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Energy Markets and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Challenges and Prospects

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 November 2026 | Viewed by 1084

Editors

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

SDGs are designed to support the achievement of sustainable development goals and reduce ESG risk, so it is worth diagnosing the connections between SDGs and energy markets. This Special Issue (SI) aims to discuss the links between the 17 SDGs, the level of implementation in individual countries, and the energy markets globally. Attention will be paid to the SDGs in which energy markets and institutions are mainly involved, e.g., by implementing projects and providing finances.

Countries worldwide are trying to create the necessary conditions to actualize green transformation; an example is the actions taken by the European Union, which has adopted, among other measures, documents such as the European Green Deal, supporting the achievement of climate neutrality. CO2 emissions from pollution sources such as transport, energy, and heating constitute a fundamental problem. Therefore, one of the challenges facing global society remains the transition to and implementation of renewable energy sources and, consequently, energy transformation and energy market transition. This transformation is closely related to issues such as sustainable development and growth and SDGs. In the era of digitization, including the age of digital finance, attention is drawn to their positive and negative impact on carbon footprint. On the one hand, digitization means a lower risk of deforestation. Conversely, for example, in terms of cryptocurrency markets, their development exerts a high level of demand on energy consumption.

This SI aims to present and promote research examining the relationship between sustainable financial development and growth in the context of implementing Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those directly related to supporting energy efficiency and energy transition and assessing financial and economic instruments supporting the green transformation. Preference will be given to articles with a solid analytical layer, especially in terms of a quantitative research component.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Energies.

Prof. Dr. Magdalena Ziolo
Dr. Isabel Novo-Corti
Prof. Dr. Diana-Mihaela Țîrcă
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • energy markets
  • energy strategy
  • energy sources
  • renewable energy
  • CO2 emissions
  • greenhouse gases reduction
  • green innovation
  • green credit
  • green bonds
  • green transition
  • green economy
  • circular economy
  • green financial markets
  • energy sectors
  • electric cars
  • solar energy
  • wind energy
  • biogas
  • sustainable development goals
  • energy saving solutions

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

36 pages, 7410 KB  
Article
Review of Sustainable Finance: Key Trends and Research Agenda
by Magdalena Zioło, Elżbieta Szaruga and Anna Spoz
Sustainability 2026, 18(10), 5071; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18105071 - 18 May 2026
Viewed by 694
Abstract
The study presents a comprehensive approach to reviewing achievements in sustainable finance, identifying research trends and directions, key problem areas, the geographical origins of publications, keyword clusters, and the research methods applied by scholars in this field. The analysis is based on a [...] Read more.
The study presents a comprehensive approach to reviewing achievements in sustainable finance, identifying research trends and directions, key problem areas, the geographical origins of publications, keyword clusters, and the research methods applied by scholars in this field. The analysis is based on a dataset of 9218 publications indexed in the Web of Science and Scopus databases covering the period 2012–2025. The methodological framework combines bibliometric analysis, text mining, and topic modelling techniques, including the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) method, supported by visualization tools. These methods enable the identification of publication dynamics, the geographic distribution of research activity, thematic clusters, and the dominant research methods used in the literature. The results indicate a significant increase in academic interest in sustainable finance, particularly after 2018. The main research trends identified include green finance, climate finance, renewable energy financing, ESG investing, sustainability reporting, and the development of green financial instruments. The analysis also highlights the growing role of innovation and financial institutions in supporting sustainability transitions. In addition, the study identifies emerging research areas such as blue finance and green banking, providing a broader perspective on the evolving structure of sustainable finance research. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only review paper that approaches sustainable finance in such a comprehensive manner, particularly by incorporating the emerging concept of blue finance. Full article
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