Developments and Trends in Energy Poverty Research—Literature Visualization Analysis Based on CiteSpace

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to help better understand the problem of energy poverty; to grasp the research context, evolution trends and research hotspots of energy poverty; and to find clues from research on energy poverty. In this paper, we use the scientific quantitative knowledge graph method and CiteSpace software to analyze 814 studies in the WOS (Web of Science) and CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) databases, such as a literature characteristic analysis, a core author and research institution network analysis, a research hotspot analysis, research trends and a frontier analysis. The results show that the specific connotations of energy poverty are different between developed countries and developing countries. In developed countries, energy poverty is mainly manifested in the affordability of energy consumption, while in developing countries, energy poverty is manifested in the availability of energy. The causes, impacts and solutions of energy poverty are the focus of CNKI and WOS literature, and their perspectives of the impacts and solutions are relatively consistent. However, in terms of the causes, scholars of WOS discuss the energy supply side and the demand side, while scholars of CNKI mainly analyze the energy demand side. The quantitative evaluation system of energy poverty has not been unified, which restricts the depth and breadth of energy poverty research. Topics such as the expanding scope of research objects; the interaction among energy poverty, the “two-carbon” target and other macro factors; the complex and severe energy poverty situation following the COVID-19 pandemic and the outbreak of the war in Ukraine; and the ways to solve the energy poverty problem in the context of China may become the focus of research in the future. This study provides an overview for researchers who are not familiar with the field of energy poverty, and provides reference and inspiration for future research of scholars in the field of energy poverty research.