IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i13p7808-d847804.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can Nuclear Power Products Mitigate Greenhouse Gas Emissions? Evidence from Global Trade Network

Author

Listed:
  • Tingzhu Li

    (Institute for Global Innovation & Development, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
    School of Urban and Regional Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China)

  • Debin Du

    (Institute for Global Innovation & Development, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
    School of Urban and Regional Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China)

  • Xueli Wang

    (Institute of Central China Development, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
    Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117570, Singapore)

  • Xionghe Qin

    (School of Economics, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China)

Abstract

Since its birth, nuclear power has been a hot topic of academic research while being subject to much controversy. As a new green energy source with zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, nuclear power plays a vital role in combatting global climate change. Based on global databases and various empirical analysis methods, this study aimed to explore the changes in the global nuclear power product trade (GNT) network and its impact on GHG emissions from 2001 to 2018. The main findings are summarized as follows. (1) Global trade in nuclear power products and GHG emissions showed a non-linear and fluctuating growth during the research period. The geographical pattern of GNT not only has prominent spatial heterogeneity, but it also has some spatial reverse coupled with the spatial distribution of global GHG emissions. (2) The overall regression analysis finds that nuclear power product trade had a significant suppressive effect on global GHG emissions and had the greatest influence among all the selected variables. (3) As for the impact of the GNT network on GHG emissions, nuclear power product trade was better able to curb GHG emissions in countries with the dominate positions compared to those with affiliated positions, which reflects the heterogeneous effect of nuclear power product trade on GHG emissions. These results provide further evidence for the dialectical debate on whether nuclear power products contribute to GHG emissions reductions. This paper also provides corresponding recommendations for policymakers.

