Rethinking energy and policy: Driving the circular economy through renewables versus nuclear energy in OECD countries

Abstract

The circular economy (CE) presents a promising approach to integrating industry with sustainability and circularity, which helps minimize ecological harm and preserve natural resources for future generations. This study focused on the roles of nuclear energy, renewables, and climate policies in advancing a CE. It examined the intentions of OECD countries regarding CE practices and the various factors influencing these intentions from 2000 to 2019. This study utilized second-generation panel data tools, such as slope homogeneity and stationarity tests, to assess cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity in the panel dataset. The study employed the moment quantile regression (MM-QR) method to obtain regression estimates and analyze the conditional distribution across all quantiles. The findings indicated that the role of nuclear energy in promoting CE was negative across all quantiles. In contrast, renewable energy positively supports achieving CE in OECD countries. Climate policies assisted OECD countries in progressing toward CE in both the nuclear energy and renewable energy models. We conducted a robust check using a non-parametric panel Granger causality test, which confirmed the expected results for all other factors. The collaborative efforts for waste minimization ensure that nuclear energy systems are resilient, economically feasible, and environmentally sustainable.