Italy’s Senate just greenlit a return to nuclear — 40 years after Chernobyl. Good climate math or political nostalgia?
Italy’s Senate gave final approval on Wednesday (23 September 2026) to legislation that opens the door for nuclear power again, according to the Associated Press. The country shut its last reactors in 1990 after the post-Chernobyl referendum, and a later restart attempt stalled after Fukushima.
This is not a plant online tomorrow. The Meloni government’s framework — which the Chamber of Deputies had already passed 155–86 with eight abstentions earlier in 2026 — hands the executive a mandate to write the detailed rules: a national “sustainable nuclear” programme, an independent safety authority, skills and research, plus public information. Implementing decrees are meant within about twelve months of the law taking effect (World Nuclear News on the Chamber stage).
For anyone watching from the rest of Europe: is this a serious path to firm low-carbon power, or a symbolic vote that still has to survive siting fights, cost overruns, and the next referendum?
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