Research on carbon neutrality from the past to the future: a bibliometric analysis

Many countries have made carbon neutrality pledges in response to climate change. In this study, we collected 2,918 publications related to carbon neutrality from the Web of Science and conducted a bibliometric analysis. In this field, we discovered: (1) The number of publications has gone through three phases, with 66.6% of total publications during 2015–2021; research was dominated by the US, with four of the ten most influential institutions coming from it. In 2016, China exceeded the UK in terms of annual publications and ranked second. (2) Academic collaboration among the Top 20 productive countries was extensive, with co-authors from 12 of the 20 countries publishing more than 50% of the total. (3) Co-word analysis indicated that during 2000–2007, researchers focused mainly on ecological carbon sinks; during 2008–2014, carbon markets, bioenergy, and bio-based products attracted attention; during 2015–2021, carbon sequestration technologies, hydrogen, and fuel cells were the focus.