Exploring Research Landscape of Global Green Finance via Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

The growing urgency of climate change and sustainable development has positioned green finance as a central mechanism for channeling capital toward low-carbon transitions and environmental protection. While research in this area has expanded rapidly, it remains unevenly distributed across regions, with a strong concentration in advanced economies and limited systematic evidence from emerging and climate-vulnerable regions such as Southeast Asia (SEA). To provide a comprehensive global overview, this study conducts a bibliometric analysis of green finance research published between 1990 and 2025 using the Scopus database and network visualization techniques. The analysis examines publication trends, leading authors and institutions, subject areas, country-level contributions, and keyword co-occurrence structures. Results reveal exponential growth in green finance research after 2018, with dominant themes centered on green finance, sustainable development, and green bonds, alongside emerging topics related to climate change, renewable energy, ESG practices, and carbon emissions. China, the United Kingdom, India, and the United States emerge as major knowledge hubs, while SEA shows increasing but still comparatively limited research output. By highlighting regional disparities and thematic gaps, this study provides valuable benchmarks for strengthening green finance research and policy development in SEA and Thailand, where high climate vulnerability and growing sustainability commitments underscore the need for stronger integration with global research networks.   Keywords: Clean energy, Green economy, Responsible production, Sustainable finance