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Open research questions in Global Energy and Sustainability Research

89 gap statements mined from Global Energy and Sustainability Research papers in our 4.5M-paper local library, which holds 1,335 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • Future research should focus on revising the reserve disclosure to incorporate more deeply into climate-related reporting. Future research should investigate the impact of SEC reserve reporting on investor decision-making in a decarbonizing energy system.

    Resource transparency and energy transition: The role of SEC oil and gas reserve reporting in future energy systems · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in the current SEC reserve reporting system, which does not account for climate-related risks. The paper identifies a gap in the current literature, which does not fully address the role of SEC reserve reporting in a decarbonizing energy system.

    Resource transparency and energy transition: The role of SEC oil and gas reserve reporting in future energy systems · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of efficient energy storage systems is a major barrier to solar energy adoption. The lack of political commitment is a major barrier to solar energy adoption. The complex task of solar cell disposal is a major barrier to solar energy adoption.

    Exploiting the Barriers to Shifting to Solar Energy Usage in Coal Intensive Industries Through DEMATEL · 2026 · DOI

  • The study highlights the need for sustainable waste management policies to address the ecological barriers to solar energy adoption.

    Exploiting the Barriers to Shifting to Solar Energy Usage in Coal Intensive Industries Through DEMATEL · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research can build on the study's findings to inform policy decisions and investment opportunities for a net zero transition. Future research can explore the application of the Trapezoidal Fuzzy DEMATEL methodology to other contexts.

    NET ZERO TRANSITION TOWARDS DECARBONIZATION IN CONTEXT OF ENERGY SECTOR · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need for a conceptual approach involving policy, technology, and principles of the circular economy for a net zero transition. There is a lack of understanding of the causal relationships between enablers for a net zero transition.

    NET ZERO TRANSITION TOWARDS DECARBONIZATION IN CONTEXT OF ENERGY SECTOR · 2026 · DOI

  • Current financial evaluation models do not capture the long-term benefits and risks associated with sustainability. There is a lack of integration of sustainability into investment decision-making in the energy sector. Conventional approaches prioritize profitability over social and environmental considerations.

    Sustainable Industrial Investment in the Energy Sector: Aligning Capital, Risk, and the Low-Carbon Transition · 2026 · DOI

  • The need for research that integrates the macro and micro levels more closely, from EU policy objectives to the decisions of households, businesses, and prosumers. The lack of research combining energy efficiency, public acceptance, just transition, and access to finance within a single analytical model.

    Energy Consumption in EU Countries Undergoing Transition: Main Research Trends and the Contribution of This Special Issue · 2026 · DOI

  • Future studies can build on the BU-NEP model to explore different energy scenarios and policy interventions. Further research is needed to develop strategies for reducing energy consumption and emissions in Nepal. The study's findings can be used to inform policy decisions and develop plans for achieving Nepal's net-zero emissions target.

    Learning from the past and planning for Nepal’s sustainable energy future: bottom-up modelling in LEAP · 2026 · DOI

  • The study highlights the need for a comprehensive assessment of Nepal's energy future, considering both demand and supply sides.

    Learning from the past and planning for Nepal’s sustainable energy future: bottom-up modelling in LEAP · 2026 · DOI

  • Regulatory fragmentation and lack of institutional coordination. Limited domestic manufacturing and green finance options. Dependence on imported fossil fuels and vulnerability to global supply disruptions.

    Policy Framework for Achieving Energy Independence in India: Governance, Institutional Reforms, and Strategic Policy Interventions · 2026 · DOI

  • The current policy framework lacks a comprehensive approach to energy governance. There is a need for a multidimensional governance framework to address policy gaps and challenges.

    Policy Framework for Achieving Energy Independence in India: Governance, Institutional Reforms, and Strategic Policy Interventions · 2026 · DOI

  • Finally, the current study emphasizes direct effects, and future research could investigate deeper transmission mechanisms such as how disasters reshape energy policy, fiscal priorities, and private investment or how international finance and technology transfer influence transition pathways, especially in non-OECD G20 economies.

    Mapping the transition: the interplay of technology and natural disasters on sustainable energy in G20 nations · 2026 · DOI

  • A significant capacity gap in controllable capacity may emerge after 2032.

    Coal and Gas: the Two Pillars of Balancing the National Energy System of Poland by 2040 · 2026 · DOI

  • A significant capacity gap in controllable capacity may emerge after 2032. The national grid operator was forced to reallocate approximately 1 TWh of energy from weather-dependent sources in 2025.

