Abstract
India’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2070 represents the strategic significance of cleaner energy sources, such as nuclear energy, in reducing environmental degradation. This study examines the asymmetric relationship between nuclear energy R&D spending and environmental quality, as determined by the Load Capacity Factor (LCF), from 1978 to 2022. The Fourier Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (Fourier-NARDL) model is used to obtain potential nonlinear adjustments and continuous structural changes. Empirical findings show that positive shocks in nuclear energy consumption (NUC) expenditure play a very positive role in improving environmental quality in the long run (β⁺ = 0.37, p < 0.05), and negative shocks have a negative effect (β⁻ = −0.29, p < 0.10). There is also asymmetric behavior in short-run dynamics, but of a smaller dimension. These results provide empirical evidence of the Load Capacity Curve (LCC) hypothesis for India and highlight the importance of the long-term ecological balance that can be attained by focusing on long-term nuclear R&D investment. This research has practical implications for policymakers who aim to align energy innovation strategies with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2070 carbon-neutral objective of India.