RISULTATI RICERCA

The agri-food sector plays a strategic role in decarbonization due to both its significant environmental footprint and its potential to drive circular and bio-based transitions. This article presents a scoping narrative review of the scientific literature on agri-food waste and by-product valorization pathways as systemic tools for greenhouse gas mitigation and circular bioeconomy development within the European context. Food loss and food waste are analyzed across all stages of the supply chain production, processing, distribution and consumption highlighting their implications for resource efficiency and climate impact. The review integrates technological options including anaerobic digestion, composting, biochar, biomaterials, biorefineries and 3D food printing with enabling dimensions such as digital traceability systems and policy frameworks. Particular attention is devoted to the role of structural factors, including small and medium-sized enterprises and territorial ecosystems, in shaping implementation pathways. Overall, the literature suggests that valorization strategies can reduce the carbon footprint of agri-food systems, foster bio-based markets and strengthen territorial resilience, although environmental benefits depend on scale, governance and effective integration within circular economy frameworks.

This study examines farmers’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices regarding legal frameworks for circular economy practices in agriculture in northern Vietnam. Based on a cross-sectional survey of 365 farmers, the research applies the Knowledge-Attitude-Practice approach to assess how legal awareness and perceived regulatory barriers influence the adoption of circular agricultural practices. Exploratory Factor Analysis and Generalized Linear Models are used to analyze relationships among demographic characteristics, awareness, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. The findings reveal a clear gap between farmers’ general understanding of circular economy principles and their knowledge of specific legal provisions, with legal and policy-related constraints exerting a negative impact on adoption behaviors. Younger farmers and those with moderate levels of farming experience show greater willingness to continue circular practices, while positive attitudes significantly enhanced participation in training and peer promotion. At the policy level, the results indicate that existing legal arrangements for circular economy practices in agriculture remain fragmented, characterized by dispersed regulations, limited enforcement mechanisms, and insufficient policy communication. This fragmentation limits farmers’ ability to translate positive attitudes into sustained practice. The study highlights the need for an integrated and agriculture-specific policy framework, supported by binding technical standards, strengthened monitoring and enforcement, and complementary market-based instruments to facilitate the transition toward more sustainable agricultural systems in Vietnam.

Purpose. The purpose of this work is to answer whether selective demolition is economically viable, as well as to highlight the limitations of the construction and demolition (C&D) waste management chain in Italy and make recommendations to overcome them.

Methods. An environmental Life Cycle Costing analysis is conducted to assess the costs of selective demolition and manufacturing recycled aggregates in the Lombardy Region (Northern Italy). The investigated system encompasses all management phases of inert waste originating from demolition activities, from its generation at the building end-of-life to the treatment phase in a recycling plant, till the market replacement as recycled aggregