> I know there are people defending this decision, but I can only attribute this to malice or idiocy.

Import energy from abroad, you get to claim that you're all so Clean and Ecological[0], while all you've done is shift the dirty coal plants to some other countries that don't care and will happily take all the blame in the global statistics, as long as you keep paying them.

See also: manufacturing, another case where western nations outsource the dirty and energy-intensive parts, import finished products, and get lauded for "reducing" their footprints.

Accounting trickery, is all.

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[0] - A claim that's belied by opposition to nuclear energy alone.