Italy’s lower house of parliament has approved legislation that could pave the way for a return to nuclear power, nearly four decades after it shut down its last commercial reactors.

The bill does not authorise 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.