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The scarcity of water due to climate change is endangering worldwide the production, quality, and economic viability of growing wine grapes. One of the main mitigation measures to be adopted in the viticulture sector will be an adequate irrigation strategy. Irrigation involves an increasing demand for water, a natural limited resource with increasing availability problems for the foreseeable future. Therefore, the development of a precision irrigation system, which is able to manage the efficient use of water and to monitor the crop water stress, is an important research topic for viticulture. This paper, through the analysis of a case study, aims to describe the prototype of a software platform that integrates data coming from different innovative remote and proximal sensors to monitor the hydric stress status of the vineyard. In addition, by using a cost analysis of grape cultivation and implementing economic indices, this study examines the conditions by which irrigation strategies may be economically justified, helping the decision-making process. By combining different sensors, the platform makes it possible to assess the spatial and temporal variability of water in vineyards. In addition, the output data of the platforming, matched with the economic indices, support the decision-making process for winemakers to optimize and schedule water use under water-scarce conditions.

Recently, the agricultural sector has had to face several challenges related to the innovation process, the most significant of which seems to be that of its digital transformation. As a consequence, the issue of digital technology adoption is becoming of important scientific interest due to its potential impact on products, services, processes, and new business models. In general, the adoption behavior can be indirectly explained by studying factors that lead a firm to innovate; among these factors, the literature emphasizes the function of networks. The objective of the paper is to investigate the role of networks as key drivers of precision agriculture technologies adoption. To achieve this goal, qualitative research was developed by using 8 case studies recollected among that few Italian farms which can be defined as innovative for having already experienced precision agriculture. Results show that only a few farms can develop and manage innovations internally; success often requires cooperation between individual actors and organizations. Finally, the paper provides some practical advice and a set of propositions for those farms that are trying to achieve digital technological innovations. Resumo: Nos últimos anos, o setor agrícola tem enfrentado diversos desafios relacionados com o processo de inovação, sendo que o mais significativo parece ser o da sua transformação digital. Por consequência, a questão da adoção da tecnologia digital está se tornando de importante interesse científico e atraindo a atenção de uma série de pesquisadores devido ao seu impacto potencial em produtos, serviços, processos e novos modelos de negócios. Em geral, o comportamento de adoção pode ser explicado indiretamente pelo estudo de fatores que levam uma empresa a inovar; entre esses fatores, a literatura enfatiza a função das redes. O objetivo do artigo é investigar o papel das redes como principais impulsionadoras da adoção de tecnologias de agricultura de precisão. Para atingir este objetivo, foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa qualitativa a partir de 8 estudos de caso representados por fazendas italianas, com experiência em agricultura de precisão. Os resultados mostram que apenas algumas fazendas têm a capacidade de desenvolver e gerenciar inovações internamente; o sucesso frequentemente requer cooperação entre atores individuais e organizações. Finalmente, o artigo fornece alguns conselhos práticos e um conjunto de propostas para as fazendas que estão tentando alcançar inovações tecnológicas digitais.

The current agri-food supply chain is affected by different problems such as food loss and waste generation along the supply chain, and the circular economy offers a possibility to enhance and optimize the production and consumption to seek to a sustainable paradigm. The circular economy can be a winning approach to intervene and moderate the impacts generated in the agri-food sector, proposing actions and solutions to readmit wastes and by-products in the productive chain. The aim of this work was to perform a literature review coupled with a bibliometric analysis, using VOSviewer software, on the circular economy model in the agri-food sector, with particular relevance to the reuse and valorisation of wastes and by-products. Results showed that the topic is of particular relevance in the scientific community, and the concept is continuously evolving. Europe plays a leading role in the research, thanks to the involvement of the Member States, policy makers and stakeholders. Nevertheless, some aspects such as the development of a new economic circular model and some limitations of the current policies deserve further investigation.

Mountain agriculture is a very important source of ecosystem services, such as cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and biodiversity. However, traditional farming practices in those areas, particularly dairy livestock, are in sharp decline. For this reason, it is fundamental to find a way to improve sustainability using a holistic approach as indicated by the European Green Deal and Farm to Fork strategies. The “Mountain product” label can be a suitable tool to reach this aim. However, studies on consumers’ opinions concerning mountain food products are scarce. To fill this gap, a logit model was adopted in this study to define factors that influence consumers’ purchase intention toward mountain products. Additionally, the open-ended contingent valuation method was used to estimate consumer willingness to pay for milk labelled “mountain product”. The paper highlighted that consumers are interested in buying mountain products and that they are willing to pay a premium price for these products. However, the “mountain product” label is still poorly recognised and applied. Policy makers and institutions should invest more in the training of farmers, so as to improve their knowledge of this label. Furthermore, it is necessary to advertise this label to consumers to support quality local production.

