How do nuclear energy consumption, environmental taxes, and trade globalization impact ecological footprints? Novel policy insight from nuclear power countries

Energy systems should grab the opportunity to adopt clean energy sources and technologies to mitigate environmental impacts. This work explores the influence of nuclear energy consumption on reducing the ecological footprint, considering environmental taxes and trade globalization in five nuclear-powered economies from 1990 to 2021. This study employed several econometric models, including the preliminary analysis, the CS-ARDL test for long-run forecasting and the Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality test. The long-run findings revealed that nuclear energy usage and environmental taxes support reducing environmental costs by lowering the ecological footprint. However, trade globalization raises environmental costs by increasing the ecological footprint. Additionally, causality test outcomes show that a one-way causal link exists among nuclear energy and the ecological footprint. The results highlight government actions prioritizing investment in nuclear energy consumption projects and encouraging nuclear energy efficiency to mitigate ecological degradation and lead to a low-carbon future. This viewpoint also encourages policymakers to make well-informed decisions to uphold ecological sustainability.