Beyond the Repository: Building an AI-Powered Knowledge Nexus for SDGs Research

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-614-2_12How to use a DOI?

Keywords

AI for SDGs; Knowledge Nexus; Scientometrics; Climate-Energy-Health Nexus; Natural Language Processing; SDG 3; SDG 7; SDG 13

Abstract

The intertwined global challenges of climate change, energy access, and public health—collectively represented in the Climate-Energy-Health Nexus (SDGs 3, 7, 13)—demand research that transcends disciplinary isolation. Yet, the scholarly landscape remains highly fragmented. This paper presents a scientometric analysis of 45,219 publications (2000–2024) to chart this nexus and reveal structural discontinuities. The analysis reveals three major, discipline-bound clusters: Climate Impacts & Health Adaptation, Energy Transitions & Air Quality, and Household Energy & Health Equity, with only 47 “bridge” papers connecting them, indicating weak cross-domain integration. To address this fragmentation, the study proposes a conceptual framework for an AI-powered Knowledge Nexus that leverages Natural Language Processing (NLP) for semantic enrichment and a Dynamic Knowledge Graph supported by Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) to map, evolve, and predict inter-research linkages. A manual proof-of-concept using 5,183 papers uncovered 23 additional relevant studies linking clean energy to mental health pathways—a 34% increase in discovery beyond conventional keyword searches. The findings argue that transitioning from static repositories to intelligent, AI-facilitated knowledge environments is critical to accelerating the integrative science needed to fulfil the 2030 Agenda.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - M. Hema Sundara Rao
AU  - V. Dhana Raju
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/27
TI  - Beyond the Repository: Building an AI-Powered Knowledge Nexus for SDGs Research
BT  - Proceedings of the International conference on Marching beyond the Libraries: Talent, Technology, and Transformation (ICMBL 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 99
EP  - 103
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-614-2_12
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-614-2_12
ID  - Rao2026
ER  -