Stocks were now at 35%-36%, under the "critical level" of 40%, which the German government deems is necessary to withstand seven straight days of an extreme cold snap.

"As the federal government, we have once again clearly expressed our rejection of the inclusion of nuclear energy. It is risky and expensive," Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a joint statement with Environment Minister Steffi Lemke, both senior members of the Greens party.

Habeck said it was “completely indisputable” Germany will need more gas-fired power plants as a “backup” solution in case supply from renewables isn't sufficient.

Germany will have just three nuclear power plants operating in 2022: Emsland (1406MW PWR) in Lower Saxony; Isar 2 (1485MW PWR) in Bavaria and Neckarwestheim 2 (1400MW PWR) in Baden-Württemberg.

The share of renewables in the power mix declined from 48% in 2020 to less than 43% in 2021, with 23% of wind, 9% of solar and 11% of biomass, hydropower and other renewables.

CO2 emissions from power generation thus rose by 13% in 2021, though remaining within the path of the Climate Protection Act.

The volume for solar capacity will be raised by 4,100 MW to around 6,050 MW in 2022 and the volume for onshore wind will be raised by 2,100 MW to around 5,000 MW.

The Bundesnetzagentur on Nov. 16 suspended the procedure to certify Nord Stream 2 AG as an independent transmission operator while the company transferred assets to the German subsidiary to take over the application.

The 1284 MWe Gundremmingen B boiling water reactor (BWR) in southern Germany was disconnected from the grid on 31 December 2017 after 33 years of operation. Decommissioning of the unit began the following year. Gundremmingen C - a 1288 MWe BWR - is scheduled to shut down at the end of this year.

Germany will also support the extension of carbon trading to providers of heating and transport, and the introduction of a CO2 border adjustment mechanism at the EU level.