Review Article
The Role of Nuclear Energy in Reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG)
Emissions and Energy Security: A Systematic Review

Emmanuel Kusi Addo ,1,2,3 Amos Tiereyangn Kabo-bah,2,4 Felix Amankwah Diawuo,1,2

and Seth Kofi Debrah5,6

1Department of Renewable Energy Engineering, School of Energy University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), P.O. Box 214,
Sunyani, Ghana
2Regional Center for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (RCEES), Ghana
3Secretariat, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, P.O. Box LG 80, Legon, Accra, Ghana
4Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR),
P.O. Box 214, Sunyani, Ghana
5Department of Nuclear Engineering, School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences, Atomic Energy, University of Ghana, Legon, P.O. Box
AE 1, Accra, Ghana
6Nuclear Power Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, P.O. Box LG 80, Legon, Accra, Ghana

Correspondence should be addressed to Emmanuel Kusi Addo; emmanuel.addo.stu@uenr.edu.gh

Received 8 March 2023; Revised 16 October 2023; Accepted 9 November 2023; Published 4 December 2023

Academic Editor: Pawan Kumar Kulriya

Copyright © 2023 Emmanuel Kusi Addo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.

The energy sector accounts for about two-thirds of all human-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to the reliance on
fossil-based fuels. This is a significant concern as it can have dire consequences on the survival of humankind and disrupt
other natural processes. The research indicated that some mitigation measures to curb GHG emissions are to increase energy
from low-carbon sources such as nuclear. However, due to the continuous adverse climate change impact, a comprehensive
systematic review of research in this area must be conducted to inform policy practice and future studies. This study attempts
to address this gap by mapping the global reflections on the potential of nuclear technology to mitigate GHG through a
bibliometric review process. A total of 741 studies were retrieved from the Scopus database and a few from Google Scholar,
spanning from 1962 to 2022, and analyzed using a science mapping tool—VOSviewer. The study confirmed that fossil fuels are
a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions and contributor to greenhouse emissions. Those authors concluded that
promoting clean and alternative energy sources to fossil fuels would help reduce carbon emissions. Although renewable energy
has proven to be very efficient among pollution and climate change mitigation sources, nuclear energy is the most dependable
option for meeting national and regional CO2 emission targets while meeting energy supply needs. The bibliometric analysis
with VOSviewer suggested that only five African countries, including Ghana, have contributed to the research area with
limited collaboration. As a result, it calls for stakeholders to make informed decisions to invest resources in research to address
the challenge on the continent. The MESSAGE planning model is recommended for the study.

1. Introduction

Energy security and sustainability of the environment remain
a concern to socioeconomic growth and the rapidly accelerat-
ing climate change in the world [1–5]. Energy security is one
of the significant factors to ensure a country’s long-term

growth. Global demand for primary energy has doubled in
the previous 40 years, increasing at 2%-3% each year [6].
Energy consumption is expanding faster than ever, particu-
larly in developing countries, making energy security an essen-
tial component of national security. Energy security is also a
significant component and source of interdependence in

Hindawi
International Journal of Energy Research
Volume 2023, Article ID 8823507, 31 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/8823507

https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9241-1645
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/8823507


international relations [7, 8]. Energy security entails constant
access to various energy resources in adequate quantities and
at affordable costs, considering environmental and societal
factors [9, 10].

Energy security guarantees uninterrupted availability of
energy resource supply in a sustainable and timely manner,
with energy prices at a level that does not adversely affect
the economic performance of the economy [11, 12]. The
classical approach to evaluating key energy resource param-
eters concerning energy security are availability, accessibil-
ity, cost, and acceptability [13]. Energy resource availability
and affordability are more important in terms of impact on
other aspects of energy security [14]. The primary energy
security elements typically included in the definition of the
term are resource nationalism, diversification of energy
sources in the energy mix, and secure supplies of affordable
energy resources [15, 16]. Also, other elements considered in
the energy security definition are safe transportation (tran-
sit) of energy and fuel, as well as the corresponding infra-
structure, prospective geopolitical and market changes, and
threats that are caused by or have an impact on the energy
supply chain [16].

There are about ten main challenges hindering energy
security globally. These are decarbonizing the global econ-
omy, improving energy efficiency and energy savings in
buildings, advancing energy technologies, transitioning to
energy systems based on variable renewables, electrifying
transportation and some industrial processes, liberalizing
and extending energy markets, integrating energy sectors
into smart energy systems, making cities and communities
smart, and diversifying energy sources [17]. Other security
risks are terrorism and fraud in nuclear waste management
and generating nuclear power [18].

The focus on ensuring energy security has increased
energy generation, consequently increasing CO2 emissions.
Energy-related CO2 emissions reached a record high of
36.6 billion tonnes in 2021 [19, 20]. An increase in energy
demand is unavoidable as the world population grows, econ-
omies develop, and people’s quality of life improves [6].

Human emissions of carbon dioxide and other green-
house gases are the leading cause of climate change and
one of the most significant challenges confronting the world.
This correlation between global temperatures and green-
house gas concentrations, mainly CO2, has existed through-
out Earth’s history [21–23]. The energy industry must
drastically reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to limit
climate change. This will necessitate a significant energy sec-
tor restructuring, with a transition from fossil to carbon-free
energies. Electrification will be a critical enabler of the sus-
tainable energy revolution [6].

Sustainable development of the electricity industry is
both a prerequisite and a result of economic progress. It is
based on the appropriate management of all risks caused
by the uncertainty of the external environment, which is
impractical to achieve without ensuring long-term operation
[11]. Electricity generation has been a major contributor to
global greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector as its
demand is fast rising [24]. The overreliance on rich carbon
sources for energy use applications adversely impacts cli-

mate change, which is increasing rapidly with only a mini-
mal chance of avoiding the worst environmental and
socioeconomic impacts [1]. Concerns about the impact of
GHG emissions from electricity generation on climate
change have prompted countries worldwide to search for
low-carbon energy sources and limit their dependency on
conventional fossil fuels [25].

The detrimental effects of climate change have been
expressed in international strategic documents such as the
Kyoto Protocol and the current Paris Agreement, which
most world leaders have adopted as expressions of commit-
ment to a global drive to reduce CO2 emissions [26, 27]. The
Paris Accord prompted the EU to reconsider its aims of dec-
arbonization and energy transformation since energy issues
are inextricably related to the climate agenda [26, 28]. The
evidence for relating the energy and climate agendas is based
on several studies and extensive research by Intergovern-
mental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climatologists.
The IPCC cautioned that if CO2 emission risk does not peak
in 2025 and significantly decreases in the next decade,
attaining a temperature rise of 1.5°C (compared to preindus-
trial levels) will be put at risk by the end of the millennium.
If no mitigation measures are adopted, the effects of global
warming will be exacerbated, some of which will be perma-
nent [21, 22, 26, 29].

The global average surface temperature has risen by
around 1.1°C during the preindustrial period of 1850-1900,
increasing the frequency and intensity of climate change
worldwide [1]. To prevent global temperature rise, the sup-
ply of electricity from clean energy sources must double in
the next eight years; otherwise, there is a risk that climate
change, more extreme weather, and water stress may weaken
our energy security and even jeopardize renewable energy
supply [30].

Rapid global awareness of the effect of climate change
has compelled nations to implement a variety of CO2 reduc-
tion policies and set goals to reduce emissions both locally
and globally while optimizing power generation sources
[31–35]. To address the challenges of energy security and
climate change, the world must transition away from fossil
fuels, which requires global CO2 emissions to peak by 2025
and reach net zero by 2050. If the world is to thrive in the
twenty-first century, switching to nuclear and renewable
energy sources like solar, wind, and hydropower is essential.
With the accelerated rate of climate change and the aim to
achieve net zero by 2050, the electricity supply from low-
emission sources must be doubled within the next eight
years [30].

Unfortunately, the present rate of CO2 emissions is still
incompatible with the Paris Agreement’s aims [36]. The
empirical studies on 39 European countries from 1980 to
2019 demonstrate that increasing the share of renewable,
nuclear, and other nonhydrocarbon energy and promoting
energy efficiency could significantly reduce GHG emissions
[1]. Furthermore, a study on energy structure and energy
security under climate mitigation scenarios in China indi-
cates that the country needs to switch its energy mix from
being dominated by fossil fuels to renewable and nuclear
sources to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These structural

2 International Journal of Energy Research



changes will increase energy security by increasing energy
self-sufficiency. Ultimately, developing low-carbon energy
infrastructure improves energy security, enhances the econ-
omy, and inadvertently mitigates climate change [37]. The
growing concerns about the accelerated rate of climate
change and constrained global power supplies have made
some policymakers consider nuclear energy, an industry that
has struggled for years to attract investment due to concerns
about radioactive waste, safety, and the high cost of instal-
ling a reactor [38]. To reach carbon neutrality and limit
global warming to 1.5°C while addressing energy security
risks and sustainability concerns, power sector investment
must be increased and directed towards cleaner, more sus-
tainable technologies that promote climate change mitiga-
tion and adaptation, especially nuclear energy [39, 40].

Decarbonization of electricity generation has garnered
much attention, with nuclear considered an important option
to provide a steady electricity supply while curbing greenhouse
gas emissions and mitigating climate change [41–43].

Nuclear power is one of the energy sources and technol-
ogies currently available to assist in meeting this desire for
expansion in a climate-friendly manner. Nuclear power pro-
duces only a few grammes of GHGs over its life cycle: a
median value of 14.9 g CO2-eq/kWh was obtained based
on more than 200 unique estimates (for light water reactors)
reported in the literature. The majority of nuclear-related
GHG emissions come from the building phase’s cement pro-
duction, material production, and component manufacture,
although emissions are also influenced by the carbon inten-
sity of electricity supply and enrichment technologies in the
uranium enrichment phase [44, 45].

The International Energy Agency predicted that by 2050,
nuclear power will account for 15% of all annual greenhouse
gas reductions. It estimates nuclear power’s CO2 emission
coefficient across its life cycle to be 12 tCO2/GWh, a 40-
fold reduction from liquefied natural gas’s emission coeffi-
cient of 490 tCO2/GWh, and a 68-fold reduction from coal’s
emission coefficient of 820 tCO2/GWh [46]. The Interna-
tional Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) highlights nuclear
power’s importance in promoting sustainable development
and reducing CO2 emissions in underdeveloped countries
[47]. IAEA expands on nuclear power’s contribution to
CO2 reduction by demonstrating that from 1970 to 2013,
hydropower prevented 87GtCO2, nuclear power avoided
66GtCO2, and other renewables avoided 10GtCO2 [44, 48].

The World Nuclear Association has asserted that despite
the ill fame of the Chernobyl and Fukushima disaster,
nuclear power has generated reliable, economical, and
carbon-free electricity in the last 60 years [49]. Kim et al.’s
research on public risks and environmental hazards of
nuclear reactors in Korea concluded that nuclear power
plants play a significant role in maintaining a healthy envi-
ronment, improving air quality, and mitigating climate
change aside from their capacity to serve as the baseload
for electricity generation [50]. Based on historical data from
Sweden and France, it is asserted that replacing fossil fuel
electricity with nuclear within four decades is technically
viable to achieve the high greenhouse gas reduction targets.
At the United Nations Climate Change Conference

(COP27) in 2022, nuclear energy was acknowledged to sub-
stantially impact climate mitigation by keeping global warm-
ing to 1.5°C and reducing temperatures below 2°C [39, 40].
As part of a bigger goal to decarbonize the economy, the
United States (US) has already set aside billions of dollars
to keep current nuclear power facilities operational and
plans to promote new initiatives. Although Russia’s invasion
of Ukraine’s nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia has height-
ened concerns about nuclear safety, according to Rafael
Grossi, President of the IAEA, security concerns in Ukraine
should not deter countries from constructing nuclear power
plants [38].

According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP),
unless immediate and systemic transformation occurs, there
are presently no reliable ways to limit global temperature to
about 1.5°C and slow global warming, hence a call for seri-
ous inclusion of nuclear energy in electricity generation
globally. Numerous studies have indicated that global
nuclear energy development exhibited nonlinear fluctuating
growth, especially after Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power
plant accident. However, in recent years, as the international
situation has changed towards clean, sustainable energy and
the call to curb climate change impact, nuclear power may
once again become a new energy generation technology
heavily encouraged by governments. For instance, in line
with the global concern towards energy security and ways
to curb greenhouse gas emissions, in February 2022, the
European Parliament enacted a new green energy invest-
ment programme that includes nuclear power in the green
power category, designating qualified nuclear power invest-
ments as “green investments” [51]. Also, the US has rejoined
the Paris Agreement, bolstering international alliances that
are critical to addressing the climate catastrophe on a global
scale. The US has set an ambitious domestic goal of reducing
greenhouse gas emissions by 50 to 52% from 2005 levels by
2030, pushing governments worldwide to make their firm
commitments with nuclear power as one of the primary
energy sources to explore [52]. This suggests that the global
development of nuclear power will enter a new period of
growth.

In the past decade, Ghana has made significant progress
in increasing the electricity generation access rate to 84%
[53]. However, its environmental performance still needs
to be determined. The electricity expansion policy and
energy security concerns have shifted from hydro to ther-
mal. In 2021, thermal power accounted for about 65.3% of
the country’s energy generation, while hydropower contrib-
uted 34.1% and other renewable energy made up the per-
centage [53]. In the quest to reform the country’s energy
sector to meet its power demand while reducing carbon
dioxide emissions, Ghana has taken the initiative to develop
its first nuclear power programme to be included in the gen-
eration of electricity and to serve a clean baseload energy
source to support the nation’s industrialization strategy
[53–56]. According to the [39, 40] report, Ghana has identi-
fied nuclear power as critical to the country’s energy trans-
formation plan. It has included it in its electricity
generation mix as well as the 2020 National Determined
Contribution (NDC) to the UN framework on climate

3International Journal of Energy Research



change [39, 40]. Although insightful and qualitative, the ear-
lier review studies had certain drawbacks. Most review stud-
ies have had narrow perspectives, focusing only on country-
specific. Furthermore, the review publications have concen-
trated on countries with nuclear energy, leaving out
nuclear-developing countries. Several studies on nuclear
activities have been conducted over the last six decades. In
the previous six decades, several research has been done on
nuclear activities in Ghana [57]; however, since this is Gha-
na’s first nuclear energy power programme, only a few stud-
ies on emissions from energy generation and its impact on
climate change have been conducted [58].

In an attempt to address the limitations of the previous
review studies, this study provides a comprehensive system-
atic review and bibliometric analysis from the Scopus data-
base and a few from Google Scholar to explore the
opportunity offered by nuclear energy technology on energy
security and GHG emission reduction for emerging coun-
tries on the field of the research work [59, 60].

This study intends to map knowledge on nuclear energy
to guide developing countries in energy analysis, planning,
management, and policy development towards energy secu-
rity and decarbonization. The research reduces the knowl-
edge gap between potential emerging nuclear energy
countries and countries with nuclear energy. The study adds
value to the literature on nuclear energy generation and
greenhouse gas emission reduction renaissance by under-
standing the trends and patterns, identifying main research
interests, and links amongst countries, authors, and
researchers. To gain a broad understanding of the scope of
the work done on nuclear energy for mitigating climate
change, the study intends to map the current knowledge
on the contribution of nuclear energy in repower greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions from a comprehensive database.

