ADAPTING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TO CLIMATE CHANGE: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW OF SCOPUS DATA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62985/j.huit_ojs.vol26.no3E.533Keywords:
Climate change adaptation, climate-smart agriculture, multi-level governance, Scopus data, sustainable development.Abstract
Climate change adaptation (CCA) has become a critical condition for achieving sustainable development, particularly in climate-vulnerable contexts where governance constraints, uneven adaptive capacity, and limited access to technology hinder implementation. This study conducts a systematic literature review combined with bibliometric mapping and qualitative thematic synthesis to examine how the academic literature conceptualizes and operationalizes the relationship between climate adaptation and sustainable development. Using the Scopus database and PRISMA-guided screening procedures, 38 core studies published between 2010 and 2025 were selected from an initial pool of 8,902 records. VOSviewer was employed to analyze keyword co-occurrence and bibliographic coupling patterns, while thematic content analysis was used to identify major research domains and comparative trends. The findings reveal three dominant themes: (1) policy mainstreaming and institutional integration, (2) sectoral and technological adaptation, and (3) equity, local capacity, and implementation barriers. The review also shows important differences across developed and developing country contexts, sectoral applications, governance scales, and methodological approaches. A central contribution of the study is the identification of a persistent theory-practice gap, driven by institutional fragmentation, resource limitations, unequal access to technology, and weak integration of local knowledge. Based on these findings, the paper proposes evidence-informed implications for future research and policy discussion in climate-vulnerable developing countries such as Vietnam.
References
[1] A. Chandel, M. Yadav, and P. M. Nguyen, “Climate Change and Sustainable Development: How Can Climate Change Be Addressed Within the Framework of Sustainable Development Goals?,” in Effects of Climate Change on Social and Economic Factors, IGI Global, 2025, pp. 387–422, doi: https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-5792-7.ch016
[2] G. S. Langendijk et al., “Supporting climate resilient development planning - a dynamic adaptive pathways based approach and an illustrative case from Cork City, Ireland,” Global Environmental Change, vol. 95, p. 103070, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.103070
[3] L. Stocker and G. Burke, “A new methodological framework for improving sustainability and climate change governance,” in Methods for Sustainability Research, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017, pp. 95–112, doi: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781786432735.00016
[4] B. R. Regmi, C. Star, and W. Leal Filho, “An overview of the opportunities and challenges of promoting climate change adaptation at the local level: A case study from a community adaptation planning in Nepal,” Climatic Change, vol. 138, no. 3, pp. 537–550, 2016, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-016-1765-3
[5] L. D. Nemakonde, D. van Niekerk, and G. Wentink, “National and sub-national level doing disaster risk reduction including climate change adaptation,” in The Routledge Handbook of Disaster Risk Reduction Including Climate Change Adaptation, Routledge, 2017, pp. 330–339, doi: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315684260-31
[6] N. Wijaya et al., “Drivers and benefits of integrating climate adaptation measures into urban development: Experience from coastal cities of Indonesia,” Sustainability, vol. 12, no. 2, p. 750, 2020, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su12020750
[7] E. Arteaga et al., “Unpacking the theory-practice gap in climate adaptation,” Climate Risk Management, vol. 42, p. 100567, 2023, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2023.100567
[8] D. Ryan and E. Bustos, “Knowledge gaps and climate adaptation policy: a comparative analysis of six Latin American countries,” Climate Policy, vol. 19, no. 10, pp. 1297–1309, 2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2019.1661819
[9] V. Bangar, R. Goyal, and R. Pandey, “Climate change responses and sustainable development: integration of mitigation and adaptation,” in Sustainable Development Goals: An Indian Perspective, Springer International Publishing, 2020, pp. 203–214, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42488-6_13
[10] F. Briatore et al., “A conceptual framework for the implementation of Industry 4.0 systems in the agricultural sector,” in Proceedings of the Summer School Francesco Turco, 2025, pp. 1–7. https://hdl.handle.net/11584/458269
[11] C. Bezuidenhout et al., “Artificial Intelligence in Professional Services: A systematic review and foundational baseline for future research,” Journal of Information & Knowledge Management, vol. 24, no. 2, p. 2550009, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.1142/S0219649225500091
[12] S. Dwivedi and M. A. Sherly, “A comprehensive AI/ML-enabled data quality framework for climate-smart digital agriculture,” in Advances in Agri-Food Systems: Volume I, Springer Nature Singapore, 2025, pp. 15–34, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-0759-4_2
[13] K. Halsnæs, P. R. Shukla, and A. Garg, “Sustainable development and climate change: lessons from country studies,” Climate Policy, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 202–219, 2008, doi: https://doi.org/10.3763/cpol.2007.0475
[14] B. Das and M. Saikia, “Unveiling climate extremes: A bibliometric odyssey through resilience, adaptation, and sustainable development goal synergies,” CABI Reviews, vol. 20, no. 1, p. 0002, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.1079/cabireviews.2025.0002
[15] H.-M. Füssel, “Vulnerability: A generally applicable conceptual framework for climate change research,” Global Environmental Change, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 155–167, 2007, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2006.05.002
[16] A. Patwardhan, “Assessing vulnerability to climate change: The link between objectives and assessment,” Current Science, vol. 90, no. 3, pp. 376–383, 2006, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24091872
[17] B. Smit and J. Wandel, “Adaptation, adaptive capacity and vulnerability,” Global Environmental Change, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 282–292, 2006, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2006.03.008
