A systematic review on renewable energy and international trade: Current trends and future implications
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35208/ert.1618468Keywords:
Renewable energy , sustainability , international trade , bibliometric analysisAbstract
Renewable energy is critical to the achievement of sustainable development goals. Transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy alternatives enhances environmental sustainability, decreases dependence on energy imports, and fosters economic growth. The capacity of major countries in the global energy market to dedicate increased resources to renewable energy projects, as well as the impact of trade uncertainty on renewable energy investments by raising project expenses, exemplifies a vital connection between international trade and renewable energy. Within this framework, it is essential to examine research concerning renewable energy and international trade to identify trends in this field. The research aims to evaluate current trends in the literature, identify research gaps, and suggest directions for future investigation by examining the relationship between renewable energy and international trade through bibliometric analysis. In this context, 375 scientific studies published between 1992 and 2024, with a notable surge in research activity observed since 2010, were analyzed using data from the Web of Science database with the R program. As a result of the analysis, key findings were identified: a consistent increase in scientific production and citations during 2010–2020, the predominance of keywords such as "CO₂ emissions," "economic growth," and "consumption," and China emerging as the most productive country. Based on these outcomes, prominent authors, countries, topics, concepts, and research gaps in this field were identified, and suggestions for future research were made.
Downloads
References
[1]. İ. D. Göçoğlu, N. Negiz, and V. Göçoğlu, “Türkiye’nin iklim değişikliği ile mücadele serüveni: Akademik yazın üzerine bir araştırma,” Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Vizyoner Dergisi, Vol. 14(38), pp. 626-648, 2023.
[2]. M. A. Nyasapoh, M. D. Elorm, and N. S. A. Derkyi, “The role of renewable energies in sustainable development of Ghana,” Scientific African, Vol. 16, p. e01199, 2022.
[3]. F. Arı and V. Yılmaz, “Türkiye’de ve Dünya’da enerji kaynaklarının genel görünümü ve alternatif enerji kaynaklarının önemi,” Dicle Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, (34), pp. 496-519, 2023.
[4]. K. Khan, C. W. Su, A. Khurshid, and M. Qin, “Does energy security improve renewable energy? A geopolitical perspective,” Energy, Vol. 282, p. 128824, 2023.
[5]. J. A. Paravantis and N. Kontoulis, “Energy security and renewable energy: A geopolitical perspective,” in Renewable energy-resources, challenges and applications, M. Al Qubeissi, A. El-kharouf, and H. S. Soyhan, (Eds.), IntechOpen, pp. 19-46, 2020.
[6]. B. W. Ang, W. L. Choong, and T. S. Ng, “Energy security: Definitions, dimensions and indexes,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 42, pp. 1077-1093, 2015.
[7]. E. M. Ebaidalla, “The impact of taxation, technological innovation and trade openness on renewable energy investment: Evidence from the top renewable energy producing countries,” Energy, Vol. 306, p. 132539, 2024.
[8]. M. Ahmad, D. Jan, S. Ali, and U. U. Khan, “Empowering Asia’s sustainable future: Unraveling renewable energy dynamics with trade, carbon emission, governance, and innovative interactions,” Renewable Energy, Vol. 229, p. 120716, 2024.
[9]. C. Feng, Y.-Q. Liu, and J. Yang, “Do energy trade patterns affect renewable energy development? The threshold role of digital economy and economic freedom,” Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Vol. 203, p. 123371, 2024.
[10]. T. S. Adebayo, S. E. Uhunamure, and K. Shale, “A time-varying approach to the nexus between environmental related technologies, renewable energy consumption and environmental sustainability in South Africa,” Scientific Reports, Vol. 13, p. 4860, 2023.
[11]. L. Chang, F. Taghizadeh-Hesary, and M. Mohsin, “Role of mineral resources trade in renewable energy development,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 181(C), p. 113321, 2023.
[12]. W. Dong, Y. Li, P. Gao, and Y. Sun, “Role of trade and green bond market in renewable energy deployment in Southeast Asia,” Renewable Energy, Vol. 204, pp. 313–319, 2023.
[13]. W. Huilan, S. S. Akadiri, I. Haouas, A. A. Awosusi, and A. T. Odu, “Impact of trade liberalization and renewable energy on load capacity factor: Evidence from novel dual adjustment approach,” Energy & Environment, Vol. 35(2), pp. 795–814, 2024.
