Global evidence on energy transition and climate vulnerability through systematic review

Over the last decade, the number of studies showing a link between energy transition and climate vulnerability has increased significantly. Globally, energy transition is an important component of the climate system and plays a key role in economic development. There is a large body of literature on energy transition and climate vulnerability individually, but limited studies have used multiple factors to analyse both. What remains unclear is whether these two systems interact and influence each other. In recent years, especially after 2022, some studies have begun to consider multidimensional measures of climate vulnerability or climate risk, such as composite indices that incorporate exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. The paper aims to critically review the insufficient and highly inconsistent approaches used to establish a relationship between energy transition and climate vulnerability. Data for the study are collected using the Scopus database. This study adopted the PRISMA framework and conducted a bibliometric analysis of 76 studies. This study reviews existing studies on the relationship between energy transition and climate vulnerability, identifies major research themes, and highlights important research gaps for future studies. The review highlights that carbon emission reduction is considered the main indicator of environmental performance, with limited focus on climate vulnerability using multidimensional measures such as exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. The review shows four major thematic areas in the existing literature, with the largest proportion of studies focusing on policy, economic, and institutional dimensions, followed by climate risk and vulnerability, energy transition and environmental outcomes and emerging research areas. The findings also reveal that the literature remains fragmented, with limited integration of energy transition and climate vulnerability within a unified analytical framework. Furthermore, the review identifies significant research gaps, particularly in sub-national analyses and the use of comprehensive climate vulnerability indicators.