That is how Germany’s view of nuclear power was summed up by Jochen Flasbarth, President of the country’s Federal Environment Agency, at the New York Times Energy for Tomorrow Conference in New York.

Flasbarth participated in a panel discussion about the prospects for energy independence. He briefly talked about Germany’s plans to phase out nuclear power by 2020 and said that the country’s leadership determined nuclear is not a sustainable energy source, but he did not elaborate.

Germany’s nuclear phase out was not entirely a reaction to Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant accident, but was part of Germany’s long term energy strategy.

He also touched on energy costs and prices when clarifying a statement made by another panelist. After comments that electricity is three times as expensive in Germany as in the US and Flasbarth pointed out that feedstock prices are higher – particularly for natural gas, which in Europe is priced in relation to oil products – so as a result power prices would be higher as well.