Italian Communists in the Nuclear Crisis: Between Industrialism and Environmentalist Pressures

In the 1985 National energy plan, Italy reaffirmed its commitment to the construction of new nuclear power plants, with the priority of reducing the impact of imported fossil fuels on energy costs. Not only did the disaster of 26 April 1986 at the Černobyl′ nuclear power plant have a catastrophic environmental impact, but it also had a negative effect on public opinion towards civilian atomic power. The paper frames the evolution of the debate on nuclear energy and the environment within the Pci in the wake of the events of 1986 and its subsequent aftermath. In fact, On the eve of 1987 referenda, the younger members of the Federazione giovanile communista italiana (Fgci), undermined the traditional ‘industrialist’ line of the party through advocating a new environmentalist position on the issue. Černobyl′ represented a crossroads for the Pci in relation to the development of an environmental awareness, and policies for the environment, energy, limits to growth.