The aims of this paper are (i) to identify which documents are the most influential when analyzing socially responsible funds, and (ii) to identify the conceptual structure of the field of research through co-word analysis. To achieve the proposed objectives, the VOS Viewer and two databases, Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus, were used for the period 1988–2018, and a total of 209 research papers were analyzed. This analysis provides an insight into the nature and trends of research on socially responsible investment (SRI) funds.

The current concern with sustainability issues pervades all scientific fields. Sustainable investment is not an exception judging by the significant increase in the literature. This work provides an extensive up‐to‐date overview of studies on sustainable investment, revealing current trends, identifying gaps and future research topics. A total of 1091 documents are reviewed and bibliometric analysis is used with two approaches: data analysis and conceptual structure of the field. Additionally, a classification into 12 categories by topic is proposed. The results show that more than 40% of the publications belong to analysis of classical investment tools with a gradual evolution towards the concept of “green” instruments. Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) strategies have changed over time from “screening” to the current “best‐in‐class”, “Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) integration” and “impact investing.” The results of the study are valuable for academics and practitioners, as they show the current state of knowledge, evolution paths and emerging topics.

Climate change has become a risk that companies, governments and stakeholders must consider. Climate risk affects everything from people's health to the performance of companies. The European Union has approved various legislations and action plans to counteract the effects of climate change in a pioneering strategy. Companies can play a critical role in mitigating climate change and creating a more sustainable future by integrating environmental considerations into their decision-making processes. However, this integration may impact their performance. This paper aims to analyse the effect of climate change on the stock returns of European companies. The study sample consists of 265 companies listed in the Stoxx 600 index between 2015 and 2021 and the methodology used is the econometric method for panel data. The results show that carbon emissions have a negative effect on the performance of companies. Oppositely, a good rating in the environmental pillar has a positive impact on returns.

Part of a country’s emissions are caused by producing goods for export to other countries, while a country’s own needs also generate emissions in other parts of the world that are associated with the products they import. Our interest was to evaluate the influence of imports and exports of goods and services on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in a data panel composed of 30 countries over 21 years. We included as control variables the gross domestic product per capita, employment, an indicator of the economic crisis and a non-linear trend and inferences were performed using a Bayesian framework. The results showed that it was the exports and imports of goods, rather than services, that were related to CO₂-equivalent levels. Exports and imports of goods were very inelastic, albeit less so in the case of the index. In summary, the more a country imports, the higher their GHG emission levels are. However, it is important to point out that when employment rates are higher more energy is consumed and GHG emissions are greater. In richer countries, GDP per capita is the factor that best explains why their emissions are so high.