Abstract
Background: Physical education (PE) is increasingly examined not only as a vehicle for health and active lifestyles but also as a pedagogical context for environmental responsibility, sustainable development, climate adaptation, and low-carbon practices. However, research connecting these dimensions remains distributed across sport pedagogy, environmental education, public health, outdoor learning, and sustainability scholarship. Objective: This study mapped the temporal evolution, geographic collaboration, conceptual structure, and emerging research frontiers connecting PE with environmental sustainability, climate change, and sustainable lifestyles from 2000 to 2026. Methods: A bibliometric science-mapping analysis was conducted using a verified Scopus corpus of 2,416 records. The analysis examined scientific production, keyword co-occurrence, country collaboration, thematic evolution, and strategic thematic positioning. Results: Scientific production increased substantially over the study period, with marked acceleration after 2020. Six interconnected research communities were identified: health and physical literacy; sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals; outdoor and nature-based PE; climate change and adaptation; environmental behavior; and low-carbon PE systems. Health-oriented PE remained a central knowledge base, while climate education and low-carbon PE represented comparatively recent research fronts. Conclusions: The analyzed corpus indicates an expanding conceptualization of PE from a predominantly health-oriented field toward a more integrated perspective that connects movement learning, healthy lifestyles, environmental literacy, climate resilience, and ecological responsibility. These findings highlight the growing intersection between PE, environmental sustainability, and planetary health.