Decoding the synergies of sustainable development goals in household energy transitions: A global knowledge network analysis

Within the dual imperatives of climate change mitigation and attaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), household energy consumption emerges as a critical nexus connecting micro-level lifestyle demands with macro-level economic, social and environmental systems, warranting in-depth exploration of its multi-objective synergistic governance value. Addressing the prevalent single-goal orientation in research, this investigation integrated 2685 documents from the Web of Science database, spanning from 1998 to 2024 as data sources, within the framework of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. Utilizing systematic literature review, bibliometric and textual analysis techniques, it systematically mapped household energy consumption 's linkage network with the SDGs, identified research hotspots and weak links, uncovered multi-dimensional interaction patterns and constructed a governance framework. Results indicated rapid global research development, but significant geographical imbalance, hampering global governance programs formation. As sustainable development levels improved, research hotspots shifted from the single topic to the societal-environmental synergistic governance. Co-occurrence network analysis identified 11 linked SDGs. Among them, SDG1, SDG7, SDG11, SDG13, and SDG16 constituted the core of highly synergistic research, while the synergy between SDG5 and SDG8 remained underdeveloped. Overall, by pioneering knowledge network analysis of global household energy studies, this research deciphered its intrinsic logical interconnections with the SDGs, bridging the theoretical gap in multi-objective synergistic governance for sustainable household energy consumption, and providing support for resolving trade-off dilemmas among SDGs, and offering a guiding framework for future assessment and quantification of the impact of household energy consumption on the SDGs.