ABSTRACT
The meltdown of the nuclear reactors at Fukushima had an important impact on the energy policies of countries far from the accident. For some countries in Europe, such as Belgium, Switzerland, and, above all, Germany, the future of nuclear power reached a turning point. In other countries, such as Sweden, neither energy policy nor public opinion was dramatically affected by Fukushima. This chapter describes the German decision to phase out nuclear power and explores why Germany was willing to change its energy system, and contrasts this against nuclear energy policy in Sweden, which was unaffected (see also Fjaestad et al. 2013).
