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The German government has announced its to shut down all of its 17 nuclear power plants by 2022. Seven of were already suspended in the of Japan’s Fukushima disaster. Another six plants will by 2021, while three more will keep operating until 2022 as a standby in the of energy shortages. German Chancellor Angela Merkel took the decision to the whole nuclear programme, because of what happened in Japan, after a 12-hour with her ruling coalition. Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen told reporters there was no back, saying: “This decision is consistent, decisive and . There will be no clause for revision.” This is a U- of the previous government’s policy to continue with nuclear power until 2035.

Germany gets 23 per cent of its from its nuclear power plants. Chancellor Merkel put another plan for ending her country’s reliance on nuclear energy. She said Germany would move a “safe, reliable and economically viable” alternative by renewable energy production over the next ten years. She also called for policies that would see energy consumption by ten per cent. She said: “This is a big challenge, but it brings with it a chance for future generations.” She believes abandoning nuclear power will make German companies world in alternative energies, especially in the production of solar panels and turbines. “We will be a trailblazer as the first large country to try this,” she said.