Heresy! Burn Him at the Stake! (With a Magnifying Glass to Reduce Carbon Emissions)

 2/27/22 Reuters:

BERLIN, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Germany signalled a U-turn in key energy policies on Sunday, floating the possibility of extending the life-spans of coal and even nuclear plants to cut dependency on Russian gas, part of a broad political rethink following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Europe's top economy has been under pressure from other Western nations to become less dependent on Russian gas, but its plans to phase out coal-fired power plants by 2030 and to shut its nuclear power plants by end-2022 have left it with few options....

Germany is also weighing whether to extend the life-span of its remaining nuclear power plants as a way to secure the country's energy supply, the country's economy minister Robert Habeck, a member of the Greens, said.

Asked by German broadcaster ARD whether he could imagine allowing nuclear plants to run longer than planned under Germany's exit plan, which foresees shutting the country's three remaining plants by the end of 2022, he said: "It is part of my ministry's tasks to answer this question ... I would not reject it on ideological grounds."