[14]. I. Stepanov, N. Teschner, S. Zemah-Shamir, and Y. Parag, “How sustainable is the energy transition? Implications of trade on emissions and energy security,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 206, p. 114844, 2024.
[15]. Q. Zuo and M. T. Majeed, “Does trade policy uncertainty hurt renewable energy-related sustainable development goals in China?,” Heliyon, Vol. 10(15), p. e35215, 2024.
[16]. C.-H. Chou, S. L. Ngo, and P. P. Tran, “Renewable energy integration for sustainable economic growth: Insights and challenges via bibliometric analysis,” Sustainability, Vol. 15(20), p. 15030, 2023.
[17]. H. Oliveira and V. Moutinho, “Renewable energy, economic growth and economic development nexus: A bibliometric analysis,” Energies, Vol. 14(15), p. 4578, 2021.
[18]. I. Barahona and T. Almulhim, “Renewable energies and circular economies: A systematic literature review before the ChatGPT boom,” Energy Reports, Vol. 11, pp. 2656–2669, 2024.
[19]. K. Kristia and M. F. Rabbi, “Exploring the synergy of renewable energy in the circular economy framework: A bibliometric study,” Sustainability, Vol. 15(17), p. 13165, 2023.
[20]. F. García-Lillo, E. Sánchez-García, B. Marco-Lajara, and P. Seva-Larrosa, “Renewable energies and sustainable development: A bibliometric overview,” Energies, Vol. 16(3), p. 1211, 2023.
[21]. Web of Science, “Web of Science Search,” [Online]. Available: https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/summary/43b5b68c-2fe9-4efb-957f-24177baa6911-0154923535/relevance/1 (Accessed: Mar. 21, 2025).
[22]. D. S. Ranasinghe and N. Rodrigo, “Implementation of blockchain for sustainable solar energy trading: A systematic review,” Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, Vol. 15(1), pp. 231-252, 2026.
[23]. Y. Sun, Z. Ma, X. Chi, J. Duan, M. Li, and A. U. Khan, “Decoding the developmental trajectory of energy trading in power markets through bibliometric and visual analytics,” Energies, Vol. 17(15), p. 3605, 2024.
[24]. T. Güney, “Renewable energy, non-renewable energy and sustainable development,” International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, Vol. 26(5), pp. 389-397, 2019.
[25]. B. Marco-Lajara, J. Martínez-Falcó, E. Sánchez-García, and L. A. Millan-Tudela, “Analyzing the role of renewable energy in meeting the sustainable development goals: A bibliometric analysis,” Energies, Vol. 16(7), p. 3137, 2023.
[26]. P. A. Østergaard, N. Duic, Y. Noorollahi, and S. Kalogirou, “Renewable energy for sustainable development,” Renewable Energy, Vol. 199, pp. 1145-1152, 2022.
[27]. United Nations, “The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023,” United Nations, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2023/The-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2023.pdf.
[28]. A. Kwilinski, “Mapping global research on green energy and green investment: A comprehensive bibliometric study,” Energies, Vol. 17(5), p. 1119, 2024.
[29]. F. Yang and J. Li, “A review of renewable energy investment in Belt and Road Initiative countries: A bibliometric analysis perspective,” Energies, Vol. 17(19), p. 4900, 2024.
[30]. D. P. S. Mashari, T. Y. M. Zagloel, T. E. B. Soesilo, and I. Maftuchah, “A bibliometric and literature review: Alignment of green finance and carbon trading,” Sustainability, Vol. 15(10), p. 7877, 2023.
[31]. S. Büyükkıdık, “A bibliometric analysis: A tutorial for the Bibliometrix package in R using IRT literature,” Journal of Measurement and Evaluation in Education and Psychology, Vol. 13(3), pp. 164-193, 2022.
[32]. D. Guleria and G. Kaur, “Bibliometric analysis of ecopreneurship using VOSviewer and RStudio Bibliometrix, 1989–2019,” Library Hi Tech, Vol. 39(4), pp. 1001-1024, 2021.
[33]. N. Donthu, S. Kumar, D. Mukherjee, N. Pandey, and W. M. Lim, “How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines,” Journal of Business Research, Vol. 133, pp. 285-296, 2021.
