Thunberg: Burning coal is worse than German nuclear plants

BERLIN (AP) — Climate activist Greta Thunberg says it would be "a mistake" for Germany to switch off its nuclear power plants if that means the country must burn more planet-heating coal.

The German government is now debating whether to phase out nuclear power as planned this year, despite the specter of a looming energy crisis due to the war in Ukraine.

Thunberg, who inspired a youth climate movement with her solo protests outside the Swedish parliament in 2018, told German public broadcaster ARD that it was “a very bad idea to focus on coal when this (nuclear power) is already in place.”

But she acknowledged in the interview, which will be aired Wednesday, that there was a strong debate over the issue in Germany.