Italy votes to bring back nuclear power, 39 years after giving it up, as dear gas makes coal pay again in Europe

The stories

19 on this beat today.

Every story told the same way: what happened, who is involved, why it matters, how it works, the truth and the good news.

1. 01

   Italy votes to bring back nuclear power, 39 years after giving it up, as dear gas makes coal pay again in Europe

   81 to 51

   the Italian Senate vote that lets Italy's government write nuclear rules again

   seven senators abstained, and the lower house had already passed the bill [1]

   80+ euros

   per megawatt hour, Europe's gas price this month

   the highest in three years, because the war has choked shipments through Hormuz [2]

   9.2%

   of EU electricity came from coal in 2025, the lowest on record

   it was more than a third in 1990, and it is now expected to rise [2]

   18 of 180

   billion cubic metres of Russian gas reached Europe last year, against the yearly pipeline peak

   the lowest since the mid-1970s, by Reuters' count [3]

   What happened

   • Italy's Senate gave final approval on Wednesday to a law that opens the way back to nuclear power, by 81 votes to 51. [1]
   • Italy ran four reactors until a 1987 referendum, held after the Chernobyl disaster, ended its nuclear programme. [1]
   • Voters said no to nuclear power a second time in 2011, after the accident at Japan's Fukushima plant. [1]
   • The law builds no reactor.
   • It gives Italy's government 12 months to write rules on licensing, safety, waste and where plants could go. [1]
   • Since the 1987 vote, Italy has become one of Europe's biggest users of electricity made in its neighbours' nuclear plants. [1]
   • Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Italy's minister for energy security, called the vote a historic step and said nuclear power works best alongside renewables. [1]
   • The same week, dear gas made coal plants more profitable to run than gas plants in Europe.
   • It is the first time since at least 2024, the data firm ICIS says. [2]
   • The war between the US and Iran has choked gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
   • Europe's gas price went above 80 euros a megawatt hour this month, a three-year high. [2]
   • Analysts expect Europe's coal power to jump by about a quarter over the next six months, as power from gas falls by about the same. [2]
   • Germany's remaining coal plants are expected to run close to the most they have ever produced in the last three months of 2026. [2]
   • Years of closures mean Europe can switch little more to coal if gas climbs again, and Germany shut its last nuclear plant in 2023. [2]
   • Russia's gas sales to Europe fell to 18 billion cubic metres last year.
   • Its pipeline sales there peaked at about 180 billion a year in 2018-19.
   • It now expects to produce less gas, and sell less liquefied gas abroad, than it forecast in May. [3]

   Bn cubic metres

   Russian pipeline gas to Europe, a year at the 2018-19 peak180

   Russian gas to Europe, 202518

   Who is involved

   • Italy's Senate the upper house of Italy's parliament; it gave the nuclear law final approval on 23 September
   • Giorgia Meloni Italy's prime minister; bringing back nuclear power is part of her push for energy security
   • Gilberto Pichetto Fratin Italy's minister for the environment and energy security; his government now has 12 months to write the rules
   • ICIS and Veyt two firms that track energy data; they measured coal overtaking gas in Europe's power stations
   • Russia's economy ministry the Russian office that forecasts the country's economy; it cut this year's gas output and export forecasts

   How it unfolded

   1. 1986 The Chernobyl nuclear disaster [1]
   2. 1987 An Italian referendum ends the country's nuclear programme [1]
   3. 2011 Italian voters reject nuclear power again, after Fukushima [1]
   4. 2023 Germany shuts its last nuclear power plant [2]
   5. 23 Sep 2026 Italy's Senate passes the law opening the way back to nuclear power [1]
   6. Next 12 months Italy's government must write the rules on licensing, safety and waste [1]

   Why it matters

   Watch the rules Italy's government must write in the next 12 months on licensing, safety and waste, because no reactor project can be proposed until they exist. [1]

   How it works

   Why a power station is quick to close and slow to bring back

   Italy shut its nuclear power after one vote in 1987, and this week's law only lets it start writing the rules to return.

   The twist

   A vote can close a power station in one day. Bringing it back takes a new law, then new rules, then years of building before any electricity flows.

   The picture

   12345

   1,9852,0072,028

   1. 1Chernobyl disaster1,986
   2. 2Referendum ends Italy's nuclear power1,987
   3. 3Voters say no again after Fukushima2,011
   4. 4Senate passes the law to come back2,026
   5. 5Rules due within 12 months2,027

   Step by step

   1. 1 A country decides to stop using a kind of power
   2. 2 The plants close and the rules for running them lapse
   3. 3 Years later, prices change and the country wants it back
   4. 4 First it must write new rules, then find sites and builders
   5. 5 So the comeback takes years, even after the vote

   The same force, elsewhere today

   Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.