The following objectives guide this research: (1) to iden-
tify existing literature on the contribution of nuclear energy
in the decarbonization of emissions from the electricity gen-
eration sector, (2) to synthesize research knowledge on the
contribution of nuclear energy development in the decarbo-
nization of the electricity sector to guide future studies, (3) to
evaluate the contribution of researchers to the study, and (4)
to identify current research collaborations on the subject
among countries the topic under study.

2. Materials and Methods

Considering existing literature and identifying the gap in
knowledge that empirical study addresses, various methods
such as scoping review, rapid review, narrative review,
meta-analysis and mixed studies could be used for the liter-
ature review [61]. In this research, a systematic scoping liter-
ature review and bibliometric analysis were undertaken by
choosing articles indexed by the Scopus database and Google
Scholar because of the advantages it offers over the other
review methods [62, 63]. Considering a large number of arti-
cles, the advanced Boolean search defined the field of inter-
est. This enabled tracking how the research has evolved
and altered over the years [64]. The systematic scoping liter-
ature review was used to evaluate the potential contribution

of nuclear energy in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emis-
sions because it can reduce bias in the selection of literature
for the review and allow transparency in the approach. The
search strategy improves the review’s replicability. It is fre-
quently more helpful than the results of a single study as
its opportunity allows researchers to know what is already
known and what is still unknown about a subject [65]. The
approach varies and is typically particular to the type of
study, including investigations of effectiveness, qualitative
research, economic evaluation, and the prevalence of an
activity. The procedure is thorough enough to ensure consis-
tency in research findings and is generalizable across con-
texts and groups [66].

Unlike the systematic scoping review, rapid reviews are
less comprehensive and more prone to bias than systematic
and scoping reviews [63]. Also, the advantage of systematic
reviews over narrative reviews is that they are based on the
results of comprehensive and systematic literature searches
in all available resources, with minimal selection bias and
no subjective selection bias. In contrast, if written by experts
in a specific research area, narrative reviews can provide
experts with intuitive, experiential, and explicit perspectives
on particular topics [67]. Also, while with systematic review
data extraction and synthesis guidelines are based on
PRISMA, in narrative review, the overall description of each
study focuses mainly on studies that the authors select [68].

Furthermore, the advantage of systematic reviews over
narrative reviews is that they are based on the results of com-
prehensive and systematic literature searches in all available
resources, with minimal selection bias and no subjective
selection bias. In contrast, if written by experts in a specific
research area, narrative reviews can provide experts with
intuitive, experiential, and explicit perspectives on particular
topics [67]. Also, while with systematic review data extrac-
tion and synthesis guidelines are based on PRISMA, in
narrative review, the overall description of each study
focuses mainly on studies that the authors select [68].

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and
Meta-Analysis Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR)
was utilized to accomplish study objectives 1 and 2. PRISMA-
ScR is a method for synthesizing information that uses a step-
by-step process to identify ideas, resources, and knowledge
gaps while providing evidence on a research issue [62, 63,
69]. A random sample of review articles published from
1962 to 2022 was used for the analysis; however, conference
proceedings were not included. The search was limited to
peer-reviewed journal papers written in English. The articles
considered had quality content with a nexus among energy,
GHG emissions, nuclear power, and climate change.

2.1. Identifying Electronic Databases and Eligibility Criteria.
Although the database of these publishers has a strict docu-
ment indexing process, bibliometric information is easy to
retrieve and analyze. Moreover, these databases possess
quality, resilience, and a sizable amount of data that can also
be found in other databases [70, 71]. For further processing
in Microsoft Office Excel, the search results were exported as
comma-separated values (.csv) files for analysis. Table 1 pro-
vides a summary of the inclusion and exclusion criteria.

4 International Journal of Energy Research



2.2. Article Screening and Selection. For the preliminary
search, the article title, abstract, and keywords in the field
of study were used within the advanced search tool of the
Scopus database website (http://www.scopus.com/). An
exhaustive list of iterative constructed key phrases and
words such as electricity, energy, greenhouse gas, emissions,
nuclear energy, mitigation, and reduce was coupled employ-
ing Boolean logic. The Scopus database was searched using
simple and advanced Boolean logic concepts. It was then fil-
tered to obtain as many articles as possible relevant to the
research objectives [72]. The search result was filtered
according to publication year, subject area, document type,
and source type and restricted to English language peer-
reviewed journals and articles.

The strings and keywords used for the simple Boolean
query and advanced Boolean query search in the Scopus data-
base initially unveiled 1486 articles. The percentage of articles
in each category of the search subject area summarized in
Figure 1 provides further information on the interest and vol-
ume of research contributions to electricity generation sources
and their GHG emission. The extracted data were classified
into subtitle categories using the document title and abstract
to help understand the study trend. The categorization reveals
that most publications were in energy, engineering, and envi-
ronment, with a combined percentage of 73.5%. After limiting
the search to energy, engineering, environmental science, and
journals in English only, the remaining articles were 741.

2.3. Bibliometric Analysis. For objectives 3 and 4, a biblio-
metric analysis was utilized to analyze knowledge domains,
collaborations, and prospective future research trends. Some
tools used for bibliometric analysis include CiteSpace, Sci2,
RStudio, BibExcel, and Netdraw. However, the VOSviewer
software tool, which is used to assess and illustrate the con-
tributions of scientists to research, was employed to conduct
the bibliometric mapping or network analysis [69, 73]. Com-
pared to other bibliometric analyses, the VOSviewer gives
special consideration to the graphical portrayal of bibliomet-

ric maps, compared to most computer programmes used for
bibliometric mapping [74]. The software makes it possible to
create, view, and evaluate bibliometric networks for research
writers, journals, organizations, and individual publications
and generate network diagrams of related keywords gleaned
from research paper abstracts and main text. These networks
can be viewed using VOSviewer at rates and scales achiev-
able only with manual techniques or antiquated software
tools. These mappings are built through citation, biblio-
graphic coupling, cocitation, or coauthorship relationships
of journals, researchers, and articles [75]. For the study, the
scoping review framework initially developed by Arksey
and O’Malley was adopted [76].

3. Results and Discussions

The study’s results are presented in this section, and conclu-
sions are drawn to enhance knowledge of the topic using
scoping and bibliometric techniques. Also, a systematic
review was undertaken to analyze various research findings
based on the scoping review data of the study area.

3.1. Scoping Review. The titles and abstracts of the retrieved
articles were reviewed, and the area of research was limited
to energy, engineering, and environment to ascertain their
eligibility before reviewing the published articles’ complete
content. The search articles were then reduced to 741. The
full text of every article that might have qualified was later
reviewed, as shown in Figure 2, to determine whether they
should be included. In sorting out the required pieces from
the bibliometric data, 386 papers were initially excluded.
Although the articles were on energy applications and
related emissions, they were unrelated to electricity genera-
tion. In all, seventy-five articles met the requirement listed
in the full-text screening criterion. However, only 19 publi-
cations out of the 75 qualified articles were assessed since
they had full-text screening.

3.1.1. Data Charting. The following stage of the study
involved “charting” relevant data that matched the eligibility
criteria [76]. The charting format includes author(s), the
article’s title, publication year, first author’s nation, study
objective(s), methodology, and results/findings. Using
Microsoft Excel, the data was charted and extrapolated into
a data charting format to form the basis for the analysis.
The articles studied are summarized in Table 2.

3.2. Systematic Literature Review. The fast industrialization
and economic expansion of most nations are contributing to
increased environmental issues. Economic growth necessitates
a greater need for energy primarily from fossil fuels, which
impacts greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions [80]—a recent
study claimed that emissions depend on the kind of energy
sources used and concluded that using renewable energy
reduced emissions while using nonrenewable energy for elec-
tricity generation increased emissions. Although past studies
on the effects of low-carbon energy on environmental quality
have been conflicting, the use of fossil fuel production of elec-
tricity has been proven to have a detrimental effect on the
environment [78, 94, 95]. With the tremendous increase in

Table 1: Document qualification criteria.

Participation necessities

Articles published in English

Selected period 1962 to 2022

The research focused on electricity, nuclear energy, greenhouse
gas emissions, and mitigation

Types of documents are articles, conference papers, reviews, and
book chapters

Studies focused on the contribution of nuclear energy in reducing
GHG emissions from electricity generation

Exemption criteria

Studies that do not relate to nuclear energy development and
GHG emissions

Articles without access to the full text
Articles without clear linkage to electricity, greenhouse emissions,
and nuclear energy
Duplicate entry
Articles with missing bibliometric data

5International Journal of Energy Research

https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/climate-change-puts-energy-security-risk


global warming and climate change, economies are shifting to
ecofriendly energy alternatives and technologies, which help
to mitigate environmental pollution [80].

When evaluating carbon emissions and environmental
harm, both the energy generation mix and the carbon inten-
sity of electricity production must be considered [96, 97].
The decision on the choice of energy supply source vis-a-vis
their greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonization mitiga-
tion impact is crucial for energy planning. Table 2 summarizes
the aims and conclusions of the published journals examined
in the study. It also depicts some of the models employed in
energy planning and informs of scenarios developed in evalu-
ating the impact of nuclear energy as a mitigation source of
greenhouse gas emission reduction. Although the researchers

used different methods and models in their studies, each
research had distinct parameters of interest to analyze, span-
ning the various energy sources such as fossil fuel, renewables,
and nuclear, their greenhouse gas emission level, and their
mitigation impact on climate. Various countries and
researchers have used models such as LEAP, MESSAGE,
MARKAL, EnergyPLAN, MAED, LCA, MoMANI-OSe-
MOSYS, SIMPACTS, and WASP for energy planning to meet
demand while considering greenhouse gas reduction.

3.2.1. Energy Generation and Their GHG Emissions. The
energy industry has been one of the primary sources of
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mainly due to overreliance
on fossil fuels [5, 89, 98]. The energy industry causes three-

Other (7.7%)

Business, manag... (2.3%)

Physics and ast... (2.4%)

Social sciences... (2.6%)

Chemical engine... (2.7%)

Mathematics (2.8%)

Materials scien... (3.0%)

Earth and plane... (3.0%)

Environmental s... (20.5%)

Engineering (21.7%)

Energy (31.3%)

Figure 1: Pie chart on categories of research subject area.

Records identified through
scopus database searching.

(n = 741)

355 Titles and abstracts
screened.

386 Articles excluded:
Not focused on emissions from
electricity generation

(i)

(ii)

312 Full texts excluded with reasons:

(i)
(ii)

Full text not available online

Emissions mitigation does not
include nuclear energy.

Full text articles assessed for
eligibility.

(75)

Studies included in final
qualitative analysis.

(n = 19)

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6 International Journal of Energy Research



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oa
l-
R
el
ia
nt

to
Lo

w
-

E
m
is
si
on

P
ow

er
G
ri
d
an
d
D
is
tr
ic
t

H
ea
ti
ng

Sy
st
em

s
in

P
ol
an
d

P
ol
an
d

D
ev
el
op

op
ti
m
iz
at
io
n
pa
th
s
of

th
e

en
er
gy

se
ct
or

to
cu
rb

th
e

en
vi
ro
nm

en
ta
l
im

pa
ct

of
co
al
-fi
re
d

po
w
er

pl
an
ts
in

P
ol
an
d
to

ac
co
m
pl
is
h
lo
ng
-t
er
m

st
ra
te
gi
c
go
al
s

w
hi
le
re
du

ci
ng

th
e
de
tr
im

en
ta
l
eff
ec
t

on
th
e
co
ns
um

er
s’
ho

us
eh
ol
d
bu

dg
et
.

T
he

m
ar
ke
t
al
lo
ca
ti
on

(M
A
R
K
A
L)

m
od

el
lin

g
fr
am

ew
or
k
w
as

us
ed

to
bu

ild
an
d
im

pl
em

en
t
en
er
gy

sy
st
em

s
fo
r
pr
od

uc
in
g
el
ec
tr
ic
it
y
an
d
he
at

ge
ne
ra
ti
on

ne
tw
or
k
st
ru
ct
ur
es
.

T
w
o
sc
en
ar
io
s
w
er
e
pr
es
en
te
d:

bu
si
ne
ss

as
us
ua
l(
B
A
U
)
an
d

w
it
hd

ra
w
al
fr
om

co
al
(W

FC
).

T
he

m
od

el
lin

g
in
di
ca
te
d
th
e
vi
ta
lr
ol
e

of
off

sh
or
e
w
in
d
po

w
er

an
d
nu

cl
ea
r

en
er
gy

in
re
du

ci
ng

th
e
im

pa
ct

of
G
H
G

em
is
si
on

s
fr
om

el
ec
tr
ic
it
y

ge
ne
ra
ti
on

in
P
ol
an
d.

T
he

B
A
U

sc
en
ar
io

m
od

el
lin

g
re
co
m
m
en
ds

ke
ep
in
g
th
e
co
al
te
ch
no

lo
gi
es

w
hi
le

ad
op

ti
ng

ca
rb
on

ca
pt
ur
e
an
d
st
or
ag
e

sy
st
em

s.
T
he

W
FC

sc
en
ar
io

re
co
m
m
en
de
d
th
e
re
pl
ac
em

en
t
of

co
al
pl
an
ts
w
it
h
ga
s-
fi
re
d
po

w
er

pl
an
ts
to

m
in
im

iz
e
C
O
2
em

is
si
on

s.

1

2
H
or
ob
et

et
al
.[
78
]

T
he

ro
le
of

di
st
in
ct

el
ec
tr
ic
it
y

so
ur
ce
s
on

po
llu

ti
on

ab
at
em

en
t:

E
vi
de
nc
e
fr
om

a
co
m
pr
eh
en
si
ve

gl
ob
al
pa
ne
l

R
om

an
ia

A
na
ly
ze

th
e
im

pa
ct

of
nu

cl
ea
r,

re
ne
w
ab
le
(h
yd
ro
,w

in
d,

so
la
r,
an
d

bi
of
ue
l)
,a
nd

fo
ss
il
(o
il,
co
al
,a
nd

ga
s)

en
er
gy

so
ur
ce
s
on

po
llu

ti
on

us
in
g
th
e

gl
ob
al
av
er
ag
e
of

gr
ee
nh

ou
se

ga
se
s

(G
H
G
s)

fr
om

el
ec
tr
ic
it
y
ge
ne
ra
ti
on

in
16
3
na
ti
on

s.

T
w
o
m
et
ho

ds
w
er
e
us
ed
:t
he

em
pi
ri
ca
li
nv
es
ti
ga
ti
on

m
et
ho

d
an
d

th
e
ge
ne
ra
liz
ed

m
et
ho

d
of

m
om

en
ts

(G
M
M
).
A
cr
os
s
a
gl
ob
al
pa
ne
lo

f1
63

na
ti
on

s,
an

em
pi
ri
ca
ls
tu
dy

ex
am

in
ed

al
te
rn
at
iv
e
en
er
gy

so
ur
ce
s’
im

pa
ct
on

gr
ee
nh

ou
se

ga
s
em

is
si
on

s
fr
om

20
00

to
20
20
.T

he
G
M
M

m
od

el
w
as

us
ed

to
ev
al
ua
te

th
e
eff
ec
ts
of

va
ri
ou

s
en
er
gy

so
ur
ce
s
of

ca
rb
on

em
is
si
on

in
te
ns
it
y
fr
om

el
ec
tr
ic
it
y
pr
od

uc
ti
on

.