The aim of the present scoping review is to explore and synthesize the scientific research on the economics of fisheries with a particular regard to the Mediterranean Basin. The general purpose of conducting scoping reviews is to identify and map the major available scientific evidence on a specific subject of interest. Moreover, we decided to support the analytical phase of the scoping review by means of a citation patterns analysis. For this purpose, we used an open-source software tool named CitNetExplorer with the aim of interlinking and screening the scientific literature in terms of its nature, features, conceptual boundaries, and advancement in results. The use of a citation patterns analysis tool allowed us to map the development of the economics of fisheries over time, visualizing the most important publications on the subject and discovering how publications build on each other. Since there are no recent studies that offer an overview of the evolution of the scientific effort on the subject of interest, the goal of the present study is to compensate for this gap.

Emerging technologies, such as Digital Platforms, Internet of Things, remote sensing and Big Data, are going to significantly influence the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets, pursued by all United Nations Member States starting from 2015. As the whole agricultural sector is transforming in a more knowledge-intensive system, precision agriculture could play a significant role to achieve the SDGs, by reducing environmental impacts of agriculture and farming practices, increasing the profitability of the farm and thus improving the quality of life for farmers Based on these premises, the aim of this article is to present VITIS, a digital platform, for the management of vineyard water and nitrogen stress, developed by the Operational Group SMART VITIS and tested in 4 pilots located in Marche Region. All the functions and modules of the platform were built by following a Design Thinking approach. This approach started from the analysis of the needs of the winegrowers, the end-user of the solution. While a focus group, made of agri-experts was conducted to receive feedback from the test phase of the platform. This study illustrates how this approach can be a useful tool to develop targeted digital solutions for farmers with low digital skills.

Milk consumption has been on the decline for decades. Part of the cause for this is due to changes in consumer behavior and interest in healthy eating. The aim of this study was to estimate the premium price that consumers are willing to pay for A2 milk. A2 milk is a newcomer type of product containing only A2 beta-casein that is spreading in many countries of the world as a functional food. In addition, it is produced by traditional breeds of cattle that are adapted to the marginal areas and could be a virtuous model of the sustainable management system to which the consumer lately seems to turn in an increasingly conscious way. To accomplish this aim, contingent valuation has been used, which permits using a survey and a direct estimation of the premium price that consumers are willing to pay (WTP). The question format used is a dichotomous choice valuation based on a double-bound model. Statistical analysis was carried out using descriptive statistical analysis. The empirical results reveal that consumers are willing to pay a premium for A2 milk. In addition, individuals interested in product quality and already buying functional products are attracted to this type of product.

Mountain farming provides high-quality food products due to the peculiar characteristics of the raw materials combined with traditional processing conditions. However, these products and their intrinsic characteristics are not clearly recognized by consumers on the market. Nowadays, Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and Traditional Specialities Guaranteed (TSG) certifications include products originating in mountain areas, even if a large part of mountain foodstuff is not protected by these certifications and foods not made in mountain areas are often labeled as “mountain food products”. For this reason, the European Union has set a specific Regulation in 2012 to recognize and protect mountain food and to make the consumers safer about the origin information. The objective of this paper is twofold: firstly, it presents the recent aspects related to European legislation of mountain food product; secondly, it aims at reviewing the main features of nutritional quality and technology of dairy and meat products, as the most widespread mountain food products, and the main protocols used to evaluate the authenticity of these food products. The promotion of mountain food product through a specific label and the use of tracing methods, which are able to verify the authenticity of the origin of these products, may play a pivotal role in increasing the consumer’s loyalty towards these products and could be a way to boost a sustainable development of these economically marginal rural areas. However, the analytical protocols developed so far (stable isotopes, macro and microelements, radionuclides, spectroscopic, molecular techniques, volatile substances profile, terpenes) are in many cases still at the experimental level due to the extreme variability of the mountain origin of the products to be tested.