   • Europe's coal plants

     Gas got dear, but so many coal plants were shut in earlier years that Europe can switch only a little more of its power back to coal.

   • Germany's closed reactors

     Germany shut its last nuclear plant in 2023, so this winter it has one fewer kind of power to turn to.

   • Bath's old open-air pool

     One flood in 2024 undid years of restoration, and the repairs may not even start until 2028.

   • California's petrol with more ethanol

     Lifting the ban took a new law signed more than a year after state senators first voted for it.

   Where you've seen this

   Railway lines

   Once the tracks are pulled up and the land sold, relaying the line means buying the land back.

   A language at home

   A family that stops speaking it can lose it in one generation, and relearning it takes years.

   Factories that move abroad

   When the workers and suppliers go too, bringing the work back means training people from the start.

   The catch

   Not every comeback rebuilds the old thing: Italy's law is written for newer kinds of reactor, so what it builds may be closer to a fresh start.

   And the whole of it

   Italian voters in 1987, the senators this week and the families paying Europe's gas bills are all inside this chain. Each decision was taken with the prices and fears of its own year, and none of them could see the next one.

   The truth

   • What is really going on The war between the US and Iran has made gas dear in Europe, so Europe is turning back to kinds of power it had shut.German coal plants are expected to run close to flat out this winter, and Italy has only just passed the law that lets it start writing rules for nuclear power again. [1][2]
   • Who gains Owners of coal and lignite plants in Germany — Dear gas made their plants more profitable to run than gas plants for the first time since at least 2024. [2]
   • Who pays Everyone breathing Europe's air — Coal power, the most polluting kind, is expected to rise by about a quarter over the next six months. [2]
   • Nobody knows yet

     When Italy could have a working reactor again.

     The law builds none. The government has 12 months to write rules, and AP reports that any reactor is still years away. [1]

   • Nobody knows yet

     How far coal can rise if gas gets dearer still.

     ICIS says Europe's power stations could not switch much more even at 100 euros a megawatt hour, and Veyt expects coal to stay cheaper than gas until as late as March 2028. [2]

1. 02

   Germany plans its way off coal, oil and gas

   What happened

   • Germany's cabinet approved a plan on Wednesday to stop using coal, oil and gas by 2045. [4]
   • Germany is the third country, after France and the Netherlands, to adopt a national plan like this under an international effort to leave fossil fuels. [4]
   • Under the plan, Germany will check whether its coal deadline of 2038 can move to 2035, Spiegel magazine reported. [4]
   • It expects heat pumps, electric heaters that move warmth from outside air, to become the main way Germans heat their homes. [4]

   Why it matters

   The plan keeps the focus on electric power, although Katherina Reiche, Germany's economy minister, had asked for more flexibility on cars, heating and carbon prices. [4]

   It comes as Germany's coal plants are expected to run close to their limit this winter because gas is dear. [2]

   The truth

   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether Germany moves its coal deadline from 2038 to 2035.

     The plan only says it will be examined, and that detail comes from Spiegel's report rather than the published plan. [4]

2. 03

   Two hurricanes at once in the Pacific

   What happened

   • Hurricane Polo held Category 5 strength, with winds of 160mph, off Mexico's Pacific coast on Thursday, threatening floods in Guerrero state. [6]
   • Further west, Nolo was forecast to reach Hawaii's Big Island by Friday or Saturday with up to 30 inches of rain. [6]
   • Three Pacific hurricanes have reached Category 5 this year, tying a 2002 record. [7]
   • Forecasters blame El Nino, a warming of the Pacific that shifts storms. [7]
   • Forecasts give it a more than 90% chance of beating every El Nino since the 1870s. [8]

   3 of 3

   Pacific hurricanes to reach Category 5 this year

   Why it matters

   Hawaii has already had two damaging hurricanes in a month, Lala and Lowell, which wrecked or damaged more than 510 homes. [7]

   Schools and state offices on the Big Island closed on Thursday and Friday. [6]

   The truth

   • Who pays People on Hawaii's Big Island — A third hurricane in a month threatens up to 30 inches of rain, after Lala and Lowell damaged more than 510 homes. [6][7]
   • Nobody knows yet

     How much rain Hurricane Nolo drops on Hawaii's Big Island.