    Coal and Gas: the Two Pillars of Balancing the National Energy System of Poland by 2040 · 2026 · DOI

  • This study relies exclusively on published documents and the academic literature without incorporating interviews from the institutions responsible for CRM assessment; stated rationales may not capture the full range of considerations involved. The geographic scope is limited to the EU and the US, omitting significant efforts by Japan (JOGMEC), Australia, and China, which limits generalizability.

    From Tungsten to Lithium: Eight Decades of Critical Raw Materials Frameworks and the Sustainability Agenda in the European Union and the United States · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of public statistical data on plant performance. The difficulty of obtaining accurate and reliable data on plant output. The challenge of validating the reconstruction using independent data sources.

    Reconstructing realised first-of-a-kind plant performance from public payment records: a seven-year output trajectory from the NER300 programme · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of public statistical data on the performance of first-of-a-kind industrial plants. This lack of data makes it challenging for insurers and lenders to price the risk of such plants. The paper identifies a gap in the current approach to estimating plant performance.

    Reconstructing realised first-of-a-kind plant performance from public payment records: a seven-year output trajectory from the NER300 programme · 2026 · DOI

  • Organizations utilizing ISO 50001 begin their implementation process with a maturity model that identifies low levels characterized by limited data collection and management engagement.

    Global review of the ISO 50001 standard and provision of a framework for improving energy management systems for Iran · 2026 · DOI

  • In essence, decarbonisation sought to be matched with strategic mechanisms aimed at sustaining coal-dependent communities and industries. The paper revealed that despite legal frameworks such as the Electricity Regulation Act, Climate Change Act and the National Energy Act and complementary just energy transition policy provisions, they are largely fragmented, poorly aligned, and inconsistently enforced.

    Fostering the just energy transition amid competing discourses of coal and renewable energy in South Africa · 2026 · DOI

  • Establish a new research agenda focused on integrating life-cycle sustainability assessment, system thinking, and financial modeling into decision-support instruments for industrial…

    Sustainable Industrial Investment in the Energy Sector: Aligning Capital, Risk, and the Low-Carbon Transition · 2026 · DOI

  • Technological complexity. Multi-level uncertainties. Interdependent socio-economic factors. Technology readiness gap of the BEM unit.

    A Holistic Market Research Analysis of Carbon-Negative Fuel Systems embedding Decision-Making Procedures · 2026 · DOI

  • The technology readiness gap of the BEM unit. High capital expenditure associated with thermochemical conversion systems.

    A Holistic Market Research Analysis of Carbon-Negative Fuel Systems embedding Decision-Making Procedures · 2026 · DOI

  • Addressing a gap in the literature on bilateral spillover effects and policy‐responsive modelling, the study introduces a modular dynamic IO framework incorporating competing natural gas and renewable energy stimulus scenarios.

    Opportunities for Australia Amid China's Carbon‐Neutral Transition: Input–Output Approach With Analysis of Australian Renewable Potential · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in the understanding of the 'renewable energy frontier' and its impact on the pace of decarbonization. The study contends that prior work on renewable energy adoption overlooks the insidious individualism of energy transitions.

    Solar Pioneers · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Global Energy and Sustainability Research

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) Future research should focus on revising the reserve disclosure to incorporate more deeply into climate-related reporting (“Resource transparency and energy transition: The role of SEC oil and gas…”, 2026); (2) The lack of efficient energy storage systems is a major barrier to solar energy adoption (“Exploiting the Barriers to Shifting to Solar Energy Usage in Coal Intensive…”, 2026); (3) Future research can build on the study's findings to inform policy decisions and investment opportunities for a net zero transition (“NET ZERO TRANSITION TOWARDS DECARBONIZATION IN CONTEXT OF ENERGY SECTOR”, 2026); (4) There is a lack of integration of sustainability into investment decision-making in the energy sector (“Sustainable Industrial Investment in the Energy Sector: Aligning Capital, Risk,…”, 2026); (5) The lack of research combining energy efficiency, public acceptance, just transition, and access to finance within a single analytical model (“Energy Consumption in EU Countries Undergoing Transition: Main Research Trends…”, 2026). 89 gap statements have been mined from Global Energy and Sustainability Research papers in our 4.5M-paper local library, which holds 1,335 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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