Italy's lower house of parliament has approved legislation that could pave the way for a return to nuclear power, nearly four decades after the country began phasing out atomic energy.
The bill does not authorize the construction of nuclear power plants. Instead, it grants the government the authority to issue implementing decrees within one year of the law's final parliamentary approval.
No specific reactor projects are linked to the legislation. Rather, the decrees would establish the legal framework under which the government could further develop plans for a return to nuclear energy and assess potential projects at a later stage.
Following its approval in the Chamber of Deputies on Thursday, the bill now moves to the Senate for further consideration.
Italy abandoned nuclear power in the aftermath of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. The country's last nuclear plants were shut down in 1990 following a national referendum.
There were later efforts to revive nuclear energy, but those plans were shelved after the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan.
Since taking office three and a half years ago, the right-wing government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has expressed its intention to bring nuclear power back into Italy's energy mix.
The government is particularly interested in the potential use of small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced modular reactors (AMRs).
Opposition parties and environmental groups have criticized the plans, arguing that a return to nuclear energy would be costly and contentious.
