Based on the global need to reduce the primary and final energy consumption, as part of the climate change mitigation strategy, the present study aims at determining the influence of different economic, social and environmental factors on the two types of consumption while emphasizing the importance of this topic for the research area. The novelty of the study resides in the factors considered in the panel analysis as well as in the combination of the analysis methods: the panel data analysis and the bibliometric analysis. The main results show that factors such as greenhouse gas emissions, gross domestic product, population and labour growth have a positive relationship with both primary and final energy consumption, which means an increase of energy consumption. Meanwhile, factors such as feminine population increase, healthcare expenditures or energy taxes have a negative relationship, which determine a reduction of energy consumption. The results should be of interest to the authorities in designing new energy reduction policies for contributing to sustainable development goals, as well as to the researchers.

To address climate change, health, and food-related challenges at the international and regional level, policy makers and researchers are starting to acknowledge the importance of building and developing sustainable food systems (SFSs). This study aims to discuss the drivers of, barriers to, and policy recommendations for developing sustainable food systems in four European countries (Germany, Italy, Norway, and Romania). We used critical frame analysis to investigate national policy documents on sustainable food systems and conducted in-depth interviews with various national stakeholders representing policy makers, agrifood businesses, and civil society. The novelty of this research lies in comparing national policy approaches and stakeholders’ opinions on SFS development in a multi-country analysis. These European countries have different conditions in terms of geography, socioeconomic situation, environmental performance, and sustainability orientation. Several cross-cultural differences and gaps in the existing national policies for sustainable food systems were identified, and solutions that help overcome these issues have been suggested. The first step in developing SFS should focus on interdisciplinary and trans-sectorial policy integration combined with increasing stakeholder collaboration across all sectors of the economy. We also recommend more active involvement of consumers in the food system, developing information-sharing networks, and increasing collaborations within the food supply chains.

The interactions between nature and humankind produce a series of ecological, social, economic, institutional, technological, and other types of restrictions, which can alter the development of the future society and Earth. Exploring the influencing factors of environmental performance can create better solutions and it can emphasize the gaps from past and current policies. Also, they can contribute to achieve sustainable development. In this regard, more indices are developing for assessing a specific theme that targets sustainability, such as carbon footprint, Environmental Performance Index, or sustainable development index. Thus, this study aims to analyze the influencing factors of Environmental Performance Index (EPI) at an EU level by collecting data between 2010 and 2020, once in 2 years and by using a panel data model. The results were estimated using the Period SUR effect within the generalized least square method and using the White period matrix within the correlation matrix. The results indicate positive relationships between EPI and area under organic farming, circular material use rate, eco-innovation index, energy productivity, ratio of female-to-male labor force participation rate, forest area, Human Development Index, Internet users, livestock production index, new business density, patent applications-residents, tertiary school enrollment, the share of renewable energy consumption in gross final energy consumption, and the proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments. In addition, higher inequality between individuals, natural resources rents, trade volume index, and environmental taxes in total tax revenues seem to constrain the EU’s environmental performance. The results are important both for academicians and policymakers.

The hospitality industry has taken advantage of consumers’ increasing concerns regarding environmental issues. Worldwide, green restaurants have increased their profitability by using environmental attributes as a competitive advantage. In Romania, restaurants could profit from this new trend. This study aims to determine the perception of Generation Z consumers regarding green restaurants, since these younger consumers seem to have adopted more eco-friendly behavior compared to previous generations. Another objective of the study refers to assessing the importance of attributes relating to environmental protection and organic food when choosing a restaurant, consequently revealing a suitable market segment for this type of restaurant. In order to determine their degree of knowledge related to the concept of green restaurant, potential consuming behavior if implemented, and identifying the factors considered important when choosing a restaurant, this research compiles information from individuals belonging to Generation Z. Using principal component analysis, five factors were obtained, among which the “health and fresh food” was the most important. Based on the five dimensions, K-means cluster analysis led to three profiles of consumers. “Pro-environmental and convenience seekers” represent the largest cluster and should be considered the main target for future green restaurant practitioners. Additionally, our study finds an overall positive attitude toward green restaurants among the respondents and, more specifically, opinions on how these restaurants could address environmental issues and offer organic food, both important factors for Generation Z. This translates into a strong incentive for future entrepreneurs considering this business model in Romania.

The importance of agricultural financing in ensuring food security and safety, jobs, poverty reduction, economic growth and more recently, climate change mitigation, natural resource conservation and sustainable development imposes periodic analysis of the factors which might influence the farmers’ financial situation, in order to improve it. One way of assessing this is to analyze the agricultural debt. In this context, based on previous models, the paper aims to assess the impact of specific factors on the agricultural debt level in the European Union during 2008–2015, as these should be considered in future common agriculture policies as well as in achieving sustainable agriculture. The research was conducted based on econometric techniques, by applying panel models in the Eviews 7.0 software-64 bit version. More than 20 variables were considered in the analysis. Some of the findings suggest that an increase in subsidies as well as the share of cash flow in the total existing capital would determine considerable reductions of the total debt. Decoupled subsidies seem to have a higher impact than coupled subsidies on short term debt, while its value is between the one found for coupled subsidies in the case of long term debt. Large farms/companies, to which decoupled payments are granted, have higher debts on long run and on total debt. The same units, to which coupled subsidies were granted, have smaller short-term debt. In contrast, the increases of labor costs, fixed costs, and crop/livestock costs lead to an increase in the total debt, since the farms require additional financial resources to cover the expanded costs. Also, the results suggest that short-term debts are mainly formed of long-term loans that reached maturity. In this case, the authors support the idea of differentiated financing programs for the agricultural activities because of their peculiarities and reinforced by the need to turn the intensive agriculture into a sustainable and plentiful one.