Challenges to the low carbon energy transition: A systematic literature review and research agenda

Many challenges should be tackled in transitioning to a low-carbon energy system, motivating many researchers to study these challenges. In this context, the present study aims to identify challenges through a systematic literature review of studies published between 2006 and 2023 to propose a comprehensive framework of challenges. To this end, the PICOC framework was applied to set the research scope properly; and an integrated method called PSALSAR protocol was used to find, evaluate, and review publications published in Scopus and the Web of Science. As a result, 123 articles were reviewed, and seventeen challenges were identified and classified into five social, economic, environmental, technical, and institutional challenges. Results indicated that international agreements on climate change could boost the number of studies on the low-carbon energy transition. Also, it is indicated that researchers applied qualitative methods more in earlier studies, and methods and topics have become more profound over the years.