Nuclear energy consumption, energy access and energy poverty: Policy implications for the COP27 and environmental sustainability

Abstract

The ever-increasing energy resource demand and subsequent environmental challenges mean that policymakers have shifted their focus to nuclear energy to address energy and environmental issues due to its unlimited potential. The current study investigates the role of nuclear energy consumption to unveil contextual information and report novel evidence concerning the significance of energy and environmental policies. This research is a novel attempt to outline methodological and topical contributions, thematic analysis, co-citation analysis, and country-collaboration analysis. As energy and environmental solutions have been prioritized within sustainable development goals, our research approach would allow policymakers and researchers to understand the extent to which nuclear energy can provide solutions towards environmental sustainability and identify research limitations to overcome by future studies. Moreover, our extensive analysis allows us to argue that nuclear energy impacts energy demand and is the most critical factor in fulfilling environmental commitments under regional and international environmental agreements.