Accounting and Accountability in the Transition to Zero‐Carbon Energy for Climate Change: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

This study investigates the body of literature on decarbonization management practices that use renewable resources and green technologies to meet zero‐carbon energy targets for achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 to ‘Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts’. Starting with the ongoing discussion surrounding the development of an information architecture to support effective decision‐making in decarbonization processes, this study explores the role of accounting models in measuring and reporting decarbonization effects and accountability models that ensure that firms track progress, take responsibility for their environmental and social impacts and address challenges. These models guide resource allocation and adoption of green technologies to meet sustainability targets. A systematic literature review (SLR) was performed to clarify how scholars have addressed issues regarding zero‐carbon energy for mitigating climate change through accounting and accountability models. SLR was performed on 319 English articles published in the Scopus database and Google Scholar between 1990 and 2024. The results highlight that firms face extensive pressure from stakeholders and regulatory bodies regarding the legitimacy and transparency of decarbonization practices to meet zero‐carbon energy requirements. The content analysis results revealed that sustainability reporting is useful for firms in rethinking decarbonization initiatives and linking them to the achievement of zero‐carbon energy goals. Accounting and accountability models that embrace green technologies and renewable resources have increased institutional and stakeholder acceptance. This study is the first to examine how accounting and accountability systems can play a key role in firms through integrated thinking, which moves from integrated zero‐carbon reporting to zero‐carbon energy and the adoption of green technologies in decarbonization processes. This approach allowed us to discover accounting and accountability models through sustainable thinking for integrated accountability reporting during the twin transition process.