Financing and investing in sustainable infrastructure: A review and research agenda

Abstract

Financing and investing in sustainable infrastructure play a pivotal role in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly considering their multifaceted benefits to the environment, society, and economy. This systematic literature review applies the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology to explore the financing and investment aspects of sustainable infrastructure. With support of a comprehensive collection of 4,308 publications dated from 2009 to 2023, we analyse various types of sustainable infrastructure and their investment and financing strategies by employing bibliometric analysis on 74 most closely related journal articles in a network approach setting. Results show the growing significance of green finance as a central research theme and a prevailing trend within this domain. Drawing upon these findings, we propose a conceptual framework for the integration of green finance into sustainable infrastructure development, offering insights to policy makers and guide future research agendas aimed at advancing green finance in infrastructure sectors.

Keywords

• Sustainable infrastructure
• Green finance
• Green bonds
• Systematic review
• PRISMA