From funds to footprints: Unravelling the asymmetric association between nuclear energy technology and environmental quality

Abstract

Innovation and investment in research and development (R&D) for renewable energy are critical in improving environmental quality and creating a more sustainable energy landscape. This research delves into the asymmetric correlation between nuclear energy technology budget and environmental quality in the top 10 economies with the largest nuclear energy R&D budgets (Germany, South Korea, Japan, the UK, France, Russia, China, USA, India, and Canada). Earlier investigations have used panel data methodologies that submit usual outcomes related to the link between these variables, although some countries did not show a similar relationship independently. Moreover, previous studies analyzed the overall impact, while our investigation focuses on examining the asymmetric impact on an individual country level. On the other hand, we apply the Quantile-on-Quantile tool to probe the time-series dependence in every country, bestowing worldwide yet country-specific evidence for the variables' interconnection. The findings suggest that budgets related to nuclear energy technology positively impact environmental quality by reducing ecological footprint in most economies, especially at the specific distribution of data points. In addition, this research highlights that the degree of asymmetry between the variables deviates across economies, heightening the importance of carefully implementing policies related to nuclear energy technology and environmental quality.