The circular economy has become one of the main strategic issues on a global scale in the striving towards achieving sustainable economic systems. The traditional model of production, consumption and disposal is being transformed into a recycling and waste integration process from the beginning of the production cycle of a product until its full use by the consumers. While measuring the progress towards a circular economy can be a challenging factor, several indicators can be used to evaluate developments in this direction. That is why recycling in general, as well as recycling of municipal waste, have become a main strategic issue in the process towards implementation of circular economy principles. The main objective of the paper is to elaborate a panel regression model for determining the dependency between main indicators, that are indicating progress of the circular economy in Europe, such as the recycling rate of municipal waste, circular material use rate, R&D expenditure by all sectors, trade in recyclable raw materials and environmental tax revenues, resource productivity and domestic material consumption. Furthermore, the fixed and random effects regression models estimations are included and tested through the Durbin–Hausman–Wu statistic. The research in this study is based on the analysis of regressions in the circular economy fields in the European Union and intends to contribute to the research in the field, being an emerging scientific topic due to changing technological, economic and environmental factors.

Demand response plays a very important role in balancing the intermittent production of an increasing share of renewable energy sources on the energy market. This article analyses the importance of demand response and the role of aggregators for the new development of the electricity market, where the renewables will play a more important role. The main objective of this research is to determine the acceptance level of demand response and its implementation on the energy consumer side. This acceptance should include a professional actor, the aggregator which is assuming the role of optimizing the relation between energy producers and consumers, and to monitor the implementation and use of demand response. The research is based on semi-structured interviews with experts in energy from Hungary, Romania and Serbia, on workshops with experts and a wider online survey with end customers for electricity. The results indicate that there is a willingness potential to implement demand response programs with aggregators as intermediaries between energy providers and end consumers of electrical energy.

Consumer behaviour in the energy field is playing a more important role in the new approach dominated by the proliferation of renewable energy sources. In this new context, the grid has to balance the intermittent and uncertain renewable energy generated, and find solutions, also, on the consumer side for increasing the stability and reliability of the energy system. The main de-mand response solutions are price and incentive based, but there is a need to identify the main factors which can influence their efficiency due to the fact that there is a lack of knowledge about the preferences of consumers. The main goal of this article is to identify the main demand response solutions and the related key factors which influence the participation of consumers in demand response programs and may contribute to the spread of renewable energy sources. For this research, semi-structured interviews were organised with experts in energy from Romania, Hungary and Serbia, as well as workshops with experts in energy, and an online survey with customers for electricity. This article reduces the gap between the results of technical studies, related in demand response programs, and their practical implementations, where the consumer behaviour and its social dimensions are neglected even though, in reality, they are playing the main role. The results suggest that the consumer’s participation in demand response programs is highly influenced by different aspects related to the promotion of the renewable energy and the reduction of CO₂ emissions and the global warming impact.

The analysis of public attitudes towards nuclear energy represents an issue that is commonly investigated, especially considering the new context of classifying some nuclear power plants as green investments under the European Green Deal. The importance of this topic is critical to the future of nuclear power generation. The purpose of this study is to identify the relationships that exist between the different factors and the attitude of the public towards nuclear energy in the context of the European Green Deal. The article identifies and analyzes the main factors that influence this relationship. In this context, a questionnaire-based survey was conducted regarding the identification of the relationship between public knowledge, degree of cooperation, perceived risks, trust and attitude towards nuclear energy. The sample was chosen using the snowball method. The analysis was made up of 578 respondents from different segments of age, gender, place of residence, field of activity, work experience and income. Following the survey, the main conclusion was that over 30% of the respondents do not want nuclear energy and are adamantly opposed to it. At the same time, the results indicate that the respondents’ attitude is not directly influenced by the risks they perceive in relation to nuclear energy.

Until three or four decades ago, humanity was no longer constrained by the depletion of certain natural resources (especially energy) and the intensified degradation of the natural environment. The consequences of these major crises—such as the economic, financial, and social upheaval of the world, dramatic climate change, and the entry of politics into a Brownian sarabande—necessitate the transition of civilization to another viable formula. Adequate, timely, and sustainable solutions are being sought, from the subsistence ones to those of economic efficiency. Thus, the mobility revolution is credited as one of the most important levers of change. Starting from the reality that most cars in traffic are not occupied at their maximum capacity, some ideas have already been advanced and even put into practice—“inspired”—which would improve the efficiency in this regard. For example, the reduction in the number of seats in cars and, correspondingly, the considerable reduction in the dimensions of cars are already found in the design of mini-cars and the correlation of identical interests of the self-movement of several people and the integration of this coincidence in a single concurrent mobility formula is already functional through the ride sharing system. Along with intelligent mobility management and the transition to electric and autonomous mobility, streamlining the occupancy of moving cars is seen as a great potential of the mobility revolution. Within the limits of the methodology of data collection in economic statistics, this study proposes a complex technique associated with a convincing tactic of empirical measurement of specific indices of urban traffic issues. The special method is characterized by the simultaneity and plurality of observation points followed by the correlation of the values obtained from the measurement thus performed, with the results from the video recordings taken at the same time. This method will increase the methodological accuracy of data collection in economic statistics. By advancing this method, this study aims to capture the occupancy rates of people in urban vehicle traffic, in different cities, using a combined method.

The analysis of the key factors which prevent or contribute to the promotion and development of power purchase agreements (PPAs) in order to meet sustainability goals represents an important issue which is worth being investigated, especially given the situation which is entered into considering the bilateral relations inside this contract, which is meaningful to achieving new climate targets, developing and improving the use of green energy, and promoting a sustainable green economy. The main goal of this research is to identify and analyse the main factors which either help or prevent the promotion and development of a PPA in order to meet sustainability goals by promoting a green economy. For this research, a survey based on comparative analysis, questionnaires and interviews with energy experts, Spearman’s correlation matrix, and IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows are used. The results suggest that although there is a positive interest in and an open attitude towards PPA on both sides (sellers and buyers), there is still room for improvement; the lack of knowledge or insufficient measures taken so far are two of the reasons why, until now, in Romania, no PPA market has been developed, and the level of knowledge regarding this type of mechanism is quite low.