Suggested Citation

  • Tingzhu Li & Debin Du & Xueli Wang & Xionghe Qin, 2022. "Can Nuclear Power Products Mitigate Greenhouse Gas Emissions? Evidence from Global Trade Network," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-25, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:13:p:7808-:d:847804
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/13/7808/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/13/7808/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Baker, Erin & Chon, Haewon & Keisler, Jeffrey, 2009. "Advanced solar R&D: Combining economic analysis with expert elicitations to inform climate policy," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(Supplemen), pages 37-49.
    2. Jayadevappa, Ravishankar & Chhatre, Sumedha, 2000. "International trade and environmental quality: a survey," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 175-194, February.
    3. Fei Fan & Shangze Dai & Keke Zhang & Haiqian Ke, 2021. "Innovation agglomeration and urban hierarchy: evidence from Chinese cities," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(54), pages 6300-6318, November.
    4. Fei Fan & Huan Lian & Song Wang, 2020. "Can regional collaborative innovation improve innovation efficiency? An empirical study of Chinese cities," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(1), pages 440-463, March.
    5. Daigee Shaw & Yu-Hsuan Fu, 2021. "Climate Clubs With Tax Revenue Recycling, Tariffs, And Transfers," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Robert Mendelsohn (ed.), CLIMATE CHANGE ECONOMICS Commemoration of Nobel Prize for William Nordhaus, chapter 8, pages 103-116, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    6. Alexander Maennel & Hyun-Goo Kim, 2018. "Comparison of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Potential through Renewable Energy Transition in South Korea and Germany," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, January.
    7. Adamantiades, A. & Kessides, I., 2009. "Nuclear power for sustainable development: Current status and future prospects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(12), pages 5149-5166, December.
    8. Iwata, Hiroki & Okada, Keisuke & Samreth, Sovannroeun, 2010. "Empirical study on the environmental Kuznets curve for CO2 in France: The role of nuclear energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 4057-4063, August.
    9. Hettige, Hemamala & Mani, Muthukumara & Wheeler, David, 2000. "Industrial pollution in economic development: the environmental Kuznets curve revisited," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 445-476, August.
    10. Qinchang Gui & Chengliang Liu & Debin Du, 2018. "Does network position foster knowledge production? Evidence from international scientific collaboration network," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(4), pages 594-611, December.
    11. John D. Nystuen & Michael F. Dacey, 1961. "A Graph Theory Interpretation Of Nodal Regions," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(1), pages 29-42, January.
    12. Kato, Takaaki & Takahara, Shogo & Nishikawa, Masashi & Homma, Toshimitsu, 2013. "A case study of economic incentives and local citizens' attitudes toward hosting a nuclear power plant in Japan: Impacts of the Fukushima accident," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 808-818.
    13. Verbruggen, Aviel, 2008. "Renewable and nuclear power: A common future?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 4036-4047, November.
    14. Luqman, Muhammad & Ahmad, Najid & Bakhsh, Khuda, 2019. "Nuclear energy, renewable energy and economic growth in Pakistan: Evidence from non-linear autoregressive distributed lag model," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1299-1309.
    15. Paul L. Joskow & John E. Parsons, 2012. "The Future of Nuclear Power After Fukushima," Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2).
    16. Xuebing Yang, 2013. "The relative importance of distance in restricting international trade," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(17), pages 1548-1552, November.
    17. Ying Liu & Haiying Tang & Aamer Muhammad & Guoqin Huang, 2019. "Emission mechanism and reduction countermeasures of agricultural greenhouse gases – a review," Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 9(2), pages 160-174, April.
    18. Shi, Anqing, 2003. "The impact of population pressure on global carbon dioxide emissions, 1975-1996: evidence from pooled cross-country data," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 29-42, February.
    19. Palapan Kampan & Adam R. Tanielian, 2016. "Nuclear power: irreplaceable before and after Fukushima," International Journal of Global Energy Issues, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 39(6), pages 394-412.
    20. Jin, Taeyoung & Kim, Jinsoo, 2018. "What is better for mitigating carbon emissions – Renewable energy or nuclear energy? A panel data analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 464-471.
    21. Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2008. "Valuing the greenhouse gas emissions from nuclear power: A critical survey," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 2940-2953, August.
    22. Liu, Ying & Jayanthakumaran, Kankesu & Neri, Frank, 2013. "Who is responsible for the CO2 emissions that China produces?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1412-1419.
    23. Fei Fan & Xuerong Zhang & Xueli Wang, 2022. "Are there political cycles hidden inside collaborative innovation efficiency? An empirical study based on Chinese cities," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 49(3), pages 532-551.
    24. Beerten, Jef & Laes, Erik & Meskens, Gaston & D'haeseleer, William, 2009. "Greenhouse gas emissions in the nuclear life cycle: A balanced appraisal," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(12), pages 5056-5068, December.
    25. Solarin, Sakiru Adebola & Al-Mulali, Usama & Musah, Ibrahim & Ozturk, Ilhan, 2017. "Investigating the pollution haven hypothesis in Ghana: An empirical investigation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 706-719.
    26. Baek, Jungho & Kim, Hyun Seok, 2013. "Is economic growth good or bad for the environment? Empirical evidence from Korea," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 744-749.
    27. Ebru Alpay & Joe Kerkvliet & Steven Buccola, 2002. "Productivity Growth and Environmental Regulation in Mexican and U.S. Food Manufacturing," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 84(4), pages 887-901.
    28. Werner Antweiler & Brian R. Copeland & M. Scott Taylor, 2001. "Is Free Trade Good for the Environment?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 877-908, September.
