German PM Biding Her Time on Nuclear Energy Phaseout Question

Germany's big four power companies including E.ON AG and RWE AG will be forced to improve the efficiency of their power plants under government plans to slash greenhouse gas emissions.

Chancellor Angela Merkel, after talks in Berlin today with utility chief executives, said that she expects power plant productivity to be raised 3 percent each year from 2010, adding that progress would be monitored. With new energy-saving projects, the steps are vital to reducing national emissions by up to 40 percent by 2020, she said.

``It's clear that we have no choice but to act'' to combat global warming, Merkel told reporters in Berlin after the government's third energy summit. ``There is some doubt about whether our goals can be reached,'' she said, though the proposals are ``a reasonable path'' to achieving German targets.

Merkel's decision to spearhead carbon dioxide reduction in the European Union adds pressure on the government to fulfill ambitious targets. The proposals discussed today ranged from light-bulb usage to ``capturing'' CO2 in underground caverns. One scenario examined involved extending the future of nuclear power beyond a planned closure date, though Merkel ruled out any change in nuclear policy before the next election, due in 2009.

Of course, attempting to change course on nuclear energy now would rend her coalition government in two. Then again, if she waits until after the next election, and wins an absolute majority in the Bundestag, that problem will take care of itself.

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