Concerned by the disaster in Japan, Germany has decided to put an end to its nuclear power program -- the first major industrialized nation in years to do so.

Germany's governing coalition said Monday it will shut down all its nuclear power plants by 2022. The decision still requires parliamentary approval.

It also completes a remarkable about-face for Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right government, which only late last year had pushed through a plan to extend the life span of the country's 17 reactors -- with the last scheduled to go offline in 2036.

But Merkel says the Fukushima disaster in Japan has made her rethink the risks of the technology.

"We want the electricity of the future to be safe, reliable and economically viable," Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters on Monday following overnight negotiations among the governing parties. "We have to follow a new path."

Among other G8 members, only Italy has abandoned nuclear power. It was phased out following a referendum after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

Germany, which is Europe's largest economy, had long planned to abandon nuclear energy eventually and replace it with renewable energy sources. But Monday's decision dramatically speeds up that process.

Of Germany's 17 reactors, eight are currently off the electricity grid. One has been mothballed for years, but seven others were taken off the grid in March for safety inspections, following the catastrophe at Fukushima.

Monday's decision comes after the environment ministers from all 16 German regional states called on Friday for the temporary order on the seven plants to be made permanent.

Germany plans to replace its nuclear power with renewable energy sources. Wind, solar and hydroelectric power currently produces about 17 per cent of the country's electricity. The government aims to boost its share to around 50 per cent in the coming decades.

Many Germans have been vehemently opposed to nuclear power for years. Tens of thousands of people repeatedly took to the streets after Fukushima to urge the government to shut all reactors quickly.

Sigmar Gabriel, the leader of the opposition Social Democrats, called the decision "a great day of relief for all opponents of nuclear energy in Germany."

"Today, our political opponents are forced ... to accept our policies," he said.

Environmental groups welcome decision

Shawn-Patrick Stensil, a Greenpeace nuclear analyst, said the German announcement is a sign that a major industrial nation can shut down its reactors and continue to grow its economy.

"I think the industry's ready," he told CTV's Power Play, adding that renewable energy sources in Germany already produce more electricity than nuclear ones do in Ontario.

But he warned that Canada could get left behind, considering that the Ontario government is moving to ramp up nuclear power generation. In fact, he said a plan to get 50 per cent of Ontario's power from nuclear reactors puts a hard cap on renewable energies.

However, according to Duane Bratt, an energy policy expert from Calgary's Mount Royal University, Germany is "really gambling with their electricity supply."

"You're going to see a real devastation to the German economy," Bratt predicted, adding that Canada is moving in the opposite direction, with both Ontario and Saskatchewan moving forward on nuclear projects.

Kevin Pegg, president of the renewable energy company Energy Alternatives, said the German announcement shows that the country is willing to take on an international leadership role on the energy file.

In terms of the domestic response, Pegg told CTV News Channel that Canada is at an interesting crux, given the large, "untapped" sources of renewable energy across the country.

Pegg talked about solar, geo-thermal and wind as possible alternatives that could be a big boost here and elsewhere in the wake of the German transition.

Meanwhile, Green Leader Elizabeth May said that the German government had wanted to renege on a plan to ditch nuclear power use, but had to revisit that plan because of public opinion.

"The public in Germany did not like her decision to continue with nuclear, so they're back to a decision they've had for some time: a nuclear phase-out."