Nowadays innovation is a central driver of economic growth and productivity. The capacity to innovate is a strategic tool for those firms that want to maintain their competitive position in the global market (De Jong et al., 2004; Laforet and Tann 2006). This is especially true for the agrifood sector that is the largest manufacturing sector within the EU and is one of the main drivers of the EU economy, contributing to both economic output and employment (Avermaete, 2002; Menrad, 2004). Nevertheless, the agrifood sector has traditionally been viewed as a low-tech sector with slow rates of innovation respect to other sectors (Grunert et al., 1997; Garcia-Martinez et al., 2000, Dalla Corte et al., 2015; Bentivoglio et al., 2016). When defining innovation in the agro-food domain different dimensions should be dealt with as new feeding systems, new types of packaging, new types of conservation, new additives, new consumer products introduced continuously on the market and food chain management (Nielsen, 2008; Christensen et al., 2008). In this context, Horizon 2020 and new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2014-2020 (Reg. EU 1305/2013; art. 53. 55, 56, 57) emphasize the role of innovation. In details, the new Rural Development Policy introduced some new instruments as the European Innovation Partnership (EIP), the Operational Groups (OGs) and different technological clusters to encourage and transfer the innovation over the coming decade. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, it aims to identify the role of a Regional Cluster in spreading innovation in the associated firms. Second, this study seeks to identify determinants of innovation by analysing a sample of agrifood SMEs associated in Cluster Agrifood Marche. To obtain the necessary information for this study, a web questionnaire was developed and send by mail to Cluster Agrifood Marche members. In addition, a liner regression model is used to analize the determinants of innovation. This study highlights that Small Size Agrifood Firms can not individually achieve innovation. Small farms show a strong interest in innovation, but they stress that it is a difficult task due to some constraints. Therefore, Cluster are seen as successful way to develop new innovation strategies and to increase the competitiveness. Moreover, the results suggest that innovation is not a random process. The propensity for innovation depends both on each firm characteristics and on several variables.

Nowadays, the demand for palm oil has been increasing worldwide. The multipurpose use combined with a market price below makes palm oil an attractive product. Since 2006, Indonesia has been the biggest producer of palm oil in the world, replacing Malaysia as a chief producer. This study develops a simple theoretical model that integrates some of the factor that could influence the production of palm oil in Indonesia in order to establish the issue of cointegration and causality patterns. This analysis examined the relationships among Indonesian palm oil production, soybean oil price, area harvested for palm oil production in Malaysia and palm oil consumption. The finding shows that all variables positively and significantly affect Indonesian palm oil production. However, the ascent of the Indonesian palm oil industry is the result of a combination of several factors, some of which are relating to the palm oil plant itself, others to policy.Keywords: Palm oil, Time series analysis, IndonesiaJEL Classifications: C01, C22, Q17, Q18, Q41

The adoption of digital technology was studied in terms of factors influencing the firm, either externally, such as competitive pressure and network influence, or internally, such as technological competences and human capital. A similar approach was applied to small and medium-sized enterprises in the agri-food sector, and among the factors considered to influence the firm in the adoption process, there was evidence of top management’s support. Extant literature investigating top managers’ intention to adopt digital technologies has been focusing on variables such as education, age, gender, etc. The strong belief of the High Technology Integration (HTI) firms’ managers in technology as a mean to innovate and improve their business is the first feature that could explain the difference between the HTI and Low Technology Integration enterprises. The managers of HTI enterprises usually vaunt higher exposure to important information about digital technology.

At the scale of human life, soil is a non-renewable resource, and forests, one of the major land-cover types of the Planet, are a multipurpose, complex and self-regenerating type of ecosystem. The comprehension of soil related processes, soil-tree relationships, forest dynamics and management in different environments is fundamental, especially in the context of global change, to guarantee a sustainable use of forest products (i.e., timber or wood energy) and to provide a broad range of ecosystem services. A reliable economic assessment of sustainable forest management and of ecosystem services is useful to setup state or intergovernmental policies promoting habitat conservation and/or increasing people’s socio-economic perspectives. Here we blend different research experiences on forest and environmental sectors. Future challenges should direct forest research focusing on non-renewable resources (soil, water, air), their functional changes due to forest management and product use, and on the externalization of those ecosystem services not yet accounted for.

