German Atomic Forum

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Logo of the German Atomic Forum

The German Atomic Forum e. V. (DAtF) was a lobby association of companies, institutions and individuals, which advocates the non-military use of nuclear energy . It was recognized as a non-profit organization for decades until around 2013 and thus enjoyed tax advantages. The work of the Atomforum is financed through membership fees, donations and income from events and publications. In 2019, the German Atomic Forum and the Economic Association for Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Nuclear Technology merged. V. to the new Association for Nuclear Technology Germany e. V.

General

The association has around a hundred members, mainly companies in the energy industry . The forum is based in Berlin. It is a member of the European Atomic Forum FORATOM and the Kerntechnischen Gesellschaft and also works with the World Association of Nuclear Operators .

The main focus of the organization is public relations work on the subject of nuclear energy. It also organizes congresses and seminars.

Karl Winnacker Prize

The German Atomic Forum awards the Karl Winnacker Prize, endowed with 5,000 euros, for contributions to the promotion of nuclear power . This is not to be confused with the Karl Winnacker Prize of the Marburg University Association .

Award winners

President

History, criticism

The association was founded in 1959, registered as an association in 1961 and has since promoted the peaceful use of nuclear energy as a lobby group for the nuclear industry and research.

Until about 2013 the association was recognized as a non-profit organization by the Berlin tax authorities. The charity of the association has been criticized many times. The Stuttgarter Nachrichten pointed out in a report from August 31, 2015 that the Atomforum is no longer non-profit. After critical inquiries from the tax office, it has not applied for non-profit status again. With an amendment to the Articles of Association of May 15, 2013, the phrase "non-profit" was deleted. Since then, the Atomforum has presented itself on its website as an “industry service provider for external and internal communication in the field of nuclear energy and nuclear technology” and as a representative of the interests of its members instead of as a non-profit association as before.

At the end of 2007 the association was given the Worst EU Greenwash Award from the Worst EU Lobbying Award initiative because it tried to present nuclear energy as environmentally friendly in an advertising campaign using greenwashing .

The Federal Office for Radiation Protection criticized the association for its claim that there is a suitable location in Germany for a repository for radioactive waste . For the 50th anniversary of the Atomic Forum, the then Federal Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel criticized the association as the " propaganda center of the nuclear groups"; it stands "like hardly any other institution for the conscious concealment, suppression and trivialization of the dangers associated with the commercial use of atomic energy".

One day after the Fukushima nuclear disaster , the association campaigned against a revision of the extension of the service life of German nuclear power plants. President Ralf Güldner argued that German reactors are much better protected against natural disasters than Japanese ones.

However, the German government changed its nuclear policy , announced a nuclear moratorium and initiated a safety review of all 17 German nuclear power plants. The nuclear phase-out that was initiated in Germany in the summer of 2011 has subsequently been endorsed by the parliamentary groups and most politicians.

Since then, the association has been operating in a suddenly changed political environment .

The 2011 Annual Nuclear Technology Conference began with almost 1,300 international guests in Berlin on May 17th, organized by the Atomic Forum and the Nuclear Technology Society (KTG). All events with a socio-political reference were removed from the program, the gala dinner was canceled. Both the speech by RWE CEO Jürgen Großmann and the originally planned speech by FDP General Secretary Christian Lindner were canceled .

At the beginning of the 2011 annual conference, opponents of nuclear power presumably placed supposed nuclear waste barrels in a large well near the conference building. The state security should investigate.

After the exploration of the Gorleben salt dome had stopped, the president of the association, Ralf Güldner, announced in December 2012 that the operators of the nuclear power plants would consider stopping the exploration and claim damages if Gorleben was excluded as a repository.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ kernenergie.de: German Atomic Forum e. V. (DAtF) ( Memento of the original from January 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 25, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kernenergie.de
  2. ↑ spiegel.de November 7, 1983: Some marks can be saved
  3. ↑ Stuttgarter Nachrichten August 31, 2015: Lobby Organizations: Common Benefit , accessed on October 23, 2015.
  4. ↑ The winners of the Worst EU Lobbying Awards 2007 are ...
  5. ↑ Federal Office for Radiation Protection (November 12, 2007): Atomforum works with claims instead of facts ( Memento of February 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) . Quote: "In its press release of November 8, 2007, the Atomforum makes allegations that require clarification"
  6. ^ Gabriel: 50 Years of the Atomic Forum
  7. ↑ Handelsblatt: German nuclear companies on the defensive of March 13, 2011
  8. ↑ Zeit Online: Atomic lobby sees itself confirmed by the stress test. dated May 17, 2011
  9. ↑ PDF document at www.kerntechnik.info  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.kernenergie.de  
  10. ↑ taz.de: Atomforum bakes small rolls
  11. ↑ Der Tagesspiegel: Unknown people put “nuclear waste barrels” in wells
  12. ↑ Die Welt Online: Nuclear power plant operators check payment stop for Gorleben from December 23, 2012