Transforming landscape of continental contributions, collaboration, and scientific impact in climate change and related health research

Abstract Climate change and related health research increasingly informs global climate governance and health strategies, yet regional inequalities in scientific contribution, collaboration, leadership and scientific impact remain poorly understood. This study analyzes 53,978 publications on climate change and related health from a broader planetary health perspective encompassing human, environmental, and ecosystem health dimensions. We reveal that this field has become increasingly globalized and interconnected, shifting from an earlier Europe–North America dominance toward a more diversified structure co-led by Europe, Asia, and North America. However, substantial inequalities persist across continents. International collaboration remains dominated by North–North and North–South partnerships, whereas Africa and South America continue to contribute more often in supporting rather than leading roles. Inter-continental collaborations yield higher citation impact than intra-continental ones, and researchers from less-developed regions gain visibility largely through inclusion in networks anchored in the Global North. These findings reveal persistent structural asymmetries in global climate change and related health knowledge production and highlight the need for strengthening research capacity and promoting more equitable international collaboration to support global climate governance.