Starting from 1980s, Precision Agriculture (PA) has established itself as a modern farming management using digital techniques to monitor and optimize agricultural production processes. However, the debate about the relative magnitude of benefits and costs of PA technologies on individual farms is still going on. The profitability of precision agriculture depends on part of the spatial and temporal variability of the soil and on the other hand on the accuracy with which the measurements are made. On this premise, the present paper aims, firstly, to review the state of art of the economic profitability of PA, in relation to the technology adopted. Secondly to explore how Precision Agriculture Technologies could affect the productivity of a representative farm specialized in arable crop production. This study confirms the positive effect related to the application of Precision Agriculture Technologies (PATs).

Precision agriculture (PA) offers the opportunity for farmers to improve both efficiency in managing resources and optimisation of process inputs, thus increasing their whole farm’s profitability. Despite these well-known benefits, the adoption of PA technologies (PATs) is still challenging due to socio-economic barriers and unique characteristics of the farms: cropping systems, technical developments, field sizes and farm scale. The economic aspect is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects to consider before adopting PATs. In most of the cases, farmers are reluctant to introduce precision farming systems since the costs and uncertainty about the profitability and advantages need to be addressed. This study aims to explore how PATs could affect the profitability of a representative Italian farm specialising in the production of cereals, making this a case study. In detail, an economic analysis was applied to determine the profitability of the farm, which showed that the adoption of PAT’s increased the yield of durum and soft wheat and significantly reduced the cost of mechanical operations and technical means. Therefore, the potential gains from the adoption of PATs challenges policymakers to design targeted interventions which could encourage their uptake. This paper is an extended version of the original contribution presented to the 2019 IEEE International Workshop on Metrology for Agriculture and Forestry (MetroAgriFor) in Portici, Italy.

Palm oil production has had an extraordinary evolution since 2000, especially in Southeast Asian countries. Its profitability is related to lower market prices due to it having the cheapest production costs, compared to the other EU oils. Market forces have stimulated its production and trade, with a shift in the use of land in tropical countries (particularly in Southeast Asia). Palm oil has a high smoke point for its saturated fatty acid content, which is much healthier than the performance of conventional oils produced and used in Europe (corn, sunflower and peanut oil). The controversy of which palm oil has been the subject is linked to the environmental sustainability aspects of the production process. According to the European Commission, palm oil cultivation over the past 20 years has been the cause of 20% of global deforestation. However, our results highlighted that the price trends of selected vegetable oils are related to their variations. This allows the advancing of some hypotheses. On the supply side, the production costs (decisively in favour of palm oil) and the environmental constraints are affecting the vegetable oil market. On the demand side, the number and price, on the one hand of substitute products, and on the other hand of the complementary good as well as consumer taste and preference, all influence consumer behaviour. Consumer income and its distribution and, in both cases, public policies affect the various choices to be made. Public action should therefore consider these variables. A single policy may not be sufficient to steer the market in the right direction, especially in the logic of market globalisation.

Resumo: Este artigo objetiva analisar comparativamente os principais fatores envolvidos na coordenação do sistema agroindustrial do biodiesel (SAI biodiesel) no Brasil e na União Europeia, sob a perspectiva dos stakeholders deste sistema. Para tanto, foi desenvolvido um questionário e a comparação foi realizada por meio da análise fatorial. Os resultados mostraram que os fatores semelhantes estão relacionados à tributação e ao comércio internacional, aos sindicatos dos trabalhadores e associações que representam as usinas de biodiesel, e à diversificação, aquisição da agricultura familiar/pequeno produtor e garantia de oferta. Os fatores diferentes são: (1) no Brasil: estratégias de crescimento, competitividade das usinas, diferenciação das usinas, incentivos para a produção de biodiesel, políticas gerais sobre biocombustíveis, tecnologias de produção de biodiesel e políticas nacionais específicas e (2) na UE: diferenciação na produção de biodiesel e organizações de apoio. Os resultados também mostraram a existência de um trade-off no que se refere ao avanço tecnológico no SAI biodiesel. Se, por um lado, a inclusão dos agricultores familiares e pequenos agricultores na economia é um dos fatores a serem considerados para a sustentabilidade do sistema, por outro, o desenvolvimento deste, buscando resolver o conflito alimento versus biocombustíveis, marginaliza estes produtores. Abstract: This paper aims to analyze comparatively the main factors involved in the coordination of the agro-industrial system of biodiesel (AIS of biodiesel) in Brazil and the European Union, from the perspective of the stakeholders of this system. For this, a questionnaire was developed and the comparison was done by factor analysis. The results showed that similar factors are related to taxation and international trade, labor unions and associations representing the biodiesel plants and diversification, acquisition of family farming/small producer and guaranteeing supply. The different factors are: (1) in Brazil: growth strategies, competitiveness of plants, differentiation of plants, incentives for biodiesel production, general policies on biofuels, biodiesel production technologies and specific national policies and (2) in the the European Union: differentiation in the production of biodiesel and support organizations. The results also showed the existence of a trade-off regarding to the technological advances on the AIS of biodiesel. If, on the one hand, the inclusion of family farmers and smallholders in the economy is one of the factors to be considered for the sustainability of the system, on the other hand, the development of this, seeking to resolve the conflict food versus biofuels, marginalizes these producers.

