Climate anxiety scholarship: A global bibliometric synthesis (2000–2024)

Climate anxiety research has emerged as a significant interdisciplinary scholarship linking mental health, environmental science, and social justice. Despite its growing prominence, no comprehensive bibliometric analysis has systematically mapped its intellectual structure and global dynamics. This study presents a bibliometric synthesis of 579 publications on climate anxiety indexed in Scopus and Web of Science from 2000 to 2024. Using Biblioshiny (the graphical interface for the R package "bibliometrix") and VOSviewer, we analyzed co-authorship, co-citation, and keyword co-occurrence networks to examine patterns in scientific production, thematic development, and institutional and geographic distribution. Citation trend analysis and keyword mapping traced thematic evolution across three phases: 2003–2015, 2016–2020, and 2021–2024. Results indicate exponential growth in climate anxiety research since 2019, with 242 publications in 2024 alone. The field is largely shaped by prominent scholars from the Global North and over the years thematic clusters have expanded from foundational constructs such as solastalgia and eco-anxiety to broader concerns including ecological grief, place attachment, and pro-environmental behavior. However, research remains geographically concentrated in high-income countries, with limited representation from climate-vulnerable regions, underscoring persistent epistemic disparities. Overall, the field demonstrates rapid development and growing interdisciplinary reach, yet continues to reflect inequities in global authorship and knowledge production. Advancing a more inclusive and context-sensitive climate anxiety scholarship requires centering Global South perspectives, decolonizing research agendas, and promoting equitable collaboration.