Germany has begun the long-planned process of shutting down its three remaining nuclear power plants in Emsland, Neckarwestheim II, and Isar II. The move is part of a shift towards renewable energy and has been greeted with approval from environmentalists who have long campaigned for the country to abandon nuclear power.

The decision to phase out nuclear power was made more than a decade ago and has been closely watched by other countries, including the US, Japan, China, France and Britain, who are still using nuclear energy to replace fossil fuels. However, Germany's decision to abandon nuclear energy altogether has been met with some scepticism and a few unsuccessful last-minute calls to halt the shutdown.

Decades of anti-nuclear protests in Germany, exacerbated by the disasters at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima, have put pressure on successive governments to move away from nuclear power. Critics of nuclear energy argue that it is unsafe and unsustainable in the long run.