In Brazil, the main program with respect to biodiesel is the National Program of Biodiesel Production and Use (NPBP). It is also considered the regulation mark of biodiesel production in Brazil and its directives are social inclusion and regional development. Considering these directives, this paper aims to analyse the perspective of biodiesel sector stakeholders in Brazil to understand whether NPBP directives are in consonance with the reality of the sector for its development. A questionnaire was created with 48 questions in order to understand the importance of 13 variables for the stakeholders, and the responses were treated by factor analysis (FA). The results showed the existence of a trade-off related to technological advances in biodiesel production that confronts NPBP directives, that is, the biodiesel sector tends not to evolve in terms of the use of advanced technologies. If policies change so as to develop the biodiesel sector using advanced technologies, NPBP should change its directives in order to involve family farmers in another way in the Brazilian economy.

Starting from the twenty-first century, the digital paradigm has brought with it a new way of thinking about innovation within the firms through the introduction of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Information and Communications Technology (ICT), keys factors of digital transformation technologies. In addition, the use of Precision Agriculture (PA) has created a new approach to farming practices, allowing farmers to reduce the inputs, while protecting natural resources. Today, also in Italy PA is starting to be an effective technological innovation potentially capable to improve farms efficiency and sustainability. Given these considerations, the present paper aims, firstly, to review the factors more affect the adoption of precision agriculture technologies (PATs); secondly, to investigate where the PATs could be convenient to apply in Italy. A multi-Criteria Decision Analysis method is performed to achieve this goal. The analysis shows that the geographical area more likely to use PATs in Italy is the North East territory. However, in Italy, the adoption of these technologies in agriculture meets various obstacles: the cultural barrier to innovation and a limited awareness of benefits; the reduced average size of farms, with the difficulty of investing in and appreciating the benefits of PATs.

Despite its economic magnitude worldwide, the scientific attention to the floriculture sector remains scarce within the borders of the European Union. Focusing on Italy, the aim of this paper is to provide an insight into the floriculture trade for the first time. More specifically, in addition to describing trade dynamics of the floriculture sector both in Italy and in the European Union in recent years, this paper applies a gravity model to investigate and evaluate the role of some major economic and geographical variables as determinants of Italian trade flows of cut flowers and live plants within the European Union, from 2001 to 2013. Among these, findings prove that the most important are the GDP per capita of the European trade partners, as well as their production and consumption volumes.

Sustainable food consumption has attracted a widespread attention during last decades by scholars, policy makers and consumers. In line with this, farmers’ markets (FMs) have the potential to encourage sustainable agricultural production and consumption. By reducing the number of actors and distances along the food chain, these alternative food systems foster the reconnection between farmers and consumers and contribute to different social, economic and environmental sustainable goals. This paper provides insights on the role of consumers' sustainability concerns related to their motivation for shopping at FMs. By means of a choice experiment, we analyze the determinants of consumers’ WTP for buying apples at FMs. We are particularly interested in understanding how attitudes towards the three sustainability dimensions are related to consumer preferences in this context. We find that consumer attitudes towards direct contact with producers, contributing to farmers’ income, and environmental benefits can be directly related to product characteristics that are specific to FMs.