T
he

G
M
M

es
ti
m
at
or
s
su
bs
ta
nt
ia
te

th
at
fo
ss
il
fu
el
s
ar
e
si
gn
ifi
ca
nt

so
ur
ce
s

of
po

llu
ti
on

an
d
a
fa
ct
or

in
ca
rb
on

in
te
ns
it
y.

Fu
rt
he
rm

or
e,
th
e
us
e
of

nu
cl
ea
r
an
d

re
ne
w
ab
le
en
er
gy

re
du

ce
s
po

llu
ti
on

on
a
gl
ob
al
sc
al
e.
W
in
d
en
er
gy

so
ur
ce
s
em

er
ge
d
as

th
e
m
os
t
effi

ci
en
t

am
on

g
al
le
ne
rg
y
so
ur
ce
s
fo
r

po
llu

ti
on

an
d
cl
im

at
e
ch
an
ge

m
it
ig
at
io
n.

Fu
rt
he
rm

or
e,
th
e
st
ud

y
in
di
ca
te
d
th
at

bi
of
ue
ls
in
cr
ea
se

ca
rb
on

in
te
ns
it
y
(C
I)
;h

ow
ev
er
,

gl
ob
al
ca
rb
on

tr
ad
e
re
du

ce
s
th
e
C
I
of

el
ec
tr
ic
it
y
pr
od

uc
ti
on

.T
he

fi
nd

in
gs

co
nc
lu
de
d
th
at

th
e
en
er
gy

fo
rm

in
g

th
e
en
er
gy

m
ix

is
cr
uc
ia
l
w
he
n

re
du

ci
ng

G
H
G

ca
rb
on

in
te
ns
it
y.

0

7International Journal of Energy Research



T
a
bl
e
2:
C
on

ti
nu

ed
.

S/ N
A
ut
ho

r(
s)

T
it
le

C
ou

nt
ry

of
th
e

fi
rs
t

au
th
or

O
bj
ec
ti
ve
s

M
et
ho

ds
K
ey

fi
nd

in
gs

C
it
e

3
N
ai
m
oğ
lu

[7
9]

T
he

im
pa
ct
of

nu
cl
ea
r
en
er
gy

us
e,

en
er
gy

pr
ic
es

an
d
en
er
gy

im
po

rt
s

on
C
O
2
em

is
si
on

s:
E
vi
de
nc
e
fr
om

en
er
gy

im
po

rt
er

em
er
gi
ng

ec
on

om
ie
s
w
hi
ch

us
e
nu

cl
ea
r

en
er
gy

T
ur
ke
y

T
he

st
ud

y’
s
ob
je
ct
iv
e
w
as

to
de
te
rm

in
e
ho

w
nu

cl
ea
r
en
er
gy
,

en
er
gy

im
po

rt
s,
an
d
en
er
gy

pr
ic
in
g

aff
ec
te
d
C
O
2
em

is
si
on

s
in

10
de
ve
lo
pi
ng

co
un

tr
ie
s
w
it
h
nu

cl
ea
r

en
er
gy
.A

ls
o,

th
e
st
ud

y
us
es

G
D
P
to

ev
al
ua
te

th
e
lia
bi
lit
y
of

th
e

en
vi
ro
nm

en
ta
l
K
uz
ne
ts
cu
rv
e
(E
K
C
)

hy
po

th
es
is
us
in
g
G
D
P
.

T
he

au
to
re
gr
es
si
ve

di
st
ri
bu

te
d
la
g

(A
R
D
L)

ap
pr
oa
ch

w
as

em
pl
oy
ed

fo
r

th
e
an
al
ys
is
,b
as
ed

on
a
pa
ne
ld

at
as
et

fo
r
te
n
ri
si
ng

ec
on

om
ie
s
fr
om

19
90

to
20
19
.T

he
ap
pr
op

ri
at
e

in
te
rm

ed
ia
te

es
ti
m
at
or
s
P
M
G
,M

G
,

an
d
D
FE

w
er
e
ap
pl
ie
d
to

ac
hi
ev
e
th
e

ob
je
ct
iv
es
.T

he
ro
bu

st
ne
ss

of
th
e

A
R
D
L
re
su
lts

w
as

ev
al
ua
te
d
us
in
g

th
e
D
O
LS

an
d
FM

O
LS

es
ti
m
at
or
s.

T
he

st
ud

y
sh
ow

ed
th
at

th
e
E
K
C

hy
po

th
es
is
is
va
lid

fo
r
th
es
e

co
un

tr
ie
s.
A
ls
o,

fr
om

th
e
re
su
lt
s,

en
er
gy

pr
ic
es

an
d
nu

cl
ea
r
en
er
gy

ge
ne
ra
ti
on

m
in
im

iz
e
C
O
2
em

is
si
on

s,
w
hi
le
em

is
si
on

s
in
cr
ea
se

w
it
h
ri
si
ng

en
er
gy

im
po

rt
s.

W
he
n
ex
pr
es
se
d
as

a
co
effi

ci
en
t,
a
1%

in
cr
ea
se

in
en
er
gy

co
st
s
an
d
th
e

us
ag
e
of

nu
cl
ea
r
po

w
er

re
su
lt
s
in

C
O
2
em

is
si
on

re
du

ct
io
ns

of
0.
02
%

an
d
0.
04
%
,r
es
pe
ct
iv
el
y.
H
ow

ev
er
,a

1%
in
cr
ea
se

in
en
er
gy

im
po

rt
s
ca
us
es

a
0.
09
%

in
cr
ea
se

in
C
O
2
em

is
si
on

s.

1

4
U
sm

an
et

al
.[
80
]

D
o
N
uc
le
ar

E
ne
rg
y,
R
en
ew

ab
le

E
ne
rg
y,
an
d
E
nv
ir
on

m
en
ta
l-

R
el
at
ed

T
ec
hn

ol
og
ie
s

A
sy
m
m
et
ri
ca
lly

R
ed
uc
e

E
co
lo
gi
ca
lF

oo
tp
ri
nt
?
E
vi
de
nc
e

fr
om

P
ak
is
ta
n

C
hi
na

T
he

st
ud

y’
s
ob
je
ct
iv
e
w
as

to
ex
am

in
e

th
e
no

nl
in
ea
r
re
la
ti
on

sh
ip

be
tw
ee
n

P
ak
is
ta
n’
s
en
vi
ro
nm

en
ta
l

te
ch
no

lo
gi
es

(E
R
T
),
re
ne
w
ab
le
an
d

nu
cl
ea
r
en
er
gi
es
,a
nd

en
vi
ro
nm

en
ta
l

po
llu

ti
on

fr
om

19
90

to
20
20
,

co
ns
id
er
in
g
th
e
ri
se

in
gl
ob
al

w
ar
m
in
g
an
d
cl
im

at
e
ch
an
ge
.T

o
m
ee
t
th
is
ob
je
ct
iv
e,
th
e
cu
rr
en
t
st
ud

y
cl
os
el
y
ex
am

in
es

th
e
as
ym

m
et
ri
c

im
pa
ct
s
of

nu
cl
ea
r
en
er
gy
,r
en
ew

ab
le

en
er
gy
,a
nd

E
R
T
on

P
ak
is
ta
n’
s

ec
ol
og
ic
al
fo
ot
pr
in
t.

T
he

no
nl
in
ea
r
au
to
re
gr
es
si
ve

di
st
ri
bu

ti
ve

la
g
(N

A
R
D
L)

ap
pr
oa
ch

w
as

us
ed

in
th
e
cu
rr
en
t
st
ud

y
to

as
se
ss

th
e
as
ym

m
et
ri
c
im

pa
ct
s
of

nu
cl
ea
r
en
er
gy
,E

R
T
,a
nd

re
ne
w
ab
le

en
er
gy

on
P
ak
is
ta
n’
s
en
vi
ro
nm

en
t

fr
om

19
91

to
20
20
.T

o
ve
ri
fy

th
e

in
te
gr
at
ed

(u
ni
t
ro
ot
)
or
de
r
of

th
e

va
ri
ou

s
te
ch
no

lo
gi
es
,t
he

au
gm

en
te
d

D
ic
ke
y-
Fu

lle
r
(A

D
F)

an
d
P
hi
lli
ps

an
d
P
er
ro
n
(P
P
)
m
od

el
’s
un

it
ro
ot

te
st
s
w
er
e
do

ne
.

T
he

N
A
R
D
L
re
su
lts

de
m
on

st
ra
te
d

th
at

lo
w
ad
op

ti
on

of
nu

cl
ea
r
po

w
er
,

re
ne
w
ab
le
en
er
gy
,a
nd

en
vi
ro
nm

en
ta
l
te
ch
no

lo
gy

ha
s
a

m
or
e
si
gn
ifi
ca
nt

lo
ng
-t
er
m

an
d

sh
or
t-
te
rm

im
pa
ct

on
ec
ol
og
ic
al

fo
ot
pr
in
ts
th
an

po
si
ti
ve

im
pa
ct
s.

E
xc
ep
t
fo
r
re
ne
w
ab
le
en
er
gy
,w

hi
ch

de
m
on

st
ra
te
d
a
ne
gl
ig
ib
le
sh
or
t-
te
rm

as
ym

m
et
ri
c
co
nn

ec
ti
on

w
it
h
an

ec
ol
og
ic
al
fo
ot
pr
in
t,
th
e
W
al
d
te
st

re
ve
al
ed

th
at

al
le
ne
rg
y
so
ur
ce
s

sh
ow

ed
as
ym

m
et
ri
c
lin

ks
to

th
e

ec
ol
og
ic
al
fo
ot
pr
in
t
in

bo
th

th
e
lo
ng

an
d
sh
or
t
ru
ns
.

T
o
ke
ep

up
w
it
h
th
e
on

go
in
g

in
du

st
ri
al
iz
at
io
n
tr
en
d,

P
ak
is
ta
n

sh
ou

ld
de
ve
lo
p
al
te
rn
at
e
an
d
cl
ea
n

en
er
gy

so
ur
ce
s.

20

8 International Journal of Energy Research



T
a
bl
e
2:
C
on

ti
nu

ed
.

S/ N
A
ut
ho

r(
s)

T
it
le

C
ou

nt
ry

of
th
e

fi
rs
t

au
th
or

O
bj
ec
ti
ve
s

M
et
ho

ds
K
ey

fi
nd

in
gs

C
it
e

5
N
ya
sa
po

h
et

al
.[
56
,

58
]

E
st
im

at
io
n
of

C
O
2
E
m
is
si
on

s
of

Fo
ss
il-
Fu

el
ed

P
ow

er
P
la
nt
s
in

G
ha
na
:M

es
sa
ge

A
na
ly
ti
ca
l

M
od

el

G
ha
na

D
ue

to
G
ha
na
’s
ex
ce
ss
iv
e

de
pe
nd

en
ce

on
fo
ss
il
fu
el
s,
it
s

as
pi
ra
ti
on

s
to

be
co
m
e
a
m
id
dl
e-

in
co
m
e
co
un

tr
y
ha
ve

es
ca
la
te
d
th
e

en
er
gy

de
m
an
d,

w
hi
ch

in
ev
it
ab
ly

le
ad
s
to

in
cr
ea
se
d
G
H
G

em
is
si
on

s.
T
he

co
un

tr
y
in
te
nd

s
to

de
ve
lo
p
an
d

im
pl
em

en
t
a
lo
ng
-t
er
m
,l
ow

-c
ar
bo
n,

su
st
ai
na
bl
e
en
er
gy

su
pp

ly
st
ra
te
gy

to
m
ee
t
th
e
el
ec
tr
ic
it
y
de
m
an
d.

T
he

M
od

el
fo
r
E
ne
rg
y
Su
pp

ly
St
ra
te
gy

an
d
th
ei
r
G
en
er
al

E
nv
ir
on

m
en
ta
lE

ff
ec
t
(M

E
SS
A
G
E
)

an
al
yt
ic
al
to
ol

w
as

us
ed

in
th
is
st
ud

y
to

co
nd

uc
t
a
qu

an
ti
ta
ti
ve

m
od

el
lin

g
an
d
si
m
ul
at
io
n
of

th
e
po

w
er

ge
ne
ra
ti
on

sy
st
em

an
d
th
e

en
vi
ro
nm

en
ta
li
m
pa
ct
s
of

va
ri
ou

s
fu
el
op

ti
on

s.

In
cl
ud

in
g
lo
w
-c
ar
bo
n
em

is
si
on

en
er
gy

co
nv
er
si
on

te
ch
no

lo
gi
es
,s
uc
h

as
nu

cl
ea
r
an
d
re
ne
w
ab
le
en
er
gy
,i
nt
o

th
e
en
er
gy

m
ix

ha
s
pr
ov
en

to
be

th
e

ke
y
to

re
du

ci
ng

ca
rb
on

di
ox
id
e

(C
O
2)

em
is
si
on

s
in

G
ha
na
’s
en
er
gy

se
ct
or
.

1

6
E
st
an
is
la
u

et
al
.[
81
]

In
te
gr
at
ed

an
al
ys
is
of

th
e

B
ra
zi
lia
n
nu

cl
ea
r
en
er
gy

sy
st
em

B
ra
zi
l

T
he

go
al
of

th
e
B
ra
zi
l
N
at
io
na
l

E
ne
rg
y
P
la
nn

in
g
w
as

to
cr
ea
te

m
ed
iu
m
-
to

lo
ng
-t
er
m

pl
an
s
ba
se
d

on
a
th
or
ou

gh
an
al
ys
is
of

al
la
va
ila
bl
e

en
er
gy

so
ur
ce
s,
re
st
ri
ct
in
g

al
te
rn
at
iv
es
,a
nd

id
en
ti
fy
in
g
tr
en
ds

th
at

w
ou

ld
he
lp

th
e
en
er
gy

se
ct
or

gr
ow

w
hi
le
re
du

ci
ng

gr
ee
nh

ou
se

ga
s

em
is
si
on

s.

T
he

in
te
gr
at
io
n
of

a
nu

cl
ea
r
en
er
gy

pr
og
ra
m
m
e
as

a
co
m
pl
em

en
ta
ry

op
ti
on

in
B
ra
zi
l’s

el
ec
tr
ic
it
y

ge
ne
ra
ti
on

m
ix

fr
om

it
s
in
ce
pt
io
n
in

19
83

un
ti
l2

05
0
w
as

ex
am

in
ed

an
d

ev
al
ua
te
d
us
in
g
th
e
M
E
SS
A
G
E

m
od

el
lin

g
to
ol
.

Fo
llo
w
in
g
th
e
de
co
m
m
is
si
on

in
g
of

A
ng
ra

1
an
d
A
ng
ra

2,
ac
co
rd
in
g
to

th
e
lo
w
an
d
re
fe
re
nc
e
sc
en
ar
io
s,

nu
cl
ea
r
en
er
gy

us
e
w
ill

de
cl
in
e
fr
om

20
19

to
20
50
.T

he
hi
gh

sc
en
ar
io

de
m
on

st
ra
te
s
th
e
po

ss
ib
ili
ty

of
de
ve
lo
pi
ng

ne
w
nu

cl
ea
r
po

w
er

pl
an
ts

in
th
e
co
un

tr
y’
s
en
er
gy

m
ix

w
it
hi
n

th
e
sa
m
e
pe
ri
od

.A
cc
or
di
ng

to
th
e

re
po

rt
,B

ra
zi
lh

as
su
ffi
ci
en
t
en
er
gy

re
se
rv
es

to
su
pp

or
t
th
e
de
ve
lo
pm

en
t

of
nu

cl
ea
r
en
er
gy

as
a
lo
w
-c
ar
bo
n

te
ch
no

lo
gy
,a
ct

as
a
ba
se
lo
ad

so
ur
ce

to
su
pp

le
m
en
t
re
ne
w
ab
le
en
er
gi
es
,

an
d
re
pl
ac
e
fo
ss
il
fu
el
th
er
m
al
pl
an
ts
.