     Forecasters gave 20 to 30 inches on the south-east, the same area Hurricane Lala hit in August, and the storm was expected to strengthen as it approached. [6][7]

3. 04

   France asks to delay the EU's methane rules

   What happened

   • Emmanuel Macron, France's president, wrote to the European Commission asking it to delay new rules on methane by one year, to January 2028. [5]
   • Methane is a gas that leaks from oil and gas sites, and it warms the planet more than any gas except carbon dioxide. [5]
   • From January, fuel sold into the EU must have its methane leaks measured and checked, or the seller can be fined. [5]
   • More than a dozen EU countries, including Germany, have already asked for a delay. [5]

   Why it matters

   EU governments agreed these rules themselves in 2023, and now say tight fuel supplies make them risky. [5]

   The Commission has so far waived the fines until the end of 2029 but not moved the start date. [5]

   The truth

   • Who gains Oil and gas importers selling into the EU — If France wins its delay, they have another year before their methane leaks must be measured and checked, and fines are already waived until 2029. [5]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether the European Commission will delay its methane rules.

     Two EU officials told Reuters no decision has been made, though more than a dozen countries asked for a delay. [5]

4. 05

   US senators link oil donations to rollbacks

   What happened

   • Two senior Democrats in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer and Sheldon Whitehouse, published a report on Thursday about oil and gas companies. [10]
   • It says the companies won tax breaks, subsidies and weaker pollution rules after Donald Trump asked them for $1 billion in donations during the 2024 campaign. [10]
   • The report rests on 19 investigations into the US environment agency and 13 into nine other agencies. [10]
   • The Trump administration did not reply to Reuters. [10]

   Why it matters

   This month the US environment agency moved to repeal the limits on carbon from coal and gas power plants. [10]

   The agency says that saves the industry $370 million, while the Biden administration had put the rule's benefits at $370 billion. [10]

   The truth

   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether the Democrats' report shows oil donations bought rule changes.

     It is a report by two opposition senators, and the Trump administration had not answered it. [10]

5. 06

   Turkey's leader says countries cannot all move at one speed

   What happened

   • Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's president, spoke at a UN climate summit in New York on Wednesday. [9]
   • He said it is not realistic to expect every country to cut emissions at the same pace while access to money and technology is unequal. [9]
   • Turkey will host this year's UN climate summit, COP31, in Antalya from 9 to 20 November. [9]
   • Under a deal between the two countries, Australia will lead the negotiations and Turkey will run the summit. [9]

   Why it matters

   Erdogan said climate targets that ignore societal and economic realities are bound to fail. [9]

   He also backed a pre-summit meeting in Fiji and a leaders' meeting in Tuvalu so Pacific islands are heard. [9]

6. 07

   Heat cost UK dairy farms 240 million litres of milk

   What happened

   • Dairy farmers in the UK delivered about 240 million fewer litres of milk than expected this summer, because of extreme heat. [12]
   • That is the finding of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a research group, for May to August. [12]
   • The heat left poor grass for grazing and put strain on the cows. [12]
   • The lost milk was worth more than 83 million pounds. [12]
   • The UK had its hottest summer on record in 2026, with five heatwaves. [12]

   Why it matters

   Many farmers, like Debbie Wilkins in Gloucestershire, are already giving their cows winter feed. [12]

   An ECIU analyst said future heatwaves will be harder to recover from, because milk cannot be stockpiled. [12]

   Strong output earlier in 2026 means the year's total could still be near a record. [12]

   The truth

   • Who pays Dairy farmers in England and Wales — The hottest summer on record cost them milk worth more than 83 million pounds. [12]
7. 08

   US puts $1.9 billion into getting more out of old power lines

   What happened

   • The US Department of Energy will offer $1.9 billion to 31 projects that upgrade existing power lines, it said on Thursday. [11]
   • The projects will replace the wires on more than 1,500 miles of lines with ones that carry more power, and add new equipment to about 21,000 miles more. [11]
   • Together they should let the grid carry 23 gigawatts more. [11]
   • The companies involved will add about $3.4 billion of their own. [11]

   Why it matters

   Building a new power line can take decades, while upgrading an old one uses land that is already cleared. [11]

   The utilities chosen include Alabama Power, Duke Energy and Eversource. [11]

   The truth

   • Who gains Utilities picked for US grid grants — Alabama Power, Duke Energy, Eversource and others share $1.9 billion to upgrade lines they already own. [11]

   Good news

   • The US Department of Energy will put $1.9 billion into upgrading 31 sets of existing power lines. Together they should carry 23 gigawatts more electricity without cutting any new route across the land.
8. 09

   California allows petrol with more ethanol

   What happened

   • California's governor, Gavin Newsom, signed a law on Saturday that lets petrol stations sell E15. [13]
   • E15 is petrol mixed with 15% ethanol, an alcohol fuel. [13]
   • California was the only US state where it could not be sold. [13]
   • State senators had voted for the change more than a year earlier. [13]
   • Petrol in California was about $6.14 a gallon on Sunday, against a US average of $4.44. [13]

   California, a gallon of petrol$6.14

   US average$4.44

   Why it matters

   An ethanol trade group says E15 could cut prices by about 20 cents a gallon. [13]

   Ethanol makers and corn farmers gain a new market of about 650 million gallons a year, one producer estimates. [13]

   How it works

   Lifting the ban took a new law signed more than a year after state senators first voted for it.