This paper addresses the future potential of biofuel production in agriculture, with a particular view to its implementation in agriculture in Europe. After a brief account of recent developments, an exploratory meta-analysis is presented in order to assess the effectiveness of biofuel production from the perspective of several relevant policy criteria. Next, various scenarios are outlined and evaluated by means of a multi-criteria analysis, so as to judge the feasibility of various biofuel production options. The paper concludes with some policy lessons. Copyright © 2012 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Extra virgin olive oil is one of the most important product of the Italian agri-food sector. Starting from this point of view, the present analysis enhances Italy’s effort to create quality food products with higher added value and valorise the local extra virgin olive oil for the domestic and global market. This paper aims to estimate consumers’ willingness to pay (wtp) for extra virgin olive oil available in the Italian local market (Marche region) with a view to providing some useful insights to outline strategies for promotion of olive oil production. The notion of willingness to pay could be defined as the amount of money represented by the difference between consumers’ surplus before and after adding or improving a given food product attribute. The consumer might be willing to pay more for higher quality, thus compensating for the higher production costs, if the differences in the quality were efficiently communicated to the consumers. The method used in this study is the contingent valuation method that requires a survey in which the consumers are asked how much they would be willing to pay for a higher quality product. The data derives from a survey conducted in Marche region’s supermarkets. The questionnaire contained 4 sections: consumption habits and quality perceptions (section 1), consumers’ opinion (section 2), elicitation willingness to pay (section 3) and socio-economic characteristics (section 4). The elicitation format adapted is a dichotomic choice - double bounded. The empirical results reveal that the consumers are willing to pay a premium for the local extra virgin olive oil certified by the public administration (qm-Quality Marche). The consumers consider the local product as an additional assurance concerning food safety and quality. The paper is divided into six sections. After the introductory section, in the section 1 we discuss the conceptual framework of contingent evaluation. Section 2 and 3 present the methodology in terms of survey design and the model’s specifi- cation. The results of the study are shown and discussed in Section 4. The last section provides the summary and conclusion of the study

International trade of Italian Olive Oil: a perspective analysis - The paper analyses the dynamics of the Italian olive oil trade and gives a preliminary explanation of the opportunity in the international market. The paper starts showing the description of olive oil chain and production and underlining the main factors affecting the import export system. The aim of this work is to explain the magnitude of the trade flows for olive oil from Italy to its main importing countries. This objective has been reached by establishing an appropriate econometric model derived from an extended form of the "Gravity Model". This model has been broadly applied to the analysis of international trade because it provides robust estimates. The results obtained and the model itself are useful in forecasting potential trends in the exportation of high quality Italian olive oil. JEL Codes: Q13, Q17, C20 Key words: Italian Olive Oil, Food-Trade, Gravity Models, Export Analysis

Sustainable food consumption has attracted widespread attention over the last decades by scholars, policy makers and consumers. In line with this, farmers’ markets (FMs) have the potential to encourage sustainable agricultural production and consumption. By reducing the number of actors and distances along the food chain, these alternative food systems foster the reconnection between farmers and consumers and contribute to different social, economic and environmentally sustainable goals. This paper provides insights into how consumers’ sustainability concerns are related to their motivation for shopping at FMs. By means of a choice experiment, we analyze the determinants of consumers’ preferences for buying apples at FMs. We are particularly interested in understanding how attitudes towards the three sustainability dimensions are related to consumer preferences in this context. We find that consumer attitudes towards direct contact with producers, contributing to farmers’ income, and environmental benefits, can be directly related to product characteristics that are specific to FMs. peerReviewed

The concept of sustainable development has become very much in vogue in the past decade. We have also observed a shift in the interpretation of this concept from a global perspective to a meso perspective - that is, at a local, regional or sectoral level. This paper aims at highlighting the urban dimension of environmental issues. After a sketch of urban pollution problems and of tools for economic analysis, the notion of urban sustainability will be advocated as a meaningful analytical and policy concept. Next, the main focus of this paper will be on a typological approach to urban sustainability issues on the basis of three characteristic angles, viz. strong and weak sustainability, absolute and relative decoupling and the spatial ecological footprint. Various methodological issues will also be discussed, while the paper will conclude with some perspectives on policy issues. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Industrialized countries’ dependence on fossil fuels has been distressing for a long time for countries that do not have self-sufficiency, whether for environmental, economic, geopolitical, or other reasons. In this context, it is understood that the burning of fossil fuels contributes to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) increasing the risk of intensifying climatic disturbances that can deteriorate the processes of production, consumption, and welfare in the world. Therefore, the development of alternative energy sources can provide solutions for the gaps, since reducing exposure to the vulnerability of supply and price volatility, environmental issues, and even the development of new investment opportunities in these countries. This is due to the possibility of developing innovations in the production and processing industry, which would contribute to the economic activity. Thus, increasing the use of bioenergy is one of the existing ways to reconcile the need to expand the supply of energy with the slowdown in global warming, i.e., the most important and disseminated use would be the biomass power generated by the consumption of biofuels, once it reduces GGE emissions.

