Global trends of green technology research during 2014–2023: a scientometric analysis

Purpose The study aims to examine global trends of green technology research from 2014–2023 to understand the status of research on the subject at a global level. Design/methodology/approach The Web of Science database was chosen to extract the data. A structured search query was carefully crafted to ensure the retrieval of relevant documents. The search employed the keywords “green technology,” “environmental technology” or “clean technology,” using the all fields option from the advanced search feature. The timeframe for the data was limited to the years 2014–2023. A total of 24,325 records were collected on September 23, 2024. The retrieved data were cleaned and analyzed using Bibexcel and subsequently organized in MS Excel for additional statistical evaluation. Findings The green technology growth is increasing every year; articles constitute the largest share of contributions, totaling 19,280 (79.26%); Liu Y stands out with 183 publications, an h-index of 43 and a total of 6,983 citations. There is a direct correlation between doubling time and relative growth rate (RGR), indicating the duration required for the quantity to double from 2014 to 2023. The mean values indicate a doubling time of 9.203 and an RGR of 0.649, reflecting a downward trend in the average doubling time. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the most prolific contributor. Elsevier Science Ltd. leads with 3,141 publications, accounting for 12.91%. The “National Natural Science Foundation of China” stands out as the most prominent organization, having supported a total of 142 records, accounting for 0.58% of the research output. Originality/value This study selected a comprehensive analysis for assessing the scientometric indicator. The finding helps researchers and scientists to understand the growth of green technology research output.