Green Finance as a Catalyst for Sustainable Development: A Bibliometrics Review of Financial Innovation and Environmental Impact (Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research))

Summary

• The systematic review analysed 342 peer-reviewed articles published between 2014 and 2025, selected from 1,247 potentially relevant records across 118 unique journals.p.3
• The global sustainable finance market reached $8.2 trillion in 2024, marking a 17% increase from 2023.p.1
• Achieving climate neutrality by 2050 requires annual investments of $5.8 trillion in clean energy and sustainable infrastructure, compared to current funding levels of $2.1 trillion annually.p.1
• Green bonds represent the most researched financial instrument, accounting for 230 articles or 67.3% of analyzed literature.p.3
• The global green bond market grew from $11 billion issuance in 2013 to $607 billion in 2024.p.4
• ESG integration research expanded rapidly with a 312% growth rate between 2020 and 2025 across 156 articles.p.3
• Only 54 articles or 15.8% of reviewed green finance literature specifically focused on emerging markets.p.5

Key insights

1. Green bonds dominate research focus in sustainable finance literature, comprising 67.3% of examined articles.p.3
2. Behavioural finance represents the fastest-growing research field in green investing, expanding by 410% between 2020 and 2025.p.3
3. Quantitative methods prevail in green finance studies, with 73% of research relying exclusively on quantitative approaches.p.4
4. Annual green bond issuance experienced substantial growth, rising from $11 billion in 2013 to $607 billion in 2024.p.4
5. Emerging markets receive only 10—15% of global climate finance flows despite experiencing disproportionate impacts from climate change.p.1
6. Significant reporting fragmentation exists in green finance, with 41 distinct impact measurement methodologies identified and 63% of sampled green bond reports utilizing different metrics.p.5
7. Cross-sectional research designs dominate quantitative studies, representing 78% of quantitative green finance literature.p.5
8. Biodiversity and nature-related finance remain largely understudied, appearing in only 23 articles or 6.7% of the reviewed literature.p.5