[34]. H. Derviş, “Bibliometric analysis using Bibliometrix an R package,” Journal of Scientometric Research, Vol. 8(3), pp. 156-160, 2019.
[35]. Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, “Paris Anlaşması (PA),” [Online]. Available: https://enerji.gov.tr/evced-cevre-ve-iklim-paris-anlasmasi.
[36]. S. A. Rehman Khan, S. Hassan, M. A. Khan, M. R. Khan, D. I. Godil, and M. Tanveer, “Nexuses between energy efficiency, renewable energy consumption, foreign direct investment, energy consumption, global trade, logistics and manufacturing industries of emerging economies: In the era of COVID-19 pandemic,” Frontiers in Environmental Science, Vol. 10, p. 880200, 2022.
[37]. M. A. Kurtuluş and K. Bilen, “A bibliometric analysis on nature of science: A review of the research between 1986-2019,” Scientific Educational Studies, Vol. 5(1), pp. 47-65, 2021.
[38]. Web of Science, “Web of Science Search,” [Online]. Available: https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/summary/1ecd4b82-f585-44ac-b91d-ab7988a7d694-0155a95a09/recently-added/1. (Accessed: Mar. 23, 2025).
[39]. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, “Regional Cooperation for Sustainable Energy in Asia and the Pacific,” [Online]. Available: https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/publications/REGIONAL%20COOPERATION%20FOR%20SUSTAINABLE%20ENERGY%20IN%20ASIA%20AND%20THE%20PACIFIC.pdf.
[40]. European Commission, “Energy and the Green Deal.” [Online]. Available: https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal/energy-and-green-deal_en.
[41]. C. Lu and P. Xing, “The role of China’s foreign direct investments in energy within the Belt and Road Initiative,” Journal of Energy & Environmental Policy Options, Vol. 5(1), pp. 35-43, 2022.
[42]. E. Kovaleva and L. Vartiak, “Risk and benefit analysis of China’s foreign direct investment in the energy sector: Case study of the Belt and Road Initiative,” International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Vol. 14(6), pp. 283-290, 2024.
[43]. Z. Jin and Y. Tian, “Research on the current situation of renewable energy investment in China,” in IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, IOP Publishing, Vol. 427, p. 012015, 2020.
[44]. M. Bilal, M. K. Ali, U. Qazi, S. Hussain, M. Jahanzaib, and A. Wasim, “A multifaceted evaluation of hybrid energy policies: The case of sustainable alternatives in special Economic Zones of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),” Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, Vol. 52 (Part A), p. 101958, 2022.
[45]. Y. A. Solangi, Q. Tan, N. H. Mirjat, and S. Ali, “Evaluating the strategies for sustainable energy planning in Pakistan: An integrated SWOT-AHP and Fuzzy-TOPSIS approach,” Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 236, p. 117655, 2019.
[46]. M. Çapik, A. O. Yılmaz, and İ. Çavuşoğlu, “Present situation and potential role of renewable energy in Turkey,” Renewable Energy, Vol. 46, pp. 1-13, 2012.
[47]. F. Cesur, N. Taş, and M. Taş, “A decision-making model proposal for the use of renewable energy technologies in buildings in Turkey,” Energies, Vol. 17(10), p. 2354, 2024.
[48]. J. Zhang, “Analyzing China’s global influence through the Belt and Road Initiative: A case study of the Pakistan-China Energy and Economic Corridor,” Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media, Vol. 63, pp. 179-184, 2024.
[49]. J. Syed and M. Tariq, “Cooperation among business schools across the Belt and Road: A CPEC perspective,” in China’s Belt and Road Initiative in a global context: Volume II: The China Pakistan Economic Corridor and its implications for business, J. Syed and Y.-H. Ying (Eds.), Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 329–358, 2020.
[50]. United Nations Climate Change, “Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,” [Online]. Available: https://unfccc.int/files/kyoto_protocol/application/pdf/kp_consoldiated_text.pdf. (Accessed: Mar. 24, 2025).
[51]. United Nations, “The Paris Agreement,” [Online]. Available: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/parisagreement_publication.pdf.
[52]. United Nations, “Global Sustainable Development Report 2023.” [Online]. Available: https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/2023-07/The-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2023_0.pdf
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Environmental Research and Technology
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
All articles in Environmental Research and Technology (ERT) are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
This license allows others to copy, distribute, and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes only, provided that proper credit is given to the original authors and to the journal.
