Is Africa Left behind in the Global Climate Finance Architecture: Redefining Climate Vulnerability and Revamping the Climate Finance Landscape—A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

African countries contribute less than 4% of global carbon emissions and are susceptible to the repercussions of climate change due to pre-existing challenges such as poverty, unemployment, and food insecurity. The Paris Agreement underscores the need for climate finance to support resilience and low-carbon investments. However, African nations struggle to access adequate funds, hindering effective adaptation and mitigation. Against this background, a bibliometric analysis was conducted on climate finance literature for the period 2007–2023 in order to explore the publication trends, emerging themes, and future research directions. Merging 91 documents from Web of Science and 94 from Scopus yielded a dataset of 139 records. Web of Science experienced a 10.58% publication growth rate, while Scopus had a higher publication growth rate of 13.18%. The merged dataset’s publication growth rate was 13.88%, reflecting consistent contributions. The surge in publications from 2019 to 2023 points to intensified discussions on climate change and associated policies. International collaboration between authors is evident, with Web of Science at 37.76%, Scopus at 28.7%, and the merged dataset at 26.62%. Temporally, 2007–2023 saw escalating interest, especially post-2012, reflecting the evolution of climate change and renewable energy policies. Authors were ranked based on article count and fractionalized ranks, with Chirambo D being the lead author in the field of climate finance in Africa. Key articles advocated for supplementary fund integration into government budgets. The UK, USA, and Germany topped in citations, reflecting the availability of research funding, expertise, and collaborations. Leading sources included Climate Policy and Climate and Development. Keyword co-occurrence identified five emerging thematic trends, contributing to an in-depth understanding of climate finance literature’s dynamics and future directions.