Evolution and impact of green finance: A comprehensive bibliometric analysis

• China leads contributions to green finance literature with significant collaborations with South Asian institutions. • The central themes in green finance research are carbon emissions, green technology innovation, and renewable energy. • Advanced bibliometric tools were used to create thematic maps and keyword analyses. • Most influential authors and major journals in green finance research are pinpointed to guide future studies. Environmental concerns have significantly amplified the demand for sustainable financial mechanisms, positioning green finance as a critical area of scholarly inquiry. This study conducts a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of 1887 peer-reviewed articles published in 302 Scopus-indexed journals from 1996 to May 2025. Using advanced tools, such as Biblioshiny and VOSviewer, the study identifies key publication trends, institutional collaborations, and thematic evolutions in the green finance literature. Findings highlight China's dominance in scholarly output and significant collaborations with South Asian nations. Thematically, the field centers on carbon emission mitigation, green technological innovation, and renewable energy finance, with emerging interest in ESG frameworks, digital green finance, and green credit instruments. This study's innovation lies in its integration of multi-method bibliometric mapping, co-citation networks, and thematic evolution overlays, which together reveal previously unmapped intersections such as the convergence of green finance with digital sustainability, institutional policy, and transnational governance. By offering a theory-informed and data-driven synthesis, this study provides a foundation for future research agendas and targeted policy interventions to advance sustainable finance globally.