The political party responsible for the pepper spray, the bulldozers and a coal deal with one of Germany’s biggest energy companies was the Greens. And every protester here on Saturday knew it.
Smaller countries see Germany’s domestic largess to tackle spiraling energy costs as undermining the effort to lower fuel prices for the wider European Union.
Long cut off from the continent’s grid, Portugal and Spain built a system based on imports and alternatives like solar that is the envy of fellow European Union nations.
Nuclear power plants are supposed to be phased out by year’s end, but Russia’s war in Ukraine and the gas crisis might force Berlin to rethink its plans.
As leaders of the Group of 7 gather in Germany, the scramble to replace Russian fossil fuels is raising concerns that hard-won climate targets will be missed.
