is sent there for temporary storage.

Located amidst rolling cornfields about 146 miles west of
Berlin, the tiny village of Gorleben has a population of
around 600. It currently serves as a temporary storage
facility for spent nuclear fuel, but plans are afoot for a
nuclear waste repository deep underground in its salt dome.
(Gorleben is to Germany what Yucca Mountain is to the U.S.)

The demonstrations in Gorleben date back to the 1970s and
culminated in the establishment of the short-lived Free
Republic of Wendland in 1980, named after the region. Within
a month, then Chancellor Helmut Schmidt had demonstrators
cleared out by force, their buildings - constructed with
building materials often donated by sympathetic area farmers
- razed, and the area fenced off. The repression only
galvanized the movement. And this year marks the Free
Republic's 30th anniversary.

In Germany, the anti-nuclear movement - which like the UK's
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament began in the 1950s - has
already had enormous impacts. It was one of the catalysts
leading to the establishment of the Green Party in 1979 and
in its early days worked with organizations to address the
primary environmental concerns of the 1970s, such as
pollution, acid rain and nuclear weapons.

The renascent movement, energized by the urgency of climate
change, argues that it is entirely feasible - financially and
technologically - for Germany to secure its energy needs
solely from renewable sources but only if the federal
government invests in it. In the estimation of some, Germany
is at an energy tipping point or crossroads, where it must
decide either to continue funding nuclear energy and coal or
to switch to a smarter grid and renewable energy, such as
solar and wind.

In a press release this summer, the German federal
government's own Advisory Council on the Environment (the
Sachverständigenrat für Umweltfragen or SRU) SRU stated that
"By 2050, Germany's energy needs can be supplied 100% through
electricity derived from renewable energy sources," however,
"the federal government must set the course for the
conversion of the energy system now." And with regard to
nuclear and coal power, it added "for the transition period,
neither renewals for nuclear power or for new coal-fired
power plants are desirable." Germany's Federal Environmental
Agency (Umweltbundesamt or UBA) holds a similar position.

What promises to be particularly effective about Germany's
burgeoning anti-nuclear movement is the range and
configuration of actors involved. Eighteen groups organized
last week's demonstration, ranging from environmental groups
and trade unions, such as the metalworker's union IG Metall,
Germany's largest. In its speech, the metalworkers' union
demanded a transition to renewable energy and renewable
energy jobs.

And not only does the movement involve groups organizing
demonstrations and upcoming actions, for example, at
Gorleben, it also encompasses parties jockeying for political
power while seeking to enact policies that address climate
change. Political parties were not among the official
organizers of the demonstration, but heads of each party -
Sigmar Gabriel (Social Democratic Party), Claudia Roth (Green
Party) and Gesine Lötzsch (Left Party) - were in attendance.

Gabriel - former Minister for the Environment, Nature
Conservation and Nuclear Safety (2005-2009) and supporter of
the International Renewable Energy Agency - has called for
Germany's constitution to be amended, allowing for a
referendum on nuclear energy. Yet it is likely to happen,
given that changes to Germany's constitution always invoke
the origins of the Nazi era, the move will kindle the
momentum against nuclear and for renewable energy.

The SPD and the Green Party also intend to challenge the
government's decision in court, arguing that the federal
government did not consult the Bundesrat (the Federal
Council), which represents Germany's sixteen states at the
federal level.

Renate Künast, head of the Green Party in the Bundestag
(Lower House of Parliament), said in an interview with Der
Spiegel that the Green Party would use "all possible means,
including legal challenges, electoral campaigns and
demonstrations" to challenge Merkel's policy.

Merkel's decision was reached in consultation with Germany's
four main power companies - EnBW, E-ON, RWE and the German
subsidiary of Sweden's Vattenfall - which operate Germany's
17 nuclear plants. Frustration and anger about Merkel's
decision boiled over this week when the Sueddeutsche Zeitung
revealed that Merkel's governing Christian Democrat and Free
Democrats coalition intends to have the nuclear disposal
sites operated by the four private companies. Last year, E-
ON, RWE and Vattenfall were the three biggest CO2 emitters in
Europe.

The SPD and Greens have vowed to repeal any nuclear
extensions passed by Merkel, if they return to power in the
next 2013 election. In recent opinion polls, the SPD and
Green Party have surged ahead of the center-right parties,
propelled by their campaign against nuclear energy. In a
study published on Wednesday, the Green Party and the SPD had
twenty-four percent each. (Merkel's CDU has slid to twenty-
nine percent.) It remains to be seen if this fall's planned
direct actions, continued demonstrations and political
willpower will shift Germany's energy grid away from nuclear
and coal, and towards renewable sources. It certainly has the
momentum.

_____________________________________________

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