0

7
K
im

et
al
.

[8
2]

M
od

el
lin

g
lo
ng
-t
er
m

el
ec
tr
ic
it
y

ge
ne
ra
ti
on

pl
an
ni
ng

to
re
du

ce
ca
rb
on

di
ox
id
e
em

is
si
on

s
in

N
ig
er
ia

So
ut
h

K
or
ea

W
it
h
th
e
pr
od

uc
ti
on

of
po

w
er

re
ly
in
g
on

fo
ss
il
fu
el
s
to

ro
ug
hl
y
80
%
,

th
e
st
ud

y
is
ai
m
ed

at
su
gg
es
ti
ng

a
di
ff
er
en
t
en
er
gy

so
ur
ce

m
ix

to
sa
ti
sf
y

N
ig
er
ia
’s
fu
tu
re

el
ec
tr
ic
al
de
m
an
d

w
hi
le
lo
w
er
in
g
C
O
2
em

is
si
on

s.

T
he

M
od

el
fo
r
E
ne
rg
y
Su
pp

ly
St
ra
te
gy

A
lte
rn
at
iv
es

an
d
th
ei
r

G
en
er
al
E
nv
ir
on

m
en
ta
l
E
ff
ec
t

(M
E
SS
A
G
E
)
w
as

us
ed

to
op

ti
m
iz
e

fu
tu
re

en
er
gy

su
pp

ly
sy
st
em

s
in

N
ig
er
ia
.T

he
Si
m
pl
e
M
et
ho

d
to

A
ss
es
si
ng

E
le
ct
ri
ci
ty

G
en
er
at
io
n’
s

E
xt
er
na
lC

os
ts
an
d
E
ff
ec
ts

(S
IM

P
A
C
T
S)

co
de

w
as

us
ed

to
as
se
ss

th
e
en
vi
ro
nm

en
ta
le
ff
ec
ts
an
d

as
so
ci
at
ed

co
st
s
of

da
m
ag
e
ca
us
ed

by
th
e
va
ri
ou

s
el
ec
tr
ic
it
y
pr
od

uc
ti
on

sy
st
em

s.

A
s
a
re
su
lt
of

th
e
M
E
SS
A
G
E
,i
t
w
as

de
te
rm

in
ed

th
at

nu
cl
ea
r
po

w
er

pl
an
ts
(N

P
P
s)
an
d
fo
ss
il
fu
el
s
ar
e
th
e

be
st
so
lu
ti
on

s
fo
r
pr
ov
id
in
g

el
ec
tr
ic
it
y
in

N
ig
er
ia

in
th
e
fu
tu
re
.

H
ow

ev
er
,a
cc
or
di
ng

to
th
e

SI
M
P
A
C
T
S
co
de
,N

P
P
is
th
e

te
ch
no

lo
gy

th
at

is
le
as
t
da
m
ag
in
g
to

th
e
en
vi
ro
nm

en
t
an
d
is
m
os
t

ec
ol
og
ic
al
ly

be
ni
gn
.A

s
a
re
su
lt
,t
he

N
P
P
is
a
cr
uc
ia
l
ch
oi
ce

fo
r

op
ti
m
iz
in
g
fu
tu
re

el
ec
tr
ic
al

te
ch
no

lo
gy

to
sa
ti
sf
y
do

m
es
ti
c

de
m
an
d
an
d
lo
w
er

C
O
2
em

is
si
on

s.

3

9International Journal of Energy Research



T
a
bl
e
2:
C
on

ti
nu

ed
.

S/ N
A
ut
ho

r(
s)

T
it
le

C
ou

nt
ry

of
th
e

fi
rs
t

au
th
or

O
bj
ec
ti
ve
s

M
et
ho

ds
K
ey

fi
nd

in
gs

C
it
e

Z
ha
o
et

al
.

[8
3]

E
ne
rg
y
sy
st
em

tr
an
sf
or
m
at
io
ns

an
d
ca
rb
on

em
is
si
on

m
it
ig
at
io
n

fo
r
C
hi
na

to
ac
hi
ev
e
gl
ob
al
2°
C

cl
im

at
e
ta
rg
et

C
hi
na

In
or
de
r
to

co
nt
ri
bu

te
to

cl
im

at
e

ch
an
ge

m
it
ig
at
io
n,

th
e
ob
je
ct
iv
e
w
as

to
ac
ce
le
ra
te
C
hi
na
’s
en
er
gy

st
ru
ct
ur
e

tr
an
si
ti
on

to
a
lo
w
-c
ar
bo
n
on

e
an
d

ke
ep

th
e
pr
ei
nd

us
tr
ia
l
le
ve
lt
o
a

m
ax
im

um
gl
ob
al
m
ea
n
te
m
pe
ra
tu
re

ri
se

of
2°
C
,i
n
fu
lfi
lm

en
t
of

th
e
P
ar
is

A
gr
ee
m
en
t.

In
or
de
r
to

id
en
ti
fy

th
e
en
er
gy

de
m
an
d,

ca
rb
on

em
is
si
on

s,
an
d

te
ch
no

lo
gy

ne
ed
ed

at
th
e
na
ti
on

al
an
d
se
ct
or
al
le
ve
ls
to

st
ay

un
de
r
th
e

2°
C
cl
im

at
e
ta
rg
et
,t
he

pr
oj
ec
t

em
pl
oy
ed

a
bo
tt
om

-u
p
na
ti
on

al
en
er
gy

te
ch
no

lo
gy

m
od

el
C
3I
A
M
/

N
E
T
,a

lin
ea
r
op

ti
m
iz
at
io
n
m
od

el
.

R
es
ul
ts
in
di
ca
te
d
th
at
C
hi
na
’s
ca
rb
on

em
is
si
on

m
us
t
re
ac
h
it
s
hi
gh
es
t
le
ve
l

in
20
23

an
d
de
cl
in
e
to

3.
56

G
tC
O
2
by

th
e
m
id
dl
e
of

th
e
ce
nt
ur
y.
T
he

pr
oj
ec
te
d
lim

it
s
fo
r
th
e
re
m
ai
ni
ng

ca
rb
on

bu
dg
et

ar
e
23
4
G
tC
O
2.

T
hr
ou

gh
ou

t
th
e
pl
an
ni
ng

pe
ri
od

of
20
20
–2
05
0,

th
e
po

w
er

in
du

st
ry

w
as

th
e
la
rg
es
t
co
nt
ri
bu

to
r,
fo
llo
w
ed

by
th
e
in
du

st
ri
al
,t
ra
ns
po

rt
at
io
n
an
d

co
ns
tr
uc
ti
on

se
ct
or
s,
w
it
h
a
to
ta
l

de
cr
ea
se

in
em

is
si
on

s
of

16
5.
3
G
tC
O
2.
T
he

fo
re
ca
st
s
st
at
e
th
at

C
hi
na
’s
pr
im

ar
y
en
er
gy

co
ns
um

pt
io
n

m
us
t
pe
ak

be
fo
re

20
40

an
d
th
at

no
nf
os
si
le
ne
rg
y
so
ur
ce
s
w
ill

co
m
pr
is
e
76
%
of

th
e
co
un

tr
y’
s
en
er
gy

st
ru
ct
ur
e
by

th
e
ye
ar

20
50
,w

it
h

nu
cl
ea
r
an
d
re
ne
w
ab
le
so
ur
ce
s

pr
od

uc
in
g
88
.4
%

of
th
e
na
ti
on

’s
po

w
er
.

29

9
A
bd

el
-

H
am

ee
d

et
al
.[
84
]

O
pt
im

iz
at
io
n
of

el
ec
tr
ic
it
y

ge
ne
ra
ti
on

te
ch
no

lo
gi
es

to
re
du

ce
ca
rb
on

di
ox
id
e
em

is
si
on

s
in

E
gy
pt

E
gy
pt

A
lm

os
t
90
%

of
E
gy
pt
’s
po

w
er

is
pr
od

uc
ed

by
co
nv
en
ti
on

al
th
er
m
al

fa
ci
lit
ie
s.
In

or
de
r
to

m
in
im

iz
e

gr
ee
nh

ou
se

ga
s
(G

H
G
)
em

is
si
on

s
in

th
e
en
er
gy

in
du

st
ry

an
d
lim

it
th
e
us
e

of
na
tu
ra
lg

as
to

pr
od

uc
e
po

w
er
,t
he

E
gy
pt
ia
n
go
ve
rn
m
en
t’s

V
is
io
n
20
30

en
er
gy

st
ra
te
gy

ca
lls

fo
r
in
cr
ea
si
ng

re
ne
w
ab
le
en
er
gy
.B

as
ed

on
th
es
e

th
re
e
gu
id
in
g
pr
in
ci
pl
es
,t
he

pr
oj
ec
t

m
us
t
ch
oo
se

fu
tu
re

el
ec
tr
ic
it
y
su
pp

ly
op

ti
on

s
am

on
g
va
ri
ou

s
po

w
er

pl
an
t

te
ch
no

lo
gi
es
.T

he
in
it
ia
ti
ve

co
m
pa
re
d
th
e
ad
ve
rs
e
eff
ec
ts
of

E
gy
pt
’s
nu

cl
ea
r,
hy
dr
oe
le
ct
ri
c,
an
d

fo
ss
il
fu
el
po

w
er

fa
ci
lit
ie
s
on

th
e

en
vi
ro
nm

en
t.

T
he

st
ud

y
us
ed

tw
o
co
m
pu

te
r

m
od

el
s:
th
e
si
m
pl
ifi
ed

m
et
ho

d
fo
r

es
ti
m
at
in
g
th
e
en
vi
ro
nm

en
ta
l

im
pa
ct
s
of

po
w
er

ge
ne
ra
ti
on

(S
IM

P
A
C
T
S)

an
d
th
e
m
od

el
fo
r

en
er
gy

su
pp

ly
st
ra
te
gy

op
ti
on

s
an
d

th
ei
r
ge
ne
ra
l
en
vi
ro
nm

en
ta
l

co
ns
eq
ue
nc
es

(M
E
SS
A
G
E
).
T
he

en
er
gy

su
pp

ly
sy
st
em

s
w
er
e
m
od

el
le
d

us
in
g
M
E
SS
A
G
E
to

fi
nd

th
e
be
st

en
er
gy

su
pp

ly
te
ch
no

lo
gy

to
sa
ti
sf
y

fu
tu
re

de
m
an
ds
.S
IM

P
A
C
T
S

an
al
yz
ed

th
e
da
m
ag
e
co
st
s
an
d

en
vi
ro
nm

en
ta
le
ff
ec
ts
of

pr
od

uc
in
g

po
w
er
.

T
he

re
su
lts

de
m
on

st
ra
te
d
th
at

ga
s

an
d
nu

cl
ea
r
po

w
er

pl
an
ts
ar
e

de
pe
nd

ab
le
lo
ng
-t
er
m

su
pp

lie
rs

of
el
ec
tr
ic
it
y.
W
hi
le
op

er
at
in
g
no

rm
al
ly
,

nu
cl
ea
r
po

w
er

pl
an
ts
(N

P
P
s)

ha
ve

le
ss

in
fl
ue
nc
e
on

th
e
en
vi
ro
nm

en
t

an
d
in
cu
r
lo
w
er

ex
pe
ns
es

fo
r
ex
te
rn
al

da
m
ag
e.
A
cc
or
di
ng

to
th
e
pr
oj
ec
t’s

fi
nd

in
gs
,N

P
P
s
ar
e
E
gy
pt
’s
be
st
lo
ng
-

te
rm

so
lu
ti
on

fo
r
ge
ne
ra
ti
ng

po
w
er

to
fu
lfi
l
fu
tu
re

de
m
an
d.

3

10 International Journal of Energy Research



T
a
bl
e
2:
C
on

ti
nu

ed
.

S/ N
A
ut
ho

r(
s)

T
it
le

C
ou

nt
ry

of
th
e

fi
rs
t

au
th
or

O
bj
ec
ti
ve
s

M
et
ho

ds
K
ey

fi
nd

in
gs

C
it
e

10
A
nd

an
i

et
al
.[
85
]

D
ec
ar
bo
ni
zi
ng

th
e
el
ec
tr
ic
it
y

sy
st
em

in
th
e
Su
m
at
ra

re
gi
on

us
in
g
nu

cl
ea
r
an
d
re
ne
w
ab
le

en
er
gy
-b
as
ed

po
w
er

ge
ne
ra
ti
on

In
do

ne
si
a

A
cc
or
di
ng

to
In
do

ne
si
a’
s
na
ti
on

al
en
er
gy

st
ra
te
gy
,n

ew
an
d
re
ne
w
ab
le

en
er
gy

w
ill

m
ak
e
up

23
%

an
d
31
%

of
th
e
co
un

tr
y’
s
en
er
gy

m
ix
in

20
25

an
d

20
50
,r
es
pe
ct
iv
el
y.
T
he

go
al
is
to

en
su
re

th
at

th
e
na
ti
on

fu
lfi
ls
it
s

ob
lig
at
io
n
to

ta
ke

pa
rt
in

in
it
ia
ti
ve
s

to
m
it
ig
at
e
gl
ob
al
cl
im

at
e
ch
an
ge

w
it
hi
n
th
e
ti
m
e.

T
he

P
LN

en
er
gy

m
od

el
w
as

us
ed

to
ex
am

in
e
de
ca
rb
on

iz
at
io
n
an
d

de
te
rm

in
e
th
e
lo
ng
-t
er
m

su
pp

ly
an
d

de
m
an
d
fo
r
po

w
er
.T

o
cr
ea
te

sc
en
ar
io
s
th
at

co
ns
id
er
ed

po
pu

la
ti
on

an
d
gr
os
s
re
gi
on

al
do

m
es
ti
c
pr
od

uc
t

(G
R
D
P
)
de
ve
lo
pm

en
t,
th
e
en
er
gy

de
m
an
d
w
as

fo
re
ca
st
us
in
g
an

ec
on

om
et
ri
c
te
ch
ni
qu

e
ba
se
d
on

hi
st
or
ic
al
da
ta

on
po

w
er

de
m
an
d.

A
cc
or
di
ng

to
th
e
st
ud

y’
s
fi
nd

in
gs
,t
he

Su
m
at
ra

re
gi
on

of
In
do

ne
si
a
ha
s
th
e

po
te
nt
ia
lt
o
ac
hi
ev
e
10
0%

de
ca
rb
on

iz
at
io
n
by

20
50

us
in
g

nu
cl
ea
r
po

w
er

pl
an
ts
.T

he
21
.3
G
W

hy
dr
op

ow
er

pl
an
t
ca
n
cu
t
em

is
si
on

s
by

79
.2
%
,w

hi
le
th
e
7.
4
G
W

ge
ot
he
rm

al
po

w
er

pl
an
t
ca
n
al
so

m
in
im

iz
e
em

is
si
on

s
by

27
.4
%

w
it
hi
n

th
e
sa
m
e
pe
ri
od

.H
ow

ev
er
,t
he

de
ca
rb
on

iz
at
io
n
of

th
e
en
er
gy

gr
id

in
th
e
Su
m
at
ra

ar
ea

de
pe
nd

s
on

th
e

co
m
bi
na
ti
on

of
th
es
e
th
re
e
po

w
er

ge
ne
ra
ti
on

fa
ci
lit
ie
s.

