SCHMITZ: She holds up a map of France's 56 reactors. Roughly half are located along its international borders. In the event of an accident, radiation would blow east.

The plants are spread across Germany's neighbours: the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Denmark, according to the map.

Per capita, France consumes 7,292 kWh and emits 5.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide while Germany consumes 7,081 kWh and emits 9.1 metric tons, according to the World Bank. Natural gas struggles and ...