The Green Party (ostensibly green stands for environmentalism but in reality stands for US dollars and military) has, even before its inception in the late 1970s, been against nuclear power. Until 2011 the conservative governing coalitions had kept existing reactors running (none had been built since the 80s). With the Fukushima incident in 2011 there was no way the Greens nor the German public would accept the extension of reactor operation permits. Germans are fed anti-nuclear energy views from early childhood and as a whole rabidly against it; the most popular bumper sticker is probably “Atomkraft? Nein Danke”.

I don’t know the history of the anti-nuclear-power groups which came together and created the Green party in the late 1970s. What I can say however is that similarly active US based environmental groups like the Sierra Club were optimistially pro-nuclear in the 1960s. Moving into the 1970s gas companies infiltrated and funded these groups, turning them into virulently anti-nuclear power activist organizations to the financial benefit of the gas industry. These relationships continue to this day.

Ironically not only did the “Atomausstieg” make Germany more reliant on imported fuel, the push for renewables has led to a grid that needs to be stabilized by French nuclear, Polish coal, and Scandinavian hydro.