it doesn't work quite like that, though; while nuclear is down to ~13%, a quarter of the german energy sector is still burning coal. in fact, the plan to shut down fossil fuels was hindered by (imo) the short-sighted view to curtail nuclear before it was necessary.

Coal is down from 45% in 2013 to 23% in 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_Germany

During the same time, nuclear is down from 17% to 13%. https://energy-charts.info/charts/energy_pie/chart.htm?l=en&...

Still too little too late in my opinion, but one has a hard time arguing that nuclear plays a role here at all.

the point i was making was less that this speedup of nuclear draw down was problematic so much as the whole viewpoint that ending advancement of nuclear power as a whole. germany limiting the lifespan and new construction of nuclear power dates back to the early 2000s, fukushima just reset the timelines back to the original 2022 closing dates.

I find it quite amusing that Germany seems to be very anti-nuclear as a culture, yet they are right next door to France which has plenty of Nuclear power plants.

And many Germans absolutely loathe the French reactors. Especially because France loved to place many of them directly at the border to Germany. There were several news pieces over the past century where the condition of some of those reactors was questioned.

> condition of some of those reactors was questioned

The nuclear security agency in France is one of the toughest in the world, and is independent. They notably demand "current" state-of-the art security for all nuclear plants (vs. state-of-the-art at the time of building in the US, typically)

French nuclear plants typically never killed anyone (and will never), unlike German coal plants (which are at least partially responsible for the 22,000 coal-related premature deaths every year)

Nuclear energy is a very emotionally polluted debate (no pun intended), but facts tend to shows that this is the cleanest and safest energy.

Every country does that because there's a big circle around power plants that is in danger if something goes wrong. So as much as possible of that area preferably either be the sea or someone elses territory.

FTR Fessenheim has been shut down in 2020. As for Cattenom, it's still operating.

>both nuclear and coal are phased out with about the same end date [in Germany].

The future is uncertain, and I hope the German people don't suffer shortages of electricity as a result of these phase-outs.

Why would you not prioritize ending coal first??

Because Fukushima provided a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for politicians to go against the local energy giants without them being able to gain the upper hand in the inevitable fight about the narrative in the local media. This is all power politics.