Ecoterra, 2021, 18(4):1-10
Alexandra Diana Chirescu
Faculty of Agri-food and Environmental Economics, Bucharest, Romania
According to the European Green Deal and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the degradation of the natural environment is an actual phenomenon with a high impact on all three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. Thus, in order to mitigate these effects, the European Green Deal aims to transform Europe by 2030 "into a modern, competitive and resource-efficient economy". In this sense, the aim is to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, to dissociate economic growth from resource use / consumerism and, last but not least, to leave no person or place left behind. Therefore, this paper analyses a set of environmental indicators specific to the level of the EU-27 Member States for 2015 vs. 2020. The objectives of this paper are to (1) identify the trend of environmental indicators in each Member State of the European Union, and (2) to signal the risks to the states that are below the European average in terms of the indicators analysed. This paper contributes to the studies conducted in this field through models for assessing the progress of environmental indicators in the EU-27 and the unique set of indicators analysed. The countries that have made the most significant progress in terms of revenues from environmental taxes, the rate of use of materials from the circular economy and greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 are 1) Greece, 2) the Netherlands, and 3) Luxembourg.
Ecoterra, 2021, 18(4):11-18
Alexandra Diana Chirescu
Faculty of Agri-food and Environmental Economics, Bucharest, Romania
Considering food security and safety, it is of most importance to analyse the components of the vegetable market in Romania. Therefore, this paper analyses the vegetable market from Romania between 2014-2018. The author also made a bibliometric research usind the VOSviewer software in order to see the scientific interest in the field of vegetable market. The objectives of this paper are to (1) analyse the supply, the demand and the foreign trade of the vegetable market in Romania, and (2) to highlight the economic trend of this market during the specified period. This paper contributes to the studies conducted in this field through models for assessing the vegetable market in Romania. Thus, it has been observed that the trade balance is negative for most categories of vegetables, except for legumes. Expenditures for vegetables expressed in lei kg-1 inhabitant-1 increased by 40% in the period 2014-2018, and consumption for fresh vegetables increased by 9.81 p.p, while consumption for legumes increased by over 30 p.p in the same period. Also during 2014-2018, the average annual consumption per capita for vegetables increased by approximatively 9.7%, while vegetable production decreased by approximatively 0.14% in the same period.
Ecoterra, 2021, 18(4):19-28
Alexandra Diana Chirescu
Faculty of Agri-food and Environmental Economics, Bucharest, Romania
The Romanian dairy products sector is a competitive sector that is part of the agro-food processing segment. In this context, in order to increase the competitiveness of this sector, it is essential to analyse the demand for dairy products, but also the preferences of consumers. Thus, the objectives of the study are to analyse the demand for dairy products and to highlight the consumer preferences regarding dairy products in Romania. The author also made a bibliometric research usind the VOSviewer software in order to see the scientific interest in the field of dairy products market. This paper contributes to the studies conducted in the field of dairy products through models of assessment of consumer preferences in this segment. According to the results of the survey, most respondents consume dairy products and want as many quality and traditional products as possible at an affordable price.