<div id="readability-page-1"><div><p><em>Authored by Vijay Jayaraj via PJMedia.com,</em></p><p>German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hascalledthe nuclear phaseout <strong>a “serious strategic mistake”</strong> that left Germany short of firm power that turned the Energiewende into the most expensive energy transition on the planet. This is an early marker for a developing worldwide retreat from policies that sidelined nuclear power and demonized coal, oil, and natural gas.</p><p><img width="500" height="292" src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://files.zhedge.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1920,quality=75,format=auto/https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/inline-images/f566614f-9e0d-4968-9600-86bce989.jpg?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://files.zhedge.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1920,quality=75,format=auto/https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/inline-images/f566614f-9e0d-4968-9600-86bce989.jpg"/></p><h2><strong>German and Japanese Nuclear Embarrassment</strong></h2><p><strong>Germany stubbornly closed its last three functioning nuclear reactors in April 2023 right in the middle of a crippling energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine. </strong>As pragmatists predicted, German citizens now suffer under punishingly high electricity prices and remain heavily dependent on imported energy.</p><p>The green dream was sold as a route to “cheap” renewables, yet the reality for German households and factories has been record‑high electricity prices, complex subsidies for favored businesses and individuals who conform to the climate narrative, and a grid that struggles on windless days or under gray skies.</p><p><strong>Japan made a remarkably similar error but is finally correcting course. </strong>After the Fukushima disaster, the government panicked and shut down all 54 of its nuclear reactors. Today, Japan is slowly restarting those idle units.</p><p>The pattern is plain to see. Countries abandon dependable power sources under political pressure, then spend years rebuilding what they had demonized and dismantled.</p><h2><strong>Regret Over Abandoning Fossil Fuels</strong></h2><div><p><strong>This is why I anticipate a cascade of similar reversals by national leaders who participated in a destructive campaign that stripped grids of dependable, affordable, and abundant coal, oil, and natural gas.</strong></p><p>Politicians are already quietly hitting the brakes on their aggressive fossil fuel phaseouts when reality bites. The massive Groningen gas field was scheduled for permanent closure due to localized earthquake risks. Yet in 2024, theDutch Senate delayed the final shutdown votewhen lawmakers demanded guarantees that abandoning the domestic resource would not jeopardize energy security.</p></div><p>Within a week of the German chancellor’s admission of a nuclear energy fiasco, the country’senergy ministerlamented at an oil and gas conference the push of net zero policies, indirectly referencing the abandonment of fossil fuels.</p><div><p>In the United States, President Donald Trump took executive actions aimed at preventing some coal plants from closing, including orders that kept aging facilities like the J.H. Campbell plant in Michigan running to “avoid summer blackouts.”</p><p>South Africa’s Mineral Resources and Energy MinisterGwede Mantasheconsistently fights international pressure to quickly abandon coal. “You don’t destroy what you have on the basis of hope that something better is coming,” he says. Mantashe rightly insists that protecting the ability of the state to supply energy must remain a priority.</p><p><strong>India offers the most powerful example of this energy pragmatism. </strong>The country has signaled that coal will remain the backbone of the economy for decades, even as its diplomats make empty promises about reaching net-zero by 2070. Deputy Power Minister Shripad Naik recently revealed that India hadadded a massive 7.2 gigawatts of new coal capacityin the 2025–26 fiscal year alone and would add 307 gigawatts of total coal capacity by 2035.</p><p>A majority of Western countries, especially in Europe, utterly lack this basic foresight on energy security. Many countries have locked in policies that tear down coal, oil, gas, and nuclear plants before they have built credible alternatives. <strong>They chase targets for emissions reductions. They downplay the costs to their citizens.</strong></p><p><strong>Energy security has become more prominent in the news because of turmoil in the Middle East. </strong>Yet a war may not be needed to launch the next generation of energy crises. When the next prolonged cold spell, drought, or demand surge hits, the weakness of the anti-fossil fuel approach will show up in higher bills, rolling blackouts, and public anger.</p></div></div></div>

XDDX

DES2

DEL2

513030

<p>Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz has criticized the country's nuclear phaseout as a "serious strategic mistake," leading to high electricity prices and dependence on imported energy. This reflects a global trend of countries reconsidering their abandonment of nuclear power and fossil fuels. Japan is restarting its nuclear reactors after a similar mistake, while other nations, including the U.S. and India, are reassessing their energy policies to ensure security and affordability. The article warns that without reliable energy sources, future crises could lead to public discontent and higher costs.</p>

Germany's Nuclear Confession Is A Crack In Net‑Zero Pretense