[18] N. L. Engle, “Adaptive capacity and its assessment,” Global Environmental Change, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 647–656, 2011, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2011.01.019
[19] M. Pelling and C. High, “Understanding adaptation: What can social capital offer assessments of adaptive capacity?,” Global Environmental Change, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 308–319, 2005, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2005.02.001
[20] A. Dzebo, “Effective governance of transnational adaptation initiatives,” International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 447–466, 2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-019-09445-8
[21] M. J. Page et al., “The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews,” BMJ, vol. 372, p. n71, 2021, doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71
[22] N. J. van Eck and L. Waltman, “Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping,” Scientometrics, vol. 84, no. 2, pp. 523–538, 2010, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-009-0146-3
[23] I. Pal et al., “Disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation for resilient infrastructure and built environment: Lessons from Asia Pacific,” in International Symposium on Disaster Resilience and Sustainable Development, Springer Nature Singapore, 2023, pp. 1–14, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-2030-2_1
[24] H. Azadi et al., “Climate smart agriculture: mitigation and adaptation strategies at the global scale,” in Climate-Induced Innovation: Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change, Springer International Publishing, 2022, pp. 81–140, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-01330-0_4
[25] S. Chaturvedi et al., “Water footprint in sponge cities: how sustainable are they?,” in Water Footprints, Elsevier, 2025, pp. 243–262, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-30054-7.00018-5
[26] Z. Raza, I. U. Haq, and M. Muneeb, “Agri-4-all: A framework for blockchain based agricultural food supply chains in the era of fourth industrial revolution,” IEEE Access, vol. 11, pp. 29851–29867, 2023, doi: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3259962
[27] S. Khoza, D. van Niekerk, and L. Nemakonde, “Rethinking climate-smart agriculture adoption for resilience-building among smallholder farmers: gender-sensitive adoption framework,” in African Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation, Springer International Publishing, 2022, pp. 677–698, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45106-6_130
[28] E. Chu, I. Anguelovski, and D. Roberts, “Climate adaptation as strategic urbanism: assessing opportunities and uncertainties for equity and inclusive development in cities,” Cities, vol. 60, pp. 378–387, 2017, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2016.10.016
[29] F. K. Donkor and K. Mearns, “Harnessing Indigenous knowledge systems for enhanced climate change adaptation and governance: Perspectives from Sub-Saharan Africa,” in Indigenous Knowledge and Climate Governance: A Sub-Saharan African Perspective, Springer International Publishing, 2022, pp. 181–191, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99411-2_14
[30] M. R. Shammin, A. K. E. Haque, and I. M. Faisal, “A framework for climate resilient community-based adaptation,” in Climate Change and Community Resilience, Springer, 2022, pp. 11–30, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0680-9_2
[31] G. Ziervogel, E. A. van Garderen, and P. Price, “Strengthening the knowledge-policy interface through co-production of a climate adaptation plan: leveraging opportunities in Bergrivier Municipality, South Africa,” Environment and Urbanization, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 455–474, 2016, doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247816647340
[32] D. Archer et al., “Moving towards inclusive urban adaptation: approaches to integrating community-based adaptation to climate change at city and national scale,” Climate and Development, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 345–356, 2014, doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2014.918868
[33] P. Sapkota, R. J. Keenan, and H. R. Ojha, “Community institutions, social marginalization and the adaptive capacity: A case study of a community forestry user group in the Nepal Himalayas,” Forest Policy and Economics, vol. 92, pp. 55–64, 2018, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2018.04.001
[34] S. P. Church et al., “How does co-produced research influence adaptive capacity? Lessons from a cross-case comparison,” Socio-Ecological Practice Research, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 205–219, 2022, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42532-022-00121-x
[35] C. Makate, M. Mutenje, and M. Ketema, “Inequalities in access to climate-smart agriculture technologies, infrastructure, and institutional services in Africa: Evidence from Malawi and Ethiopia,” in Handbook of Climate Change Management: Research, Leadership, Transformation, Springer International Publishing, 2021, pp. 841–869, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57281-5_62
[36] P. Nix, A. Goldstein, and M. Oppenheimer, “Models of sub-national US quasi-governmental organizations: implications for climate adaptation governance,” Climatic Change, vol. 177, no. 6, p. 95, 2024, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-024-03728-z
[37] C. Rivera and C. Wamsler, “Integrating climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and urban planning: A review of Nicaraguan policies and regulations,” International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, vol. 7, pp. 78–90, 2014, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2013.12.008
[38] E. T. Busayo and A. M. Kalumba, “Recommendations for linking climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in urban coastal zones: Lessons from East London, South Africa,” Ocean & Coastal Management, vol. 203, p. 105454, 2021, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2020.105454
[39] J. Pittock, K. Hussey, and S. Dovers, “Ecologically sustainable development in broader retrospect and prospect: evaluating national framework policies against climate adaptation imperatives,” Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 62–76, 2015, doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14486563.2014.999725
[40] A. O. Zadok, “AI-inspired climate resistant smart agriculture and healthy food production,” in Climate-Resistant Smart Agriculture for Healthy Food Production, IGI Global Scientific Publishing, 2026, pp. 1–40, doi: https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3373-4827-8.ch001
