Mapping the Sustainable Development-Climate Change Nexus: A Global Outlook through Bibliometric Analysis
Abstract
Sustainable Development (SD) and climate change are characterized by a dynamic and interdependent relationship, and SD plays an important role in protecting the environment and addressing climate change challenges. Although the substantial literature has focused on these themes individually, there is a gap in attention between an integrated review of sustainable development and climate change. This study aims to map the global literature landscape on integrating SD and climate change, using 881 documents from the Web of Science Core Collection Database, and using the PRISMA framework. An analysis was conducted using RStudio (bibliometrix tool) and VOSviewer to identify research trends, progress, future directions, spatial disparities, and collaboration networks. Findings underscored that the dominant document type was journal articles (68%) and that the Chinese Academy of Sciences was the highest-performing institution. “Renewable energy”, “environment, “sustainable development, “sustainable development goals, “adaptation,” and “mitigation” themes were the most influential and frequently discussed themes. The temporal development of this nexus progressed from early adaptation-focused studies (2000-2007) to a policy- and governance-emphasis (2008-2016) and toward a sustainability-integrated approach (2017-2023). The USA, the UK, and China were the leading countries in terms of the number of published documents and collaborations. The conclusion reveals significant spatial disparities, especially in lower performance in developing countries, and a disconnected knowledge structure. The results imply the need for attention to policies, technologies, and knowledge that can be supported through interdisciplinary collaboration, funding, and multilingual publishing. Moreover, future studies should emphasize regional integration, policy, and technology, integrating this domain, to strengthen the role of SD-climate change research.