Europe Starts Backing Away from Idiotic Climate Policies

France.  Nukes.  Keeping them.

The French government won’t shut any more of Electricite de France SA’s nuclear reactors after the country’s oldest plant closes in three years, Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg said.

The pledge undercuts President Francois Hollande’s promise, made in last year’s election campaign, to trim France’s atomic output to half of total energy production by about 2025 from 75 percent now. Montebourg’s comments will also be a boon to state-controlled EDF, which with 58 French reactors and another under construction is the biggest nuclear operator in the world.

“Nuclear offers a competitive advantage for the performance of France’s industrial base,” the minister said. “Our nuclear investment allows us to have competitive energy costs, less than elsewhere.” ...

The Socialist campaign pledge to reduce France’s dependence on atomic power emerged from a political accord with the anti-nuclear Greens and has provoked objections from trade unions.

Translation, this green stupidity is killing our competitiveness (such as it is), so screw it.

Where have I heard this before, oh yeah...

Furthermore, those in thrall to the religion of climate change will wake up; expect Europe to drastically improve its competitiveness by jettisoning decades of wrong-headed warmist policy.