A bibliometric review on carbon accounting in social science during 1997-2020

A social science perspective to carbon accounting is essential for determining the appropriate allocation of reduction responsibility, and thus contributing to addressing the climate crisis. It is crucial to have a comprehensive review of the literature in this field to better understand how relevant research has evolved, and to identify gaps that future studies need to work on. Based on the bibliographic database from the Web of Science (WOS), we identified 897 publications relevant to carbon accounting in the social sciences published between 1997 and 2020. Bibliometric analysis is applied to analyze the trends and features of carbon accounting research in the social sciences. The results show that international trade has spurred considerable scholarly interest in responsibility allocation from a consumption perspective. IO (input-output) analysis that can be used to derive embodied emissions in trade has therefore become the most popular method in this domain. It is also revealed that few publications have addressed quantification of emissions at organizational level. In consideration of the importance of organizations especially corporations in emission reduction, a shift of priority to this particular area is needed for further research. Carbon label and supply chain have emerged as a subject in keywords analysis, but have not been addressed enough either. To achieve carbon neutrality, solely relying on actions at country and organizational level may not be sufficient. Greener consumption behaviors of the public and individuals could play a remarkable role. Thus, it is important to formulate a consistent framework for labeling carbon embodied in products and investigate the drivers of consumers' low-carbon choices.

Automated summary

A social science perspective is crucial for carbon accounting to allocate reduction responsibility effectively and address the climate crisis. Bibliometric analysis of 897 relevant publications in the field from 1997 to 2020 found that international trade has driven interest in responsibility allocation from a consumption standpoint, with IO analysis being a popular method. Despite this, there is a lack of research quantifying emissions at the organizational level, highlighting the need for future studies to prioritize this area.