Advertisement

Nuclear shutdown slowing economy

Author thumbnail
Nuclear shutdown slowing economy
Photo: DPA

The Munich-based Institute for Economic Research (IFO) said on Saturday that the decision to close Germany's nuclear reactors was one of the reasons why the economy's growth was down in the second quarter of the year.

Advertisement

One of the institute's top economists Kai Carstensen told the Bild newspaper that the economy would have grown by an estimated 0.2 percent more than it did, had the government not decided to shut down seven nuclear reactors earlier in the year.

Germany's Gross Domestic Product grew by only 0.1 percent between April and June compared to the first quarter of the year.

"The mini-growth is not stagnation, but caused by turning off the nuclear power stations," he said.

The German government declared a three-month moratorium on nuclear power following the disaster in Fukushima, Japan, where a nuclear power station suffered a massive radiation leakage following an earthquake and tsunami. The decision led to a 50-percent reduction in energy output in Germany.

The government subsequently decided to close seven nuclear reactors permanently, and the rest by 2022.

DAPD/The Local/bk

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also