Don’t know if anyone can compare the impact of fuel wars vs impact of nuclear waste&fallout. Though I agree the former currently has a much higher effect.
Worrying about the 'risk' of nuclear waste while we emit so much CO2 into the atmosphere is like worrying about a hangnail while you have a huge tumor on your neck. Modern reactors have very thick containment shells and have zero risk of "fallout".
If the hangnail causes a sepsis, it’s fatal in short time albeit the risk might have been low. But what if the skin is dry and weak?
The German reactors were running on low maintenance because of the shutdown, anticipated for last December. Hence the risk of continued operation is worse than typical.
A large overhaul would be necessary to ensure usual safety.
Same question could be asked in the aftermath of an incident. The argumentation is not so straightforward if looked upon in detail.
Of course the question is if the reactors could have been „saved“ earlier on, but those decisions were made in 2010.
In the meantime, wind, solar and gas plants were built. Gas plants were intended to offset low output times in solar and wind. Gas plants can be quickly turned on and off unlike nuclear plants. Thats the reasoning.