0

11

B
am

sh
ad

an
d

Sa
fa
rz
ad
eh

[8
6]

E
ff
ec
ts
of

th
e
m
ov
e
to
w
ar
ds

G
en

IV
re
ac
to
rs

in
ca
pa
ci
ty

ex
pa
ns
io
n

pl
an
ni
ng

by
to
ta
lg

en
er
at
io
n
co
st

an
d
en
vi
ro
nm

en
ta
l
im

pa
ct

op
ti
m
iz
at
io
n

Ir
an

C
on

si
de
ri
ng

th
e
ri
si
ng

en
er
gy

de
m
an
d,

th
e
ob
je
ct
iv
e
is
to

ac
ce
le
ra
te

th
e
co
ns
tr
uc
ti
on

of
a
co
st
-e
ff
ec
ti
ve

an
d
lo
w
-e
m
is
si
on

ne
w
el
ec
tr
ic
it
y

ge
ne
ra
ti
on

po
w
er

pl
an
t
in

Ir
an
.T

hi
s

ai
m
s
to

in
tr
od

uc
e
a
co
m
bi
ne
d
cy
cl
e

of
a
th
er
m
al
an
d
nu

cl
ea
r
po

w
er

pl
an
t

in
Ir
an
’s
tr
ad
it
io
na
lt
he
rm

al
en
er
gy

m
ix
.

T
he

W
A
SP

so
ft
w
ar
e
w
as

em
pl
oy
ed

fo
r
th
e
en
er
gy

ex
pa
ns
io
n
pl
an
ni
ng

in
Ir
an

to
in
ve
st
ig
at
e
th
e
im

pa
ct

of
th
e

in
cl
us
io
n
of

G
en

re
ac
to
rs

on
op

er
at
in
g
co
st
s
an
d
em

is
si
on

s.

T
he

re
vi
ew

in
tr
od

uc
ed

a
co
rr
el
at
io
n

be
tw
ee
n
th
e
lo
ng
-t
er
m

po
in
t
of

vi
ew

on
th
e
fu
tu
re

w
it
h
th
e
im

pr
ov
em

en
t

of
nu

cl
ea
r
en
er
gy

st
at
io
ns

an
d
th
e

as
so
rt
m
en
t
of

at
om

ic
re
ac
to
rs

in
Ir
an
’s
en
er
gy

bl
en
d.

T
he

ou
tc
om

es
de
m
on

st
ra
te
d
th
at

th
e
G
en

IV
re
ac
to
rs

ha
ve

th
e
m
os
t
in
no

va
ti
on

am
on

g
di
ff
er
en
tf
or
ce

pl
an
ts
to

le
ss
en

th
e
w
or
ki
ng

ex
pe
ns
es

an
d

em
an
at
io
ns

w
he
n
pr
es
en
te
d
in

Ir
an
’s

cu
st
om

ar
y
nu

cl
ea
r
po

w
er

bl
en
d.

T
he

fi
nd

in
gs

sh
ow

ed
th
at
G
en

IV
re
ac
to
rs

an
d
co
m
bi
ne
d
cy
cl
e
th
er
m
al
po

w
er

pl
an
ts
cu
t
co
st
s
an
d
em

is
si
on

s
by

72
%

an
d
16
%
,r
es
pe
ct
iv
el
y,

co
m
pa
re
d
to

G
en

II
N
P
P
s
an
d

tr
ad
it
io
na
l
th
er
m
al
po

w
er

pl
an
ts
.

6

11International Journal of Energy Research



T
a
bl
e
2:
C
on

ti
nu

ed
.

S/ N
A
ut
ho

r(
s)

T
it
le

C
ou

nt
ry

of
th
e

fi
rs
t

au
th
or

O
bj
ec
ti
ve
s

M
et
ho

ds
K
ey

fi
nd

in
gs

C
it
e

12
H
as
sa
n

et
al
.[
87
]

Is
nu

cl
ea
r
en
er
gy

a
be
tt
er

al
te
rn
at
iv
e
fo
r
m
it
ig
at
in
g
C
O
2

em
is
si
on

s
in

B
R
IC
S
co
un

tr
ie
s?

A
n
em

pi
ri
ca
la
na
ly
si
s

C
hi
na

N
um

er
ou
s
st
ud

ie
s
ha
ve

sh
ow

n
in

re
ce
nt

tim
es

in
co
nc
lu
si
ve

re
su
lts

on
th
e
nu

cl
ea
r
en
er
gy

an
d
ca
rb
on

di
ox
id
e

(C
O
2)
em

is
si
on

ne
xu
s.
T
o
be
tt
er

un
de
rs
ta
nd

th
e
nu

cl
ea
r
en
er
gy

po
llu
tio

n
ne
xu
se
s,
th
is
st
ud

y
ex
am

in
es

ho
w
nu

cl
ea
r
en
er
gy

aff
ec
ts
th
e

de
cr
ea
se

of
po
llu
tio

n
fo
r
th
e
B
R
IC
S

na
tio

ns
us
in
g
da
ta
fr
om

19
93

to
20
17
.

B
as
ed

on
em

pi
ri
ca
l
es
ti
m
at
io
n,

th
is

st
ud

y
ut
ili
ze
d
th
e
ad
va
nc
ed

pa
ne
l

da
ta

te
ch
ni
qu

es
of

co
nt
in
uo

us
ly

up
da
te
d
fu
lly

m
od

ifi
ed

(C
U
P
-F
M
)

an
d
co
nt
in
uo

us
ly

up
da
te
d
bi
as
-

co
rr
ec
te
d
(C
U
P
-B
C
).
T
he

B
R
IC
S’

C
O
2
em

is
si
on

s,
in
co
m
e
pe
r
ca
pi
ta
,

an
d
en
er
gy

co
ns
um

pt
io
n
du

ri
ng

th
e

st
ud

y
pe
ri
od

w
er
e
co
ns
id
er
ed

w
he
n

de
te
rm

in
in
g
th
e
im

pa
ct

of
nu

cl
ea
r

an
d
re
ne
w
ab
le
en
er
gy

pe
r
ca
pi
ta

G
D
P
on

C
O
2
em

is
si
on

s.

T
he

fi
nd

in
gs

sh
ow

ed
th
at
(i
)
th
e
cr
os
s-

se
ct
io
na
ld

ep
en
de
nc
e
te
st

de
m
on
st
ra
te
d
th
at
th
e
sa
m
pl
e

co
un

tr
ie
s
de
pe
nd

on
on
e
an
ot
he
r,
(i
i)

th
e
LM

bo
ot
st
ra
p
co
in
te
gr
at
io
n

de
m
on
st
ra
te
d
th
at
th
e
va
ri
ab
le
s
un

de
r

co
ns
id
er
at
io
n
ar
e
so
m
eh
ow

co
nn

ec
te
d,

an
d
(i
ii)

ac
co
rd
in
g
to
th
e
C
U
P-
FM

an
d

C
U
P-
B
C
es
tim

at
io
n
re
su
lts
,n
uc
le
ar

en
er
gy

co
ns
um

pt
io
n
re
du
ce
s
C
O
2

em
is
si
on

s
an
d
si
gn
ifi
ca
nt
ly
im

pa
ct
s

cl
im

at
e
ch
an
ge

m
iti
ga
tio
n.

59

13
D
eb
ra
h

et
al
.[
55
]

D
ri
ve
rs

fo
r
N
uc
le
ar

E
ne
rg
y

In
cl
us
io
n
in

G
ha
na
’s
E
ne
rg
y
M
ix

G
ha
na

G
ha
na

in
te
nd

s
to

in
co
rp
or
at
e

nu
cl
ea
r
en
er
gy

in
to

it
s
en
er
gy

m
ix

to
ac
hi
ev
e
a
co
st
-e
ff
ec
ti
ve
,d

ep
en
da
bl
e,

an
d
su
st
ai
na
bl
e
en
er
gy

su
pp

ly
in

a
sa
fe

en
vi
ro
nm

en
t.
T
he

m
ai
n
fa
ct
or
s

th
at

le
d
to

in
cl
ud

in
g
nu

cl
ea
r
en
er
gy

in
th
e
en
er
gy

m
ix

ar
e
di
sc
us
se
d.

T
he

m
ot
iv
at
io
ns

be
hi
nd

in
cl
ud

in
g

nu
cl
ea
r
en
er
gy

in
th
e
co
un

tr
y’
s

en
er
gy

m
ix

w
er
e
id
en
ti
fi
ed

th
ro
ug
h

an
em

pi
ri
ca
l
st
ud

y
an
d
a
sy
st
em

at
ic

re
vi
ew

of
th
e
re
le
va
nt

lit
er
at
ur
e.

T
he

fo
ss
il
fu
el
s
us
ed

to
po
w
er

th
er
m
al

po
w
er

pl
an
ts
ar
e
de
pl
et
in
g
an
d
m
ay

ru
n
ou

t
by

ea
rl
y
20
30
,w

hi
le

un
de
ve
lo
pe
d
hy
dr
o
su
pp

lie
s
ar
e

eq
ua
lly

lim
ite
d
an
d
un

re
lia
bl
e.

A
lth

ou
gh

re
ne
w
ab
le
re
so
ur
ce
s
ar
e

nu
m
er
ou
s,
th
ey

ar
e
un

re
lia
bl
e,
ar
e

in
te
rm

itt
en
tly

av
ai
la
bl
e,
an
d
do

no
t

pr
ov
id
e
a
ba
se
lo
ad

op
tio

n.
T
he

re
se
ar
ch

co
nc
lu
de
s
th
at
th
er
e
is
a
ne
ed

fo
r
an

up
da
te
of

th
e
co
un

tr
y’
s
po

lic
y

fr
am

ew
or
k
an
d
di
ve
rs
ifi
ca
tio

n
of

its
en
er
gy

m
ix
to

in
cl
ud

e
nu

cl
ea
r
en
er
gy

an
d
ot
he
r
lo
w
-c
ar
bo
n
en
er
gy

so
ur
ce
s.

4

14
Sa
rj
iy
a

et
al
.[
88
]

A
ch
ie
vi
ng

N
ew

an
d
R
en
ew

ab
le

E
ne
rg
y
T
ar
ge
t:
A
C
as
e
St
ud

y
of

Ja
va
-B
al
i
P
ow

er
Sy
st
em

,
In
do

ne
si
a

In
do

ne
si
a

T
o
re
du

ce
it
s
re
lia
nc
e
on

fo
ss
il
fu
el
s

in
th
e
po

w
er

se
ct
or
,I
nd

on
es
ia
pl
an
s

to
us
e
ne
w
an
d
re
ne
w
ab
le
en
er
gy

(N
&
R
E
)
as

an
al
te
rn
at
iv
e
en
er
gy

so
ur
ce
.A

cc
or
di
ng

to
th
e
na
ti
on

’s
N
at
io
na
lE

ne
rg
y
P
ol
ic
y
(N

E
P
),

N
&
R
E
sh
ou

ld
re
ac
h
23
%
in

20
25

an
d

31
%

in
20
50
.B

y
co
ns
id
er
in
g

al
te
rn
at
iv
e
ap
pr
oa
ch
es

to
ac
hi
ev
e
it
s

go
al
in

In
do

ne
si
a’
s
Ja
va
-B
al
i
po

w
er

sy
st
em

,a
st
ra
te
gy

fo
r
ge
ne
ra
ti
on

ex
pa
ns
io
n
pl
an
ni
ng

(G
E
P
)
ne
ed
s
to

be
de
ve
lo
pe
d.

A
s
a
m
od
el
fo
r
ge
ne
ra
tio

n
ex
pa
ns
io
n

pl
an
ni
ng

(G
EP

),
th
is
st
ud

y
em

pl
oy
ed

M
oM

A
N
I-
O
Se
M
O
SY

S.
T
he

“b
us
in
es
s

as
us
ua
l,”

“r
en
ew

ab
le
en
er
gy
,”
an
d

“n
ew

an
d
re
ne
w
ab
le
en
er
gy
”
sc
en
ar
io
s

w
er
e
de
ve
lo
pe
d.
O
pt
im

iz
at
io
n
re
su
lts

ba
se
d
on

th
e
le
as
t-
co
st
ob
je
ct
iv
e

fu
nc
tio

n
w
er
e
an
al
yz
ed

to
de
te
rm

in
e

th
e
ap
pr
op
ri
at
e
en
er
gy

m
ix
.

T
he

ou
tc
om

e
de
m
on

st
ra
te
s
th
at

im
pl
em

en
tin

g
th
e
N
&
R
E
ob
je
ct
iv
e

in
cr
ea
se
s
ge
ne
ra
tio

n
co
st
s
w
hi
le

de
cr
ea
si
ng

C
O
2
em

is
si
on

s.
N
uc
le
ar

en
er
gy

is
re
qu

ir
ed

fo
r
In
do
ne
si
a’
s

N
at
io
na
lE

ne
rg
y
P
ol
ic
y
(N

E
P
)
to

m
ee
t

its
ne
w
an
d
re
ne
w
ab
le
en
er
gy

ta
rg
et
s

of
23
%

in
20
25

an
d
31
%

in
20
50
.

4

12 International Journal of Energy Research



T
a
bl
e
2:
C
on

ti
nu

ed
.

S/ N
A
ut
ho

r(
s)

T
it
le

C
ou

nt
ry

of
th
e

fi
rs
t

au
th
or

O
bj
ec
ti
ve
s

M
et
ho

ds
K
ey

fi
nd

in
gs

C
it
e

15
W
an
g
et

al
.

[8
9]

A
co
m
pa
ra
ti
ve

lif
e-
cy
cl
e

as
se
ss
m
en
to

fh
yd
ro
-,
nu

cl
ea
r
an
d

w
in
d
po

w
er
:A

C
hi
na

st
ud

y
C
hi
na

T
he

en
er
gy

se
ct
or

ha
s
be
en

id
en
ti
fi
ed

as
on

e
of

th
e
m
aj
or

pr
od

uc
er
s
of

gr
ee
nh

ou
se

ga
s
(G

H
G
)
em

is
si
on

s.
C
hi
na
’s
to
p
th
re
e
cl
ea
n
en
er
gy

te
ch
no

lo
gi
es

ar
e
hy
dr
op

ow
er
,

nu
cl
ea
r,
an
d
w
in
d
po

w
er
.

E
nv
ir
on

m
en
ta
l
im

pa
ct

as
se
ss
m
en
ts

of
va
ri
ou

s
te
ch
no

lo
gi
es

ar
e
ev
al
ua
te
d

ba
se
d
on

th
ei
r
lif
e
cy
cl
e
an
al
ys
is
to

as
ce
rt
ai
n
th
ei
r
ov
er
al
ls
ig
ni
fi
ca
nc
e
to

cl
im

at
e
ch
an
ge
.

