'Majority of Germans support prolonged use of nuclear power plants'

Berlin, Sep 10 Fifty-four per cent of Germans would support keeping the country's remaining nuclear power plants running due to the worsening energy crisis, according to a survey.

Against the backdrop of soaring prices for gas and electricity, Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck aims to keep two of Germany's three nuclear power plants on standby as an emergency option until April 2023, Xinhua news agency reported.

Germany's nuclear phase-out would not be reversed, Habeck said. "Nuclear power is and will remain a high-risk technology, and the highly radioactive waste will burden tens of generations to come." The survey published by public broadcaster ZDF showed 12 per cent public support for the completion of the phase-out as planned by the end of this year.

Economic experts are also questioning the decision to keep the plants on standby. "Every effort must be made to mobilize generation capacities that can be made available at short notice," Veronika Grimm of the German Council of Economic Experts told Funke Mediengruppe.

Environmental organizations have warned against reversing Germany's nuclear phase-out. The lifetime of the country's remaining nuclear power plants should not be extended due to unresolved safety issues, a recent study published by Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) found.

Keeping nuclear power plants on standby until next year is "unacceptable and prevents the necessary energy transition," Martin Kaiser, executive director of Greenpeace Germany, said. The continued operation of the old nuclear power plants is a "significant safety risk."

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