Italian Parliament Passes Law to Return to Nuclear Energy

Italy's Senate has passed a law allowing the country to return to nuclear power almost 40 years after it abandoned its use. 81 deputies supported the initiative, 51 against. Seven others abstained from voting, the AP reported.

The law establishes a legal framework for the use of next-generation nuclear technologies. The government is mandated to draft executive orders over the next 12 months regarding reactor licensing, safety standards, waste management and criteria for future sites. The law does not allow the construction of any reactors.

Italy's Minister of Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Picketto-Fratin, called the law a "historic step forward." “Nuclear energy is not a return to the past. In combination with renewable energy sources, this is a win-win technology that can give outstanding results in ensuring our energy security.

After the Chernobyl disaster in Italy in 1987 held a referendum on the feasibility of using nuclear energy. The majority of the citizens of the country spoke in favor of abandoning it. The last nuclear power plants in Italy closed in 1990. A second similar referendum was held after the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan in 2011, and citizens again opposed it. However, Prime Minister Georgie Meloni’s government argues that rising electricity demand and energy security concerns “justify a return to nuclear power.”.