In
th
is
pr
oj
ec
t,
th
e
po

te
nt
ia
l

en
vi
ro
nm

en
ta
l
eff
ec
ts
of

th
e
th
re
e

po
w
er

ge
ne
ra
ti
on

te
ch
no

lo
gi
es

w
er
e

as
se
ss
ed

us
in
g
th
e
C
M
L
20
01

m
et
ho

d
de
ve
lo
pe
d
by

th
e
Se
m
ip
ro
s
LC

A
so
ft
w
ar
e.
In

th
e
re
se
ar
ch
,fi

ve
ki
nd

s
of

em
is
si
on

im
pa
ct
s
w
er
e
ev
al
ua
te
d.

T
he
se

w
er
e
hu

m
an

to
xi
ci
ty

po
te
nt
ia
l

(H
T
P
),
eu
tr
op

hi
ca
ti
on

po
te
nt
ia
l

(E
P
),
ph

ot
oc
he
m
ic
al
oz
on

e
pr
od

uc
ti
on

po
te
nt
ia
l(
P
O
C
P
),
an
d

gl
ob
al
w
ar
m
in
g
po

te
nt
ia
l(
G
W
P
10
0)
.

T
he

st
ud

y
fi
nd

s
th
at

w
in
d
po

w
er

te
ch
no

lo
gy

ha
s
th
e
m
os
t

en
vi
ro
nm

en
ta
l
eff
ec
ts
co
m
pa
re
d
to

ot
he
r
re
ne
w
ab
le
en
er
gy

so
ur
ce
s.
T
he

im
po

rt
an
ce

of
nu

cl
ea
r
po

w
er

is
se
co
nd

on
ly

to
hy
dr
op

ow
er

in
im

po
rt
an
ce
.F

or
in
st
an
ce
,c
om

pa
re
d

to
nu

cl
ea
r
po

w
er

(1
2.
4
±
1.
5
g
C
O
2-

eq
/k
W
h)

an
d
hy
dr
op

ow
er

(3
.5
±
0.
4
g

C
O
2-
eq
/k
W
h)
,w

in
d
po

w
er

ha
s
a

gr
ea
te
r
lif
e
cy
cl
e
gl
ob
al
w
ar
m
in
g

po
te
nt
ia
l(
G
W
P
)
of

28
.6
±
3.
2
g
C
O
2-

eq
/k
W
h
of

G
W
P
10
0.

57

16
Si
qu

ei
ra

et
al
.[
90
]

C
ur
re
nt

pe
rs
pe
ct
iv
es

on
nu

cl
ea
r

en
er
gy

as
a
gl
ob
al
cl
im

at
e
ch
an
ge

m
it
ig
at
io
n
op

ti
on

B
ra
zi
l

Fo
ss
il
fu
el
ac
co
un

ts
fo
r
ab
ou

t
66
%

of
el
ec
tr
ic
it
y
ge
ne
ra
ti
on

gl
ob
al
ly

an
d
is

a
hi
gh

so
ur
ce

of
G
H
G

em
is
si
on

s.
N
uc
le
ar

en
er
gy

is
cl
as
si
fi
ed

as
on

e
of

th
e
eff
ec
ti
ve

te
ch
no

lo
gi
es

fo
r
cl
im

at
e

ch
an
ge

m
it
ig
at
io
n.

T
he

st
ud

y
ev
al
ua
te
d
th
e
am

ou
nt

of
ca
rb
on

di
ox
id
e
(C
O
2)

em
is
si
on

s
th
at

m
ig
ht

be
av
oi
de
d
if
co
al
pl
an
ts
w
er
e
ut
ili
ze
d

fo
r
po

w
er

ge
ne
ra
ti
on

an
d
co
nd

uc
te
d

a
sy
st
em

at
ic
re
vi
ew

of
th
e
po

te
nt
ia
lo
f

nu
cl
ea
r
en
er
gy

de
ve
lo
pm

en
t
as

a
st
ra
te
gi
c
ch
oi
ce

to
ad
dr
es
s
cl
im

at
e

ch
an
ge
.

Fo
r
th
e
an
al
ys
is
,i
t
w
as

as
su
m
ed

th
at

nu
cl
ea
r
po

w
er

fa
ci
lit
ie
s
pr
ov
id
e
an

eq
ui
va
le
nt

qu
an
ti
ty

of
el
ec
tr
ic
it
y
to

a
co
al
-fi
re
d
po

w
er

st
at
io
n.

T
he

eq
ua
ti
on

us
ed

to
de
te
rm

in
e
th
e

qu
an
ti
ty

of
an
nu

al
em

is
si
on

s
of

C
O
2

(m
av
oi
dC

O2
),
w
hi
ch

nu
cl
ea
r
ge
ne
ra
ti
on

co
ul
d
av
oi
d,

w
as

m
av
oi
dC

O2
=
EF

R c
oa
l

×
GE

nu
cle

ar
,w

he
re

EF
R c

oa
l
re
pr
es
en
ts

th
e
em

is
si
on

fa
ct
or

ra
te

to
co
al
-fi
re
d

po
w
er

pl
an
ts
an
d
GE

nu
cle

ar
is
th
e

an
nu

al
nu

cl
ea
r
en
er
gy

ge
ne
ra
ti
on

.

T
he

st
ud

y
in
di
ca
te
d
th
at

gl
ob
al

pe
rc
ep
ti
on

sh
ow

s
th
at

lo
w

in
ve
st
m
en
t
in

nu
cl
ea
r
en
er
gy

re
su
lts

in
th
e
av
oi
da
nc
e
of

eq
ui
va
le
nt

C
O
2

em
is
si
on

sh
ar
e
in

fu
tu
re

as
th
at

of
to
da
y.
H
ow

ev
er
,s
ig
ni
fi
ca
nt

in
ve
st
m
en
ti
n
nu

cl
ea
r
po

w
er

fa
ci
lit
ie
s

m
ig
ht

co
nt
ri
bu

te
m
or
e
effi

ci
en
tl
y
to

no
n-
C
O
2
em

is
si
on

s.

16

17
Li
ya

an
d

Ji
an
fe
ng

[9
1]

Sc
en
ar
io

an
al
ys
is
of

C
O
2

em
is
si
on

ab
at
em

en
t
eff
ec
t
ba
se
d

on
LE

A
P

C
hi
na

T
he

st
ud

y
ai
m
s
to

de
ve
lo
p
di
ff
er
en
t

el
ec
tr
ic
it
y
ge
ne
ra
ti
on

m
ix

op
ti
on

s
in

lin
e
w
it
h
th
e
en
er
gy

pl
an
ni
ng

po
lic
y

of
C
hi
na

to
op

ti
m
iz
e
th
e
en
er
gy

m
ix

ai
m
ed

at
im

pr
ov
in
g
th
e
co
un

tr
y’
s

en
vi
ro
nm

en
t
an
d
ec
on

om
y
be
tw
ee
n

20
12

an
d
20
50
.

C
hi
na
’s
m
ed
iu
m
-
an
d
lo
ng
-t
er
m

en
er
gy

pl
an
ni
ng

fr
om

20
12

to
20
50

w
as

an
al
yz
ed

us
in
g
th
e
LE

A
P
-C

hi
na
-

P
ow

er
m
od

el
(b
ot
to
m
-u
p
m
od

el
),

w
it
h
20
12

se
rv
in
g
as

th
e
ba
se

ye
ar
.

D
ev
el
op

ed
sc
en
ar
io
s
of

th
e
el
ec
tr
ic
it
y

de
m
an
d,

en
er
gy

st
ru
ct
ur
e,
ca
rb
on

di
ox
id
e
em

is
si
on

s,
an
d
ov
er
al
lc
os
ts

w
er
e
si
m
ul
at
ed
.

A
ba
se
lin

e
sc
en
ar
io
,a

C
C
S
sc
en
ar
io
,

an
d
a
nu

cl
ea
r
an
d
na
tu
ra
l
ga
s

co
m
bi
ne
d
cy
cl
e
(N

&
N
)
sc
en
ar
io

w
er
e
al
lc
re
at
ed
.

U
si
ng

th
e
LE

A
P
-C

hi
na
-P
ow

er
m
od

el
in

th
e
re
se
ar
ch
,t
he

ec
on

om
ic
an
d

en
vi
ro
nm

en
ta
l
im

pa
ct
s
of

th
er
m
al

po
w
er
,r
en
ew

ab
le
en
er
gy
,a
nd

nu
cl
ea
r
en
er
gy
,t
ec
hn

ol
og
ie
s
w
er
e

as
se
ss
ed

co
ns
id
er
in
g
th
ei
r
lif
e
cy
cl
es
.

A
cc
or
di
ng

to
th
e
fi
nd

in
gs
,t
he

ca
rb
on

ca
pt
ur
e
an
d
st
or
ag
e
C
C
S
sc
en
ar
io

is
no

t
as

go
od

an
op

ti
on

as
th
e
nu

cl
ea
r

an
d
na
tu
ra
lg

as
co
m
bi
ne
d
cy
cl
e

(N
&
N
)
sc
en
ar
io
.

8

13International Journal of Energy Research



T
a
bl
e
2:
C
on

ti
nu

ed
.

S/ N
A
ut
ho

r(
s)

T
it
le

C
ou

nt
ry

of
th
e

fi
rs
t

au
th
or

O
bj
ec
ti
ve
s

M
et
ho

ds
K
ey

fi
nd

in
gs

C
it
e

18
A
lF
ar
ra

an
d
A
bu

-
H
ijl
eh

[9
2]

T
he

po
te
nt
ia
lr
ol
e
of

nu
cl
ea
r

en
er
gy

in
m
it
ig
at
in
g
C
O
2

em
is
si
on

s
in

th
e
U
ni
te
d
A
ra
b

E
m
ir
at
es

U
A
E

T
he

ye
ar
ly

C
O
2
em

is
si
on

s
in

th
e

U
A
E
ha
ve

in
cr
ea
se
d
tr
em

en
do

us
ly

si
nc
e
19
90

du
e
to

th
e
us
e
of

fo
ss
il

fu
el
s
fo
r
el
ec
tr
ic
it
y
ge
ne
ra
ti
on

.
T
hi
s
re
se
ar
ch

as
se
ss
es

th
e
im

pa
ct

of
th
e
U
A
E
’s
pr
op

os
ed

in
cl
us
io
n
of

nu
cl
ea
r
en
er
gy

in
th
ei
r
en
er
gy

m
ix
in

re
du

ci
ng

C
O
2
em

is
si
on

s
fr
om

th
e

de
ve
lo
pm

en
t
st
ag
e
up

to
th
e
ye
ar

20
50

in
ac
co
rd
an
ce

w
it
h
th
e
K
yo
to

P
ro
to
co
l.

T
he

el
ec
tr
ic
it
y
de
m
an
d
an
d

gr
ee
nh

ou
se

ga
s
in

th
e
U
A
E
up

to
20
50

w
er
e
ev
al
ua
te
d
us
in
g
th
e

M
E
SS
A
G
E
m
od

el
.S
om

e
en
er
gy

su
pp

ly
/f
ue
l
sc
en
ar
io
s,
in
cl
ud

in
g

bu
si
ne
ss

as
us
ua
l
(B
A
U
),
th
e
U
A
E
’s

pr
op

os
ed

nu
cl
ea
r
st
ra
te
gy

(A
P
R
14
00
),
an
d
th
e
cl
ea
n
en
er
gy

er
a

(C
E
E
)
pr
op

os
ed

sc
en
ar
io
s,
w
er
e

de
ve
lo
pe
d
an
d
si
m
ul
at
ed
.

N
uc
le
ar

en
er
gy

w
as

re
al
iz
ed

to
be

th
e

m
os
t
re
lia
bl
e
ch
oi
ce

in
cu
rb
in
g
C
O
2

em
is
si
on

s
th
an

ca
rb
on

ca
pt
ur
e
an
d

re
ne
w
ab
le
en
er
gy
.A

ls
o,

nu
cl
ea
r

en
er
gy

w
as

m
or
e
ec
on

om
ic
al
ly
vi
ab
le

th
an

el
ec
tr
ic
it
y
ge
ne
ra
ti
on

fr
om

fo
ss
il

fu
el
s
in

th
e
U
A
E
.N

uc
le
ar

en
er
gy

w
as

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44

14 International Journal of Energy Research



quarters of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions
worldwide. Since 1990, the energy supply, industrial, and
transportation sectors have contributed the most to emission
growth. In 2020, the energy supply sector emissions were
estimated at 20GtCO2e, representing 37% of global emis-
sions. This includes electricity and heat production, which
contributed 14GtCO2e in 2020 and accounted for 25% of
the emissions [99]. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from
the combustion of fossil fuels reach around 34 billion tonnes
(Gt) per year worldwide. About 45% comes from coal, 35%
from oil, and 20% from gas [100]. Although electricity
accounts for only 20% of total energy use, it accounts for
40% of all energy-related emissions. Hence, achieving net zero
emissions will require a fundamental overhaul [39, 40, 100].

Both fossil fuel and nonfossil fuel power systems pro-
duce greenhouse gas emissions during their life cycle, mainly
due to the energy needed for their manufacture, construc-
tion, and operation, as well as upstream CH4 emissions
[101]. Approximately 60% of the electricity supply in the
US is generated from fossil fuels, primarily natural gas and
coal. Hence, electricity generates the country’s second-
largest share of GHG emissions [102]. Although electricity
generation technologies produce GHG at some point in their
life cycle electricity industry, it is the most readily decarbo-
nized sector. Introducing nonfossil, low-carbon energy
sources such as hydro, nuclear, wind, solar, and other renew-
ables in the power generation mix provide the means to
decarbonize the electricity industry [100].

To evaluate the climate change mitigation potential of
power generation technology, comparing total (direct and
indirect) GHG emissions per unit of electricity produced is
critical. Due to higher direct combustion emissions, such
as CH4 from fossil fuel extraction and indirect land-use
change emissions, coal, gas, bioenergy, and hydropower gen-
erate significantly more specific GHG emissions than
nuclear, wind, and solar power [102].

As the global impact of climate change becomes more
apparent, the message that greenhouse gas emissions must
be reduced is unequivocal. Nonetheless, the Emissions Gap
Report (EGR) 2022: The Closing Window - Climate Crisis
Calls for Rapid Transformation of Societies shows that the
world community is falling well short of the Paris goals, with
no realistic pathway to 1.5°C in place. Only an immediate
system-wide shift can avert climate devastation [99].

3.2.2. Impact of Greenhouse Gas Emissions on Climate
Change. The world has been experiencing environmental
degradation for decades as a result of an increase in green-
house gas emissions (GHG) primarily from the fuel and
technology used for power generation [58, 103] which has
led to temperature rise [104] and changes in national and
region climates [105]. Studies over the decades have shown
that although all nations have high pollution levels, the more
industrialized and densely populated nations produce most
of the world’s pollutants [106]. Despite the economic down-
turn in many sectors due to the coronavirus pandemic,
global emissions in 2020 exceeded 34 billion tonnes and
had recovered to levels that were nearly prepandemic by
the end of 2022 [78]. However, greenhouse gas emissions

from one country may contribute to pollution and global
warming and negatively impact economic growth in other
nations [107]. The study confirmed that fossil fuel is a major
source of greenhouse gas emissions and a driver of carbon
intensity [58, 78]. Most authors concluded that promoting
clean and alternative energy sources as an alternative to fos-
sil fuels reduces carbon emissions [80, 85, 89].

