Emerging green industry toward net-zero economy: A systematic review

Given the urgency of achieving net-zero emissions for climate stabilization, a deeper holistic knowledge of the key factors driving green industry, an emerging industrial strategy to build net-zero economies through sustainable production and consumption, is of growing relevance. The existing literature is fragmented into heterogeneous factors of green industry and a systematic review on the topic is lacking. This study aims to fill this gap by synthesizing the growing multidisciplinary literature on the driving factors of green industry by addressing a set of research questions. It has reviewed 211 peer-reviewed articles and 16 grey literatures published from 2009 to July 2022. A systematic review methodology is employed by defining research questions, a search strategy, search terms, databases, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and a synthesis strategy. A holistic factors framework has been constructed to discuss the results that can be used in evaluating green industrial growth strategies for net-zero economy. The study finds six key literature gaps that have theoretical and practical implications for future research. Firstly, potential threats (delayed decoupling, inequality, green extractivism, and stranded assets) identified in this review demand extensive studies that might contribute to a successful green transition toward net-zero emissions. Secondly, primary factors underpinning green industry are heterogeneous, fragmented, and less considered under the rubric of ‘green industry’, which require holistic frameworks and systems thinking to study. Thirdly, the literature focuses on the growth-environmental dilemma, overlooking social structures where green industry is embedded in, and the social implications must be considered with a focus on industrial inclusion. Fourthly, theoretical underpinnings of green industry evolve around green growth and degrowth that take distinct stands in challenging economic growth model to achieve net-zero emissions, but their theoretical claims and practical methods are highly contested, and their relationship and implications within different contexts of economies demand further research. Fifthly, the literature evolved globally, but primarily concentrated on China, and regional, provincial, and local perspectives are scant. Finally, the reviewed papers typically employ quantitative methods and few qualitative and mixed methods involving fieldwork.