The agreement reached in Germany to phase out nuclear energy is a landmark for that country and for the rest of the world. It fulfils an election pledge of the Social Democrat-Green coalition and a longstanding objective of the country's strong ecological movement, however dissatisfied many of its activists may be with the terms on which it will happen. Thirty per cent of Germany's energy capacity comes from its 19 nuclear plants, making this the fourth largest such industry in the world, representing six per cent of international output.
On any scale of reckoning, this is a dramatic change of policy. The campaign against nuclear power began in earnest in the 1980s among a generation of young people shocked by the dangers involved through accidents and reprocessing of waste material and determined to find a more environmentally friendly means of providing energy for an industrial society. Such was the strength of the movement that it had to be taken seriously beyond the Greens, in particular by the Social Democrats whose route back to power lay through a coalition with that party.
The Christian Democrat opposition has threatened constitutional challenges and may even overturn the deal if they are returned to office in 2002. Major industry groups are also unreconciled to it. And they have some compelling arguments to put forward. Hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost in the nuclear sector; there will be a continuing problem of disposing of nuclear waste; substituting other technologies will make it more difficult to meet Germany's commitment to reduce carbon dioxide emissions; and the country will lose its competitive edge in what remains a strategically important industry.
This polarisation of attitudes and opinions is matched by passionate debate among opponents of nuclear energy concerning the compromise terms agreed to phase it out. That reflects the political balance of power between the Social Democrat chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schroder and the Green minister of the environment, Mr Jurgen Tritten in the 18-month long negotiations. The nuclear plants are to be phased out over 20 years but in such a way that energy output could be shifted from a plant that has closed to another station, so that the absolute deadline for total nuclear shutdown could still be pushed back - possibly to 2021. Many of Mr Tritten's leading party colleagues say this concedes too much to the industry and some of them are recommending that it be rejected at a party conference next week, which would cause a political crisis in the coalition.
It would be regrettable if such disagreements among opponents of nuclear energy were to jeopardise what is an historic and progressive decision. The arguments against nuclear fission energy substantially outweigh those in favour, whether on grounds of safety, economic efficiency or ecological balance. From the Irish point of view, the decision has dealt a major blow to the case for retaining the British Nuclear Fuels reprocessing plant at Sellafield and will add to the gathering international pressure for it to be closed.