Visualizing the landscape of blue finance for sustainable development: A bibliometric analysis and future directions

Blue finance research has recently made significant progress, but comprehensive research is still in its infancy. This paper established a consolidated database of 223 articles on blue finance and used CiteSpace for visualization analysis. Firstly, blue finance develops in embryonic, fluctuating, and stable growth phases. The main research countries are the US, Australia, England, and Canada. The University of California and the University of Queensland are the main research institutions. Marine Policy and Science are highly cited journals. A few core authors shape blue finance research with limited collaboration. Secondly, three themes were established by categorizing ten keyword clusters: financial instruments and mechanisms for marine conservation and sustainability, policy frameworks for adaptation and climate resilience, and policy frameworks for adaptation and climate resilience. Thirdly, contingent valuation, marine protected areas, and the blue economy are the main research hotspots. The results' theoretical contribution is identifying the progress of blue finance and its potential directions. Researchers, managers, and policymakers can use it to promote economic growth and ocean sustainability.