Strategic Investment for Sustainability: A Bibliometric Exploration of Green Finance Research

Abstract

Supporting global development towards a sustainable direction has led to many findings, particularly in finance, such as green finance. This emphasizes the critical role of research and policymaking in shaping investment strategies that support sustainability. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis to map the knowledge structure, research development, and current trends in green finance and sustainable investment strategies. A total of 471 articles published between 2015 and 2025 were collected from the Scopus database using specific keywords and filtered based on relevance to the topic. Data were analyzed using Biblioshiny and VOSviewer through descriptive analysis, co-word analysis, thematic evolution, thematic mapping, and co-citation analysis. The results show a significant increase in publications over the last decade, with “green finance”, “sustainable finance”, and “sustainable development” as dominant themes. In recent years, emerging topics such as fintech, ESG, and green innovation have gained more attention. The findings highlight China and the United States as leading contributors, with a growing interdisciplinary collaboration trend. This research provides a comprehensive overview of the thematic evolution of green finance and proposes future research directions relevant to scholars, policymakers, and practitioners.