Looking back to move forward: a meta-review of climate change research

Climate change research has grown significantly over the past two centuries, encompassing foundational physical insights, comprehensive impact assessments, and a wide range of mitigation and adaptation strategies. Review studies have helped chart this expanding body of work by mapping the existing literature, identifying geographic and thematic gaps, and guiding future research directions. Although valuable meta-reviews exist within specific subfields, a comprehensive bibliometric meta-review of review articles spanning across all sectors of climate change research has not yet been conducted. This study addresses that gap by systematically reviewing 39,020 review articles retrieved from the Scopus database. The analysis employed bibliometric techniques, publication trend analysis, mapping of global and regional distributions, keyword co-occurrence analysis, and citation analysis to synthesize the current state of climate change research. Findings reveal a steady increase in climate change-related review publications, involving contributions from 159 authors across 160 countries and institutions. The majority of reviews were published in English and Chinese, with common themes including sustainability, adaptation, global warming, and biodiversity. The study also reflects the transition of climate change review literature from a purely physical science focus to broader socio-ecological and technological perspectives. Despite this growth, the literature reveals several persistent limitations, including uneven research attention across regions, disciplinary fragmentation, data gaps, and the underrepresentation of vulnerable and developing regions. These findings underscore the need for a more integrated, collaborative, and action-oriented research agenda that not only advances scientific understanding but also translates knowledge into localized, practical strategies to reduce the risks and vulnerabilities of those most affected by climate change.