Is nuclear energy a better alternative for mitigating CO2 emissions in BRICS countries? An empirical analysis

Abstract

Looking at the recent studies, nuclear energy and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions nexus shows inconclusive result. To further explain nuclear energy-pollution nexuses this study is an attempt to analyze the impact of nuclear energy on pollution reduction for BRICS countries covering data for the period from 1993 to 2017. This study conducts advanced panel techniques such as Continuously-Updated Fully-Modified (CUP-FM) and Continuously-Updated Bias-Corrected (CUP-BC) for long run estimation. Our results support the notion that nuclear energy reduce CO2 emissions. Also, renewable energy corrects environmental pollution in BRICS countries. The magnitude of the coefficient of nuclear energy is less as compared to renewable energy, implying that nuclear is less effective in reducing environmental pollution. The findings offer significant policy understandings and suggestions not only for BRICS economies but for developing countries as well in designing suitable nuclear energy-growth-carbon policies.