Italy nuclear debate 2026: Generational divide after Chernobyl shapes new energy policy

Forty years after Chernobyl, Italy is revisiting nuclear power. The government, led by Premier Giorgia Meloni, is pushing legislation to create a legal framework for next-generation nuclear technologies. Parliament is expected to approve the bill next week, with implementing decrees on reactor licensing, safety standards, waste management, and siting to follow within 12 months. The shift is driven by a generational divide. Younger Italians see nuclear as a low-carbon energy source that can improve energy security and fight climate change, especially after shocks from the Ukraine and Iran wars. Older voters who lived through the 1986 disaster still associate atomic energy with risk and have rejected it twice in national referenda. Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin says the government's role is to create conditions for future installations. The debate mirrors similar moves in France and other European countries looking to nuclear power as part of their decarbonization strategy.