    29. Ren, Lei & Zhou, Sheng & Ou, Xunmin, 2020. "Life-cycle energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions of hydrogen supply chains for fuel-cell vehicles in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    30. Zhangqi Zhong & Xu Zhang & Weina Gao, 2020. "Spatiotemporal Evolution of Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions Transferring via Trade: Influencing Factors and Policy Implications," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-24, July.
    31. Weisser, Daniel, 2007. "A guide to life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from electric supply technologies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1543-1559.
    32. Ducruet, César & Cuyala, Sylvain & El Hosni, Ali, 2018. "Maritime networks as systems of cities: The long-term interdependencies between global shipping flows and urban development (1890–2010)," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 340-355.
    33. Nian, Victor & Chou, S.K., 2014. "The state of nuclear power two years after Fukushima – The ASEAN perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 838-848.
    34. Sims, Ralph E. H. & Rogner, Hans-Holger & Gregory, Ken, 2003. "Carbon emission and mitigation cost comparisons between fossil fuel, nuclear and renewable energy resources for electricity generation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(13), pages 1315-1326, October.
    35. Althouse, Jeffrey & Guarini, Giulio & Gabriel Porcile, Jose, 2020. "Ecological macroeconomics in the open economy: Sustainability, unequal exchange and policy coordination in a center-periphery model," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hyunah Lee & Jaehong Lee, 2022. "Industry Competition, Corporate Governance, and Voluntary Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Information: Evidence from South Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-15, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lau, Lin-Sea & Choong, Chee-Keong & Ng, Cheong-Fatt & Liew, Feng-Mei & Ching, Suet-Ling, 2019. "Is nuclear energy clean? Revisit of Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis in OECD countries," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 12-20.
    2. Soytas, Ugur & Magazzino, Cosimo & Mele, Marco & Schneider, Nicolas, 2022. "Economic and environmental implications of the nuclear power phase-out in Belgium: Insights from time-series models and a partial differential equations algorithm," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 241-256.
    3. Verbruggen, Aviel & Laes, Erik & Lemmens, Sanne, 2014. "Assessment of the actual sustainability of nuclear fission power," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 16-28.
    4. Yiping Sun & Xiangyi Li & Tengyuan Zhang & Jiawei Fu, 2022. "Does Trade Policy Uncertainty Exacerbate Environmental Pollution?—Evidence from Chinese Cities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-21, February.
    5. Acheampong, Alex O., 2019. "Modelling for insight: Does financial development improve environmental quality?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 156-179.
    6. Linares, Pedro & Conchado, Adela, 2013. "The economics of new nuclear power plants in liberalized electricity markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(S1), pages 119-125.
    7. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Haouas, Ilham & Hoang, Thi Hong Van, 2019. "Economic growth and environmental degradation in Vietnam: Is the environmental Kuznets curve a complete picture?," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 197-218.
    8. Lili Yang & Ning Ma, 2022. "Empirical Study on the Influence of Urban Environmental Industrial Structure Optimization on Ecological Landscape Greening Construction," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-16, December.
    9. Bashir, Muhammad Farhan & Ma, Beiling & Sharif, Arshian & Ao, Tong & Koca, Kemal, 2023. "Nuclear energy consumption, energy access and energy poverty: Policy implications for the COP27 and environmental sustainability," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    10. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Nasir, Muhammad Ali & Roubaud, David, 2018. "Environmental degradation in France: The effects of FDI, financial development, and energy innovations," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 843-857.
    11. Muhammad Shahbaz & Avik Sinha, 2019. "Environmental Kuznets curve for CO2emissions: a literature survey," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 46(1), pages 106-168, January.
    12. Jianwei Zhang & Heng Li & Guoxin Jiao & Jiayi Wang & Jingjing Li & Mengzhen Li & Haining Jiang, 2022. "Spatial Pattern of Technological Innovation in the Yangtze River Delta Region and Its Impact on Water Pollution," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-20, June.
    13. Brook, Barry W., 2012. "Could nuclear fission energy, etc., solve the greenhouse problem? The affirmative case," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 4-8.
    14. Fen Zhang & Haochen Peng & Xiaofan Sun & Tianyi Song, 2022. "Influence of Tourism Economy on Air Quality—An Empirical Analysis Based on Panel Data of 102 Cities in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-17, April.
    15. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Balsalobre-Lorente, Daniel & Sinha, Avik, 2019. "Foreign Direct Investment–CO2 Emissions Nexus in Middle East and North African countries: Importance of Biomass Energy Consumption," MPRA Paper 91729, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 19 Jan 2019.
    16. Zuoming Liu & Changbo Qiu & Min Sun & Dongmin Zhang, 2022. "Environmental Performance Evaluation of Key Polluting Industries in China—Taking the Power Industry as an Example," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-21, June.
    17. Jie Tao & Weidong Cao & Yebing Fang & Yujie Liu & Xueyan Wang & Haipeng Wei, 2022. "Spatiotemporal Differences and Spatial Spillovers of China’s Green Manufacturing under Environmental Regulation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-20, September.
    18. Qinchang Gui & Chengliang Liu & DeBin Du, 2019. "The Structure and Dynamic of Scientific Collaboration Network among Countries along the Belt and Road," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-17, September.
    19. Karakosta, Charikleia & Pappas, Charalampos & Marinakis, Vangelis & Psarras, John, 2013. "Renewable energy and nuclear power towards sustainable development: Characteristics and prospects," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 187-197.
    20. Jewell, Jessica, 2011. "Ready for nuclear energy?: An assessment of capacities and motivations for launching new national nuclear power programs," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1041-1055, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:13:p:7808-:d:847804. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.