Biofuels have the potential of playing an important role in the renewable energy sources panorama, ensuring the achievement of multiple goals such as security of supply, reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, creation of green jobs, and development of business opportunities in the agricultural and rural sectors. Subsidies to the sector were justified on this basis, but analysis is required to determine real impacts. However, other potential impacts could offset any benefits biofuels may bring, and careful assessment and analysis of biofuels' impacts are necessary. These possible consequences involve food prices and food security, economic distortions of subsidies, and environmental impacts. Among the methodologies used to evaluate biofuels impacts, general equilibrium models (CGE) can be considered as the most comprehensive tool available to analyze governmental intervention at the aggregate level. The use of these tools is primarily to generate projections of future performance of the market (in terms of production, consumption, prices, international trade) on the basis of alternative scenarios. The present paper applies a general equilibrium model, an extended version of the GTAP (Global Trade Analysis Project) model developed by Hertel, Tyner and Birur in 2010, in which an alternative closure has been adopted in order to analyze the combined impacts of the US and EU biofuels programs considering in particular the socio-economic effects on prices, employment and welfare in the European Union in 2015.

Concerns about quality of life are not just a pressing phenomenon of modern times. There are records on environmental decay in periods of ancient history, in both urban environments and landscapes, and many medieval cities used to have some sort of environmental regulation (Banister et al, 1999). What has made environmental concerns more pronounced in the second part of the twentieth century, is the large scale occurrence of environmental decay. There is no country or area that is not directly or indirectly suffering from environmental externalities. This quantitative extension of environmental problems has several backgrounds including the increasing number of people and a more internationally interlinked network economy with intensive trade and transport (the ‘ecological footprint’). But there are also qualitative and structural factors that are responsible for the so-called ‘new scarcity’, such as the use of synthetic and nonbiodegradable materials, the shift from local to global environmental change or the transition towards more mobile lifestyles. Against this background the notion of sustainable development has become en vogue (for a broad survey of relevant issues see Van den Bergh, 1996). Space and time play a critical role in this concept, since through these two dimensions, it is possible that environmental externalities are dispersed, either to other areas or to future generations.

The last decade has seen a rapid increase in the production and consumption of biodiesel in the EU. This development has been especially stimulated by EU policy as a means to promote energy security and to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. However, in recent years, biodiesel production has been questioned due to the possible impact on food prices. This paper aims to explore the impact of EU biodiesel prices on diesel and rapeseed oil prices, using a Vector Error Corrections Model (VECM). Impulse response functions and forecast error variance decompositions are also computed in order to investigate the interrelationships within the relevant time series. Unlike the predominant literature, which mainly addresses the US and Brazilian ethanol sector, this paper focuses on the European biodiesel market. Our results suggest that biodiesel prices are mainly affected by feedstock prices, but there is no strong evidence that changes in biodiesel prices affect food prices.

Rice harvesting and production generates a residual biomass that does not possess an environmentally sustainable disposition route; however, it could be an important carbon source for energetic processes. In this paper the energetic potential via cogeneration that can be obtained from the biogas resulting from the anaerobic treatment of the rice-harvesting wastes (rice straw), for the case of the Cuban Enterprise “Sur del Jibaro”, is estimated. Through a life cycle analysis, an assessment of the environmental profile, when using this treatment alternative, is carried out. The results prove that with the anaerobic treatment of the rice straw available, it could be profitably obtained a potential to generate 10 MW of electrical power and 15 MW of thermal power. This would also decrease the total greenhouse gas emissions in Cuba by 0.2% and the equivalent emissions of the Cuban energetic sector by 3.2%.