Global General

German Cabinet approves nuclear exit by 2022

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-06-06 19:44

BERLIN - Germany's Cabinet has approved abolishing nuclear power within about a decade and boosting investment in renewable energies.

The Cabinet on Monday approved plans detailed last week foreseeing shutting down the country's 17 atomic reactors by the end of 2022.

Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen told journalists that "today's decision marks a milestone" for the country's economic and political development.

The law triggered by Japan's nuclear disaster now goes to both houses of parliament, which are expected to vote on the plans within a month.

Germany wants to double the share of renewable energies to about 35 percent within a decade. Its nuclear reactors used to produce less than a quarter of the country's electricity, about the same as in the US.