3.2.3. Nexus between Nuclear Energy Generation and the
Environment. Among all the low-carbon energy sources,
nuclear energy has been the most contentious; its deploy-
ment has sparked much debate in the literature. Numerous
conflicting pieces of evidence have been documented on
the impact of nuclear energy and environmental degradation
[80]. For instance, some countries, including Germany and
Italy, have shut down all nuclear power plants and now
depend on renewable energy sources, asserting that the risks
of nuclear power are uncontrollable. Hence, nuclear phase-
out keeps their countries safer and avoids more nuclear
waste. Meanwhile, nuclear power is experiencing a renais-
sance in China, Russia, and India to augment their energy
supply since it is considered clean and safe [108].

Research previously done by Usman et al. [109], Sarko-
die and Adams [110], and Mahmood et al. [111] has demon-
strated the negative consequences of nuclear energy on
environmental deterioration. Most research conducted on
the GHG emission reduction practices of the BRICS nations
between 1993 and 2017 indicated that despite being effective
at reducing emissions, nuclear energy is suboptimal to
renewable energy for promoting pollution reductions
[112]. Also, some research has proven that nuclear energy
has a negligible impact on the world’s top five most polluted
nations (i.e., the United States, China, India, South Korea,
and Japan) despite the efforts to reduce environmental pol-
lution considering the impact of renewable energy develop-
ment [78, 112, 113]. Similar results were published by
Iwata et al. [114] for 11 OECD nations, wherein only Fin-
land, Japan, Korea, and Spain showed that nuclear power
had a beneficial effect on carbon dioxide emissions [87]. Fur-
thermore, some academics, politicians, media, and nongov-
ernmental agencies emphasized the adverse effects of
nuclear energy. These drawbacks include the threat posed
by nuclear waste disposal to the environment and human
health, operational risks such as the explosion that can have
lethal consequences, or the huge investments and opera-
tional expenses to establish and operate nuclear reactors
[115]. Saidi and Omri [116], Baek and Pride [117], and Ulu-
cak and Erdogan [118] are some of the known studies that
have discovered a negative association between nuclear
energy and environmental deterioration.

However, recent research has produced findings demon-
strating nuclear energy’s efficiency in reducing emissions.
Hence, nuclear energy is projected to replace conventional
fossil fuel energy for electricity generation, which discharges
much CO2. Hassan et al. [119] investigated the impact of
nuclear power and technical innovation on environmental
pollutants. According to the ARDL analysis, nuclear power
is a clean energy source, and technological progress can also
assist in reducing environmental damage.

15International Journal of Energy Research



According to the IAEA report, in comparison to other
sources of energy, nuclear power produces one of the fewest
amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs) per unit of electricity
produced [120]. Also, some empirical findings indicate that
nuclear energy aids environmental sustainability [121]. Fur-
thermore, empirical results also show that nuclear energy
consumption improves air quality, recommending a quick
adoption of nuclear energy in India’s energy mix [122].

Most research articles asserted that nuclear energy is the
most reliable option for achieving national and regional CO2
emission mitigation targets while meeting the energy supply
need [81, 82, 84, 88, 89]. Furthermore, along with the rapid
increase of emerging industrialized countries, the global
geography of the development of nuclear energy is undergo-
ing a spatial reconfiguration phenomenon, as indicated by
studies on research and collaboration among nations. How-
ever, in response to the call on climate change mitigation
and energy challenges confronting the Middle East and
Africa, some countries in these geographical regions are
incorporating nuclear solutions into their energy and envi-
ronmental planning strategies, evidenced by the number of
requests for Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Reviews from
IAEA Member States (INIR) [39, 40].

Although wind energy has proven to be very efficient
among sources for pollution and climate change mitigation
[78, 88], comparatively, nuclear and other renewable energy
sources have lower global pollution levels [84, 88–90, 92].
Studies conducted by Apergis et al. [123] on data from 19
industrialized and developing countries between 1984 and
2007 showed that using nuclear energy significantly mini-
mizes CO2 emissions [117]. Based on a panel cointegration
analysis of 12 major nuclear generating nations to determine
the impact of nuclear power, energy supply, and income on
CO2 emissions, it was concluded that nuclear energy reduces
CO2 emissions [124]. Other researchers have asserted that

including nuclear power in the energy mix is essential for
achieving GHG emissions and carbon intensity targets while
ensuring adequate energy security [78, 81, 85]. According to
a study on Egypt’s energy mix, nuclear power plants (NPPs)
have low external damage costs and minimal environmental
impact during normal operation. This makes nuclear power
plants one of the long-term electricity generation choices for
the country to satisfy future electricity demands while contrib-
uting to combating climate change [84].

Although Ghana has some renewable resources, they are
unreliable since their supply is sporadic and cannot be
depended on as a baseload technology. Nuclear energy must
be included in its energy mix diversification options to meet
the country’s long-term energy need and the nationally deter-
mined contribution (NDC) of greenhouse gas emission mitiga-
tion target. In view of this, Ghana has initiated developing a
nuclear power plant to address future energy security and con-
tribute towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions [55, 58].

3.3. The Trend of Publications and Citation. A graph of yearly
publications on power generation and emissions is shown in
Figure 3. The graph shows that there were no substantial pub-
lications on the subject between 1962 and 2003. However, the
Scopus bibliometric analysis data gathered on the contribution
of nuclear energy towards global decarbonization indicated
that the published articles increased from sixteen to forty-
five between 2004 and 2022, with the highest number of
fifty-two publications in 2021. Overall, an annual average of
thirty-three articles were published within the period.

3.4. Research Contributions and Collaborations among
Countries. The coauthorship network of countries on emis-
sions from electricity generation and the contribution of
nuclear energy in GHG mitigation are depicted in Figure 4.

20
22

20
21

20
20

20
19

20
18

20
17

20
16

20
15

20
14

20
13

20
12

20
11

20
10

20
09

20
08

20
07

20
06

20
05

20
04

20
03

20
02

20
01

20
00

19
99

19
98

19
97

19
96

19
95

19
94

19
93

19
92

19
91

19
90

19
89

19
88

19
87

19
86

19
84

19
81

19
78

19
77

19
62

Years of publication

N
um

be
r o

f p
ub

lic
at

io
ns

0

10

20

30

40

50
45

52

46

36 37
33

31

38
40

32
36 37

30

24

18 19
16

7 6 8 9 9
5

11

6 6 8

2 4
6

4
1 1 12 32 2 2

29
25

60

Years
2 per. mov. avg (years)

4

Figure 3: Yearly distribution of the publications reviewed.

16 International Journal of Energy Research



The Scopus research data were exported to Excel CVS
and analyzed using VOSviewer. In all, 741 cited published
papers were subjected to a threshold of two in the VOS-
viewer analysis, with contributions from 88 different coun-
tries. Among all the nations, the United States was the
most prolific contributor with a contribution of 179 docu-
ments, 3908 citations, and a total link strength of 73 with
other countries. Other major contributing countries to the
research are the United Kingdom, China, France, Canada,
Germany, India, South Korea, Russia, and Taiwan. Few Afri-
can countries, such as Egypt, South Africa, Tunisia, Nigeria,
and Ghana, have contributed with limited collaboration to
the research. The continent’s contribution to knowledge on
energy and emission management is limited.

The studies show that research on the impact of
nuclear in reducing GHG emissions has generally concen-
trated on single or several nations, and the research meth-
odologies are mostly life cycle evaluation and case studies.
However, few researchers have investigated the global spa-
tial distribution of nuclear power generation and the
impact of the geographical distribution of nuclear on
global GHG emissions.

3.5. Network of Coauthorship among Researchers. The Sco-
pus data processed in VOSviewer indicates that Ghanaians
authored three documents, made eighty-five citations, and
collaborated with only the UK, Russia, and Turkey between
2020 and 2022. The VOSviewer analysis in Figure 5 shows
that the most prolific publications were from 2010 to 2022.
Among several researchers, B.W. Brook has made the most
significant contribution with ten publications, 445 citations,
and a link strength of 10 with seven international affiliates. S.
Hoon has produced 7 documents, received 230 references,
and had a link strength of 7 with the other 7 nations, as
shown in Figure 6.

3.6. Cooccurrence of Author’s Keyword Analysis. The
researcher’s most occurrence keywords in a published paper
provide valuable information on the research area of inter-
est. The author’s keywords indicate their research interests
and priorities in their chosen field [125]. The keyword anal-
ysis was essential to the study because it enhanced the arti-
cle’s search, increased its citation, and confirmed the
dataset extracted concerning the objectives.

In this systematic review, the number of occurrences of a
keyword considered by the VOSviewer network for this
analysis was a minimum threshold of five times. In all,
1583 keywords were identified, of which forty-three met
the threshold limit. A network of the cooccurrence keywords
frequently used is illustrated in Figure 7. The cooccurrence
network diagram generated has keywords such as nuclear
power, nuclear energy, renewable energy, GHG, emissions,
climate change, electricity generation, energy policy, carbon
emission, carbon dioxide, and decarbonization. The quest to
mitigate climate change has increased the interest of
researchers through the cooccurrence of the keywords.

The high interest in using the technology for climate
change mitigation has received a fair research effort from
researchers by the cooccurrence of the keywords such as
nuclear power, nuclear energy, greenhouse gas emissions, cli-
mate change, electricity generation, and carbon generation
dioxide, found in its cluster. The benefits of the technology
are included in the studies of scholars as suggested by key-
words such as climate change mitigation and decarbonization.
The cooccurrence network diagram inferences further support
the authors’ earlier categorization of documents. The network
diagram indicates a gap in research and interest among coun-
tries which are yet to develop some nuclear plants.

3.7. Overview of Energy System Planning Tools and GHG
Emission Models. Most recent global and national accords
on energy and environmental nexus necessitate energy plan-
ning models (EPM) [126] in the sector’s development at the
regional, national, and international levels to influence

20122014201620182022 2020

VOSviewer

Figure 4: Network of coauthorship countries.

201020122014201620182020

VOSviewer

Figure 5: Network of prolific researchers in the study field.

17International Journal of Energy Research



policymaking and implementation [127, 128]. Energy plan-
ning models are key to energy security and decarbonization
of the sector [126], allowing multicriteria analyses of the
effects of energy policies on the economy and environment.
Scenario analysis is commonly employed in modelling tools
to evaluate various assumptions about technology, environ-
ment, and economic variables. Among their likely deliver-
able outcomes are the system viability, natural resource
utilization, total financial costs, greenhouse gas emissions,
and energy efficiency of the system analyzed [129].

Effective long-term energy planning and the penetration
of clean energy technologies towards decarbonization [130]
necessitate incorporating advanced computational tech-
niques and model software. Many available tools and model
software for energy planning include LEAP, MESSAGE,
MARKAL/TIMES, EnergyPLAN, RETScreen, NEM, and
OSeMOSYS [131]. Incorporating multiple models into mul-
tipurpose energy modelling improves its functionality under

centralized decision-making [132]. The multicriteria assess-
ment (MCA) approach can deal with a wide variety of
uncertainties and input data, as shown by energy assessment
studies [126, 133, 134]. However, to evaluate the effective-
ness of GHG mitigation objectives and other decarboniza-
tion policies such as sustainable development UNEP
Balancing Energy and climate change policies, many coun-
tries have adopted models such as LEAP, MESSAGE, MAR-
KAL, and AIM among others [135]. The applications and
results of the modelling tools differ due to underlying con-
straints, gaps in the energy industry, and the model’s
categorization.

According to the research, there are numerous and var-
ied ways to describe energy system models, but very few, if
any, models fall into a single clear category. However, Hour-
cade et al. [136] determine three key differences among
energy models, including the models’ goals, structures, and
external or input assumptions. In order to categorize energy

0

Forsberg, C.W.
Adham, M.I.

Zaman, K.
Rosen, M.A.
Omer, A.M.
Miller, A.I.

Limmeechokchai, B.
Hammons, T.J.

Gabbar, H.A.
Abdussami, M.R.

Duffey, R.B.
Bradshaw, C.J.A.

Hong, S.
Forsberg, C.
Brook, B.W.

1 2 3 4 5
Documents

6 7 8 9 10 11

Figure 6: Comparison of the most prolific 15 authors in the study area.

Figure 7: Network of cooccurrence keywords.

18 International Journal of Energy Research



models, Grubb et al. [137] mentioned that there are six classi-
fications of energy-economy models. These are “top-down”
and “bottom-up,” “time horizon,” “optimization and simula-
tion techniques,” “level of aggregation,” “sectorial coverage
(energy and economy),” and, finally, “geographic coverage,
trade, and leakage.” Other researchers also categorized energy
models into seven classifications, which are as follows: simula-
tion, scenario, equilibrium, bottom-up, top-down, investment
optimization, and operation optimization modelling tools
[138–142]. Some other classification methods are based on
mathematical techniques, the amount of data required, the
models’ complexity, and the models’ flexibility [143]. More-
over, planning models can be classified into the following cat-
egories: energy planning models, forecasting models, energy
supply-demand models, renewable energy models, optimiza-
tion models, and emission reduction models [144]. Table 3
depicts the classification of the energy system models accord-
ing to their analytical approach, type, mathematical approach,
time horizon, coverage and spatial application, sector and
scope, and interactive user features and accessibility.

Energy system models can be designed to have a broad
spectrum of applications and scopes, such as international,
regional, national, municipal, or stand-alone. Most countries
develop or use a number of energy models for their energy
planning and policy development [150]. For instance,
modelling was used to analyze the long-, medium-, and
short-term CO2 emission reductions in the United Kingdom
[128, 151], Asia, and South and North America and emerg-
ing economies like Africa [139, 144, 152, 153].

Energy models have gained significant attention in all
countries; however, each country either develops its own or
adapts one or more models, as depicted by Table 4, depend-
ing on factors such as energy sustainability, planning policy,
or environmental treaties. In Colombia, the LEAP was used
to forecast the country’s energy need from 2030 to 2050,
considering climatic change, technological advancement,
and demand for clean energy [154]. The effect of power con-
servation and emission reduction on the transport sector in
China was evaluated using the Long-range Energy Alterna-
tives Planning (LEAP) tool [98, 155]. The electricity demand
and supply forecasts, environmental impacts, and costs in
Nigeria were determined using the LEAP modelling tool
[157] and also for the energy planning in Kenya to analyze
the electricity demand, potential atmospheric pollutants,
technology stocks, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
from 2010 to 2040 under various scenarios [157]. As part
of measures to mitigate against the impact of greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions from Iran’s electricity generation sec-
tor, the LEAP software was employed to analyze the electric-
ity demand, generation costs, and the volume of carbon
dioxide emissions from its thermal power plants between
2011 and 2030 [98]. To develop an optimal energy genera-
tion plan from 2010 to 2040 for Ghana, the Open Source
Energy Modelling System (OSeMOSYS) was integrated into
LEAP to analyze the economic, technological, and environ-
mental ramifications of the country’s renewable energy pol-
icies [158]. Also, the OSeMOSYS and the LEAP were utilized
to optimize energy generation to curtail the impact of green-
house gases [32].

In China, eight renewable-based scenarios for the effec-
tiveness of intended nationally determined contributions
(INDCs) were developed with the EnergyPLAN model
[182]. This software was employed in modelling Tanzania’s
energy sector planning [179] and Malaysia’s 2010 to 2050
energy sector development [183]. Moreover, the Energy-
PLAN was used to model the Irish energy system [131] as
well as for researching Latvia’s long-term ambitions for
domestic energy production [184].