   The idea, in story 01: Why a power station is quick to close and slow to bring back →

   The truth

   • Who gains Ethanol makers and corn growers in the US — California's new law opens the most populous state to E15, which one producer estimates at 650 million gallons a year. [13]
9. 10

   Electric school buses break down in the cold

   What happened

   • The town of Gouverneur in New York state waited three years for its first two electric school buses. [14]
   • After one day their chargers failed, and in November their heating broke, keeping one bus off the road for four months. [14]
   • About 5,000 of the 500,000 school buses in the US run on batteries. [14]
   • Some cost nearly $500,000, two to three times the price of a diesel bus. [14]

   1 of 100

   school buses in the US that run on batteries

   Why it matters

   More than $2.4 billion in federal grants paid for the switch, and states like New York and California require it. [14]

   Some districts are now slowing down because of short range in winter and long repairs. [14]

   The truth

   • Who pays Rural school districts like Gouverneur, New York — Their electric buses cost up to three times a diesel one and broke down in the first winter. [14]
10. 11

    South Africa fears losing its next electric cars

    What happened

    • South Africa's car industry is worried it will lose future production to Asia as carmakers decide where to build electric models. [15]
    • President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed a tax break that lets carmakers deduct 150% of what they invest in electric and hydrogen car factories. [15]
    • About 67% of cars made in South Africa are exported, and 63% of those go to the EU and the UK. [15]
    • Only 2.8% of new cars sold in the country are electric or hybrid. [15]

    • Exported67 · 67%
    • Sold at home33 · 33%

    Why it matters

    The car industry employs about 113,000 people directly. [15]

    Ford's head in Africa says countries compete inside the company for each new model, and executives say steady electricity and chargers matter as much as the tax break. [15]

    The truth

    • Who pays Car workers in South Africa — About 113,000 people work directly in an industry that fears losing the next electric models to Asia. [15]
11. 12

    A Chinese carmaker charges a car in four minutes

    What happened

    • Geely, one of China's biggest carmakers, showed a charging system on Wednesday that takes a car from 10% to 70% in 4.5 minutes. [16]
    • It can reach 97% in 8 minutes and 40 seconds. [16]
    • Its rival BYD showed a system this year that reaches 97% in nine minutes. [16]
    • Sales of electric cars in China have fallen for 11 months in a row through August. [16]

    Why it matters

    Chinese carmakers are fighting over charging speed to win back buyers at home. [16]

    A Geely executive said charging is now close to its physical limit, so each further gain will be smaller. [16]

    Good news

    • Geely, a Chinese carmaker, showed a charger that takes an electric car from 10% to 70% full in four and a half minutes.
12. 13

    Volkswagen keeps losing ground in China

    What happened

    • Volkswagen opened orders in China on Thursday for a second electric car built with Xpeng, a Chinese carmaker. [17]
    • The car, the ID.
    • UNYX 09, went from design to production in two years, about 30% faster than before. [17]
    • It starts at 199,900 yuan, about $29,785. [17]
    • Volkswagen delivered 26% fewer cars in China in the first half of 2026, its fewest in 16 years. [17]

    Why it matters

    Chinese brands like BYD and Geely keep taking buyers from Volkswagen, the German carmaker. [17]

    Its China chief said this week that the market's fall is as big as the one in the Covid pandemic. [17]

    The truth

    • Who gains Geely and BYD — They compete for Chinese buyers on charging speed, and Chinese brands keep taking market share from Volkswagen, whose China deliveries fell 26%. [16][17]
13. 14

    Bentley shows its first electric car

    What happened

    • Bentley, a British maker of luxury cars owned by Volkswagen, showed its first fully electric car in London on Wednesday. [18]
    • The Torcal is an SUV with a range of up to 375 miles and a starting price of 173,000 pounds. [18][19]
    • Bentley spent 350 million pounds on its factory in Crewe, England, to build it. [18]
    • The company had already dropped its goal of selling only electric cars by 2030. [18]

