World Nuclear News reports that the Italian Comitato Nucleare e Ragione (Committee on Nuclear and Reason—CNR) said it recently commissioned an opinion poll “in order to feel the pulse of Italian people about nuclear energy, given the renewed international attention on this energy source in the context of decarbonization and climate targets.” The survey, conducted by polling firm SWG, questioned 800 adults over June 16-18. According to the results, 33% of respondents said they supported the use of nuclear energy in Italy, a similar proportion to a survey conducted in 2011. Men and young people were found to be most in favor. “This is, after all, a remarkable result, given that the issue has been completely excluded from the political debate in recent years,” said CNR.
When asked about the use of new reactor designs, 56% of respondents said they would not exclude the use of new nuclear technologies, with 7% saying they are “absolutely necessary” and 22% saying they are “promising and should be considered.” In response to whether new technologies should be rejected, 28% of respondents said, yes.
In response to how informed they were about nuclear energy, only 6% of respondents said they were well-informed, but 35% said they had sufficient knowledge. The remainder said they were little or not at all informed.
Trieste-based Comitato Nucleare e Ragione was established in April 2011, following the damage to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant from the March tsunami. It aimed to counter the anti-nuclear hysteria in the wake of that event. It was founded as a cultural and non-profit organization by young physics researchers and students of the University of Trieste and other European research centers.
Italy operated a total of four nuclear power plants starting in the early 1960s but decided to phase out nuclear power in a referendum that followed the 1986 Chernobyl accident. It closed its last two operating plants, Caorso and Trino Vercellese, in 1990. In late March 2011, following the Fukushima Daiichi accident, the Italian government approved a moratorium of at least one year on construction of nuclear power plants in the country, which had been looking to restart its long-abandoned nuclear program. In a poll in June 2011, some 94% of voters rejected the construction of any new nuclear reactors in Italy.