Franco and Salza [185] investigated Italy’s technoopera-
tional goals for the optimal penetration of inconsistent
renewable energy sources in intricate energy networks using
ENPEP-BALANCE. Also, the potential renewable electricity
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Macedonia [186] and
Portugal [187] was evaluated using ENPEP-BALANCE.

The MESSAGE, an energy optimization bottom-up
planning tool, is used to determine the efficient and econom-
ical investment for energy generation [140, 188]. Syria’s
long-term energy supply optimization strategy to minimize
the cost of energy generation and supply from 2003 to
2030 was developed with MESSAGE [189]. Malaysia applied
the model to its financial analysis of energy growth and the
related carbon emissions between 2009 and 2030 [172,
190]. Moreover, MESSAGE was used to develop the world
energy transition GHG emission scenarios for the World
Energy Council and the Intergovernmental Panel on Cli-
mate Change [131]. In Indonesia, it has been applied to eval-
uate the contribution of nuclear power and other alternative
electricity generation sources to mitigate greenhouse gas
emissions [191]. Using the MESSAGE model, the energy
supply, demand, and associated environmental factors from
the various energy sources in India were analyzed [192]. The
MESSAGE model was used to assess how Brazil might
expand its electricity supply system while minimizing green-
house gas emissions [81].

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has
offered training to most countries in Latin America, the
Caribbean, and Africa on using MESSAGE for energy plan-
ning. Some Latin American and the Caribbean countries
that have used MESSAGE for energy planning are Argen-
tina, Brazil, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Uruguay, and the Domin-
ican Republic [176]. For instance, an energy study carried
out in Brazil employed a combination of MAED and LEAP
for demand side modelling and MESSAGE model for supply
optimization to identify the most cost-effective solution for
the projected climate change target by the country’s electric-
ity generation sector from 2005 to 2035 [164]. The Interna-
tional Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) assisted the five
African power pool regions (West, Southern, Eastern, Cen-
tral, and North) in developing specific country scenarios
for the analysis of renewable energy prospects using MES-
SAGE [193].

MESSAGE is a bottom-up methodology used by govern-
ment energy planners worldwide to determine the cost-
optimal supply mix and accompanying investment require-
ments [193]. In partnership with the World Energy Council
(WEC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC), MESSAGE has been used to create pathways for
global energy transition, focusing on preserving the climate.

19International Journal of Energy Research



T
a
bl
e
3:

E
ne
rg
y
sy
st
em

m
od

el
cl
as
si
fi
ca
ti
on

.

N
am

e/
re
pr
es
en
ta
ti
ve

m
od

el
D
ev
el
op

er
A
na
ly
ti
ca
l

ap
pr
oa
ch

M
et
ho

do
lo
gy

ap
pr
oa
ch

T
im

e
ho

ri
zo
n

G
eo
gr
ap
hi
ca
l

co
ve
ra
ge

an
d

sp
at
ia
l

ap
pl
ic
at
io
n

Se
ct
or
/s
co
pe

U
se
r
in
te
ra
ct
iv
e
fe
at
ur
es
/

ac
ce
ss
ib
ili
ty

R
ef
er
en
ce

M
E
SS
A
G
E

IA
E
A

B
ot
to
m
-u
p

O
pt
im

iz
at
io
n,

sc
en
ar
io

op
er
at
io
na
l
ap
pr
oa
ch
,

op
ti
m
iz
at
io
n

Lo
ng

te
rm

Lo
ca
l,
co
un

tr
y,

re
gi
on

al
,a
nd

gl
ob
al

E
ne
rg
y
de
m
an
d
pr
oj
ec
ti
on

s-
ec
on

om
ic
-

en
vi
ro
nm

en
ta
l
an
al
ys
is

H
ig
h
us
er

fr
ie
nd

lin
es
s,

co
m
m
er
ci
al
/f
re
e
to

IA
E
A

m
em

be
r
st
at
e
co
m
m
er
ci
al

[9
2]

LE
A
P

SE
I

T
op

-d
ow

n
B
ot
to
m
-u
p

Si
m
ul
at
io
n,

op
ti
m
iz
at
io
n,

sc
en
ar
io

op
er
at
io
na
l
ap
pr
oa
ch

Lo
ng

te
rm

Lo
ca
l,
co
un

tr
y,

re
gi
on

al
,a
nd

gl
ob
al

E
ne
rg
y
pl
an
ni
ng
-e
nv
ir
on

m
en
ta
l
im

pa
ct

as
se
ss
m
en
t
an
d
ec
on

om
ic
or

ac
co
un

ti
ng

an
d
co
st
an
al
ys
is
ne
xu
s

H
ig
h
us
er

fr
ie
nd

lin
es
s,
fr
ee

fo
r
ac
ad
em

ic
s
an
d

de
ve
lo
pi
ng

co
un

tr
ie
s

N
ot

op
en

so
ur
ce

C
om

m
er
ci
al

[3
1]

M
A
R
K
A
L/

T
IM

E
S

E
T
SA

P
T
op

-d
ow

n
B
ot
to
m
-u
p

E
qu

ili
br
iu
m

Sc
en
ar
io

op
er
at
io
na
l

ap
pr
oa
ch
,

op
ti
m
iz
at
io
n

M
ed
iu
m

te
rm

Lo
ca
l,
co
un

tr
y,

re
gi
on

al
,a
nd

gl
ob
al

E
ne
rg
y,
en
vi
ro
nm

en
t
ne
xu
s

E
ne
rg
y,
en
vi
ro
nm

en
t,
an
d
ec
on

om
ic

an
al
ys
is

H
ig
h
us
er

fr
ie
nd

lin
es
s

[3
1]

M
ix
ed

In
te
ge
r

Li
ne
ar

P
ro
gr
am

(M
IL
P
)

B
ol
iv
ia

B
ot
to
m
-u
p

Si
m
ul
at
io
n,

op
ti
m
iz
at
io
n

M
ed
iu
m

te
rm

Lo
ca
l

E
ne
rg
y-
en
vi
ro
nm

en
t-
ec
on

om
ic
s

[1
45
]

E
FO

M
B
ot
to
m
-u
p

Sc
en
ar
io

op
er
at
io
na
l

ap
pr
oa
ch

Lo
ng

te
rm

G
lo
ba
l

E
ne
rg
y,
en
vi
ro
nm

en
t,
an
d
ec
on

om
ic

an
al
ys
is

[1
46
]

A
IM

T
op

-d
ow

n
Si
m
ul
at
io
n

Lo
ng

te
rm

R
eg
io
na
l,
gl
ob
al

E
ne
rg
y,
en
vi
ro
nm

en
t,
an
d
ec
on

om
ic

an
al
ys
is

[1
47
]

E
ne
rg
yP

LA
N

A
al
bo
rg

U
ni
v.
,

D
en
m
ar
k

B
ot
to
m
-u
p

Si
m
ul
at
io
n/

op
ti
m
iz
at
io
n,

op
er
at
io
na
l
pl
an
ni
ng

Lo
ng
-t
er
m

op
er
at
io
na
l

Lo
ca
l,
co
un

tr
y,

re
gi
on

al
,a
nd

gl
ob
al

E
ne
rg
y
pl
an
ni
ng
,e
nv
ir
on

m
en
ta
l
co
st
,

ec
on

om
ic
as
se
ss
m
en
t

H
ig
h
us
er

fr
ie
nd

lin
es
s,
no

t
op

en
so
ur
ce

[1
26
]

E
N
P
E
P
-

B
A
LA

N
C
E

U
SA

A
rg
on

N
at
io
na
l

La
b

T
op

-d
ow

n
M
ar
ke
t
si
m
ul
at
io
n

Lo
ng

te
rm

G
lo
ba
l/
se
ct
or
al

E
ne
rg
y
an
d
en
vi
ro
nm

en
t
ne
xu
s
us
e
fo
r

G
H
G

sc
en
ar
io

an
al
ys
is

H
ig
h
us
er

fr
ie
nd

lin
es
s

[1
26
]

M
A
E
D

IA
E
A

B
ot
to
m
-u
p

Si
m
ul
at
io
n
an
d

ac
co
un

ti
ng

Lo
ng

te
rm

Lo
ca
l,
co
un

tr
y,

an
d
re
gi
on

al
le
ve
ls

E
ne
rg
y
an
d
en
vi
ro
nm

en
ta
ln

ex
us

U
se
r
fr
ie
nd

ly
co
m
m
er
ci
al
/

fr
ee

to
IA

E
A
m
em

be
r
st
at
e

co
m
m
er
ci
al

[1
48
]

O
Se
M
O
SY

S
K
T
H
,S
E
I

T
op

do
w
n

B
ot
to
m
-u
p

O
pt
im

iz
at
io
n,

sc
en
ar
io

op
er
at
io
na
l
ap
pr
oa
ch

M
ed
iu
m
-
to

lo
ng
-t
er
m

pl
an
ni
ng

Lo
ca
l,
co
un

tr
y,

re
gi
on

al
,a
nd

gl
ob
al

E
ne
rg
y
pl
an
ni
ng
,c
os
t
op

ti
m
iz
at
io
n

U
se
r
fr
ie
nd

ly

20 International Journal of Energy Research



T
a
bl
e
3:
C
on

ti
nu

ed
.

N
am

e/
re
pr
es
en
ta
ti
ve

m
od

el
D
ev
el
op

er
A
na
ly
ti
ca
l

ap
pr
oa
ch

M
et
ho

do
lo
gy

ap
pr
oa
ch

T
im

e
ho

ri
zo
n

G
eo
gr
ap
hi
ca
l

co
ve
ra
ge

an
d

sp
at
ia
l

ap
pl
ic
at
io
n

Se
ct
or
/s
co
pe

U
se
r
in
te
ra
ct
iv
e
fe
at
ur
es
/

ac
ce
ss
ib
ili
ty

R
ef
er
en
ce

SU
P
E
R

O
LA

D
E

Si
m
ul
at
io
n
an
d

op
ti
m
iz
at
io
n

A
na
ly
si
s
of

fi
na
nc
ia
l
si
tu
at
io
n,

en
vi
ro
nm

en
ta
li
m
pa
ct
,a
nd

en
er
gy

de
m
an
d

U
se
r
fr
ie
nd

ly
[1
26
]

R
og
ea
ul
it
o

T
he

Sh
ift

P
ro
je
ct
,

E
ur
op

e
B
ot
to
m
-u
p

P
hy
si
ca
la
cc
ou

nt
in
g

Lo
ng

te
rm

G
lo
ba
l

E
ne
rg
y
se
ct
or
s
an
d
th
e
en
vi
ro
nm

en
t

[1
49
]

C
O
2D

B
A
us
tr
ia

II
A
SA

D
at
a
in
ve
nt
or
y

In
fo
rm

at
io
n
on

en
er
gy

te
ch
no

lo
gi
es

an
d

th
ei
r
am

ou
nt
s
of

ca
rb
on

em
is
si
on

s
U
se
r
fr
ie
nd

ly
[1
26
]

R
E
T
Sc
re
en

C
an
ad
ia
n

N
at
ur
al

R
es
ou

rc
es

Si
m
ul
at
io
n
an
d

ac
co
un

ti
ng

Lo
ca
l,
co
un

tr
y,

re
gi
on

al
R
E
te
ch
no

lo
gi
es
,e
ne
rg
y
effi

ci
en
cy

as
se
ss
m
en
t
co
st
,a
nd

em
is
si
on

an
al
ys
is

U
se
r
fr
ie
nd

ly
,F

re
e
to

do
w
nl
oa
d

[1
26
]

21International Journal of Energy Research



T
a
bl
e
4:
So
m
e
co
un

tr
ie
s
an
d
th
e
en
er
gy

pl
an
ni
ng

m
od

el
s
th
ey

us
ed
.

C
ou

nt
ry

M
od

el
R
ef
er
en
ce

M
E
SS
A
G
E

LE
A
P

M
A
R
K
A
L

M
A
E
D

E
N
P
E
P

R
E
T
Sc
re
en

A
IM

W
A
SP

E
ne
rg
yP

LA
N

M
IL
P

T
IM

E
S

E
FO

M

C
hi
na

✓
✓

✓
✓

[9
1,
15
9–
16
1]

B
an
gk
ok

✓
[1
62
]

U
K

✓
[1
46
]

G
er
m
an
y

✓
[1
63
]

B
ra
zi
l

✓
✓

[1
64
]

Ir
el
an
d

✓
[1
65
]

Ir
an

✓
✓

[8
6,
16
6,
16
7]

N
ig
er
ia

✓
[1
68
]

G
re
ec
e

✓
[1
69
]

N
or
w
ay

✓
[1
65
]

C
ot
e
d’
Iv
oi
re

✓
[1
70
]

It
al
y

✓
[1
47
]

P
ak
is
ta
n

✓
✓

[1
71
]

N
am

ib
ia

✓
[1
72
]

G
ha
na

✓
✓

[3
1]

D
en
m
ar
k

✓
[1
31
]

In
di
a

✓
✓

✓
[1
60
,1
73
,1
74
]

[1
75
]

[1
76
]

T
ha
ila
nd

✓
[1
77
]

C
ol
om

bi
a

✓
[1
03
]

So
ut
h
K
or
ea

✓
✓

[1
77
]

P
or
tu
ga
l

✓
[1
03
]

Sw
it
ze
rl
an
d

✓
[1
78
]

U
A
E

✓
[9
2]

T
an
za
ni
a

✓
[1
79
]

Q
ue
be
c

✓
[1
80
]

A
rg
en
ti
na

✓
✓

✓
[1
76
]

M
ex
ic
o

✓
[1
76
]

U
ru
gu
ay

✓
✓

✓
[1
76
]

So
ut
he
as
t
A
si
a

✓
[1
60
]

Li
th
ua
ni
a

✓
[1
81
]

P
ol
an
d

✓

E
gy
pt

✓
[8
4]

22 International Journal of Energy Research



MESSAGE can be used to model all the energy sources such
as renewable energy, thermal generation, nuclear and carbon
sequestration, GHGs, and other radiative materials intended
to stabilize future CO2-equivalent concentrations [194].

The extensive use of the MESSAGE software globally has
proven that the model could be used to study energy and its
climate change impact in Ghana.

4. Conclusion

The increasing concern over the potential adverse effects of
climate change on the world’s environment makes energy a
key part of sustainable development. Since carbon emissions
from fossil fuels for electricity generation are the primary
sources of GHGs, research on carbon neutral development
path is critical to mitigating the possible consequences of
this issue in the following decades. Existing studies have
debated whether nuclear power can reduce GHG emissions.
Meanwhile, numerous studies have revealed the relevance of
nuclear energy in reducing GHG emissions. However, few
researchers have investigated the global spatial distribution
of nuclear power generation and the impact of the geograph-
ical distribution of the nuclear on global GHG emissions.

Research by Jaskólski and Bucko indicated that energy
systems require technological innovations to achieve climate
neutrality. In Poland, where obsolete coal-fired power plants
dominate the electricity system, efforts to reduce environ-
mental effects are coupled with substantial expenditures.
As a result, optimal energy sector development paths were
to be identified to achieve ambitious long-term strategic
goals while minimizing the negative impact on climate
change and consumers’ household budgets. A methodology
and a model for developing the electricity and heat genera-
tion structure were developed and implemented in the mar-
ket alloca