    Why it matters

    Other very expensive carmakers are holding back: Lamborghini delayed its first electric car and McLaren says it has no plans for one. [18]

    Bentley says half the interest so far comes from buyers new to the brand. [18]

14. 15

    Tesla's self-driving claims meet two tests

    What happened

    • Tesla's robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, had just 8 cars carrying riders in the week to 22 September, according to a tracker cited by Electrek. [20]
    • That is about as many as when it launched in June 2025, though 476 are registered with the state. [20]
    • Separately, a Belgian safety group found Tesla's driver-assist system often went over the limit in 20 and 30km/h zones. [21]
    • The EU could vote on allowing the system everywhere on 6 October. [21]

    Why it matters

    Dutch regulators approved the system in April and Belgium followed, while Sweden and other EU countries worry that it speeds. [21]

    Tesla did not answer Reuters' questions about the Belgian test. [21]

15. 16

    Reform UK wants to drop a council's climate emergency

    What happened

    • Reform UK councillors want North Northamptonshire Council, in central England, to scrap its climate emergency declaration from 2021. [25]
    • Councillor Leon Gibbs said it makes no sense to call it an emergency while aiming for a target 24 years away. [25]
    • Last year the Reform-run council moved its net zero goal from 2030 to 2050, the UK's national target. [25]
    • Net zero means taking out of the air as much planet-warming gas as is put in. [25]

    Why it matters

    Labour, Conservative and Green councillors all opposed the move. [25]

    Kettering's Labour MP pointed to this summer's heat at the local hospital and to winter flooding in the county. [25]

16. 17

    High levels of a banned chemical found in villagers' blood

    What happened

    • Blood tests on people living near a chemical factory in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire, found high levels of PFOA, and dozens were told they could be at higher risk of serious illness. [24]
    • PFOA is a forever chemical, one that does not break down, and it was used to make non-stick coatings at the site until 2012. [24]
    • The UK banned it in 2020, and the World Health Organization lists it as a cause of cancer. [24]
    • The tests were paid for by journalists and a group that funds environmental court cases, after health officials said testing was not recommended. [24]

    Why it matters

    Mario Panteli, a father of five, says he will have to keep his children out of the garden, and residents were told to stop eating their own hens' eggs. [24]

    The factory's owner, AGC Chemicals, says it will close the site later this year. [24]

    The truth

    • Who pays Residents of Thornton-Cleveleys in Lancashire — High PFOA levels in their blood and a warning not to eat their hens' eggs leave some afraid of being stuck in a contaminated place. [24]
    • Nobody knows yet

      What the PFOA in villagers' blood means for their health.

      UK health officials do not recommend testing and the UK has no safe level set for people, so each result is hard to read. [24]

17. 18

    Bath's old open-air pool will reopen, but not before 2028

    What happened

    • Cleveland Pools in Bath, Britain's oldest open-air swimming pool, reopened in September 2023 for the first time in almost 40 years. [26]
    • Four months later the River Avon flooded it. [26]
    • Pumping out the floodwater lifted the pool and broke pipes underneath. [26]
    • The trust that owns it says it will reopen, but repairs may start only in early 2028. [26]

    Why it matters

    A restoration paid for with millions of pounds of public money was undone by one flood. [26]

    The trust must now raise the money for a second repair. [26]

    How it works

    One flood in 2024 undid years of restoration, and the repairs may not even start until 2028.

    The idea, in story 01: Why a power station is quick to close and slow to bring back →
18. 19

    A new wild cat species, the first in a century

    What happened

    • Scientists have named a new species of wild cat, the tilcayo, found in the cloud forests of Bolivia's Andes mountains. [22][23]
    • It is the first new living wild cat species described since the pampas cat in 1923. [22]
    • The first one studied was living in a wildlife sanctuary after a family found it in the forest and kept it as a pet. [22]
    • It weighs about 1.4 kilograms, smaller than a house cat. [22]
    • DNA shows its line split from its nearest relatives 1.4 million years ago. [23]

    Why it matters

    Nobody yet knows how many tilcayo live in the wild. [23]

    Local people already knew the cat and named it, and scientists kept their word for it. [22]

    The truth

    • Nobody knows yet

      How many tilcayo wild cats are left in Bolivia's forests.

      The species was only just described, and almost nothing is known about how it lives in the wild. [23]

    Good news

    • Scientists named a new wild cat, the tilcayo, from the cloud forests of Bolivia's Andes. It is the first new living wild cat species described in more than a century, and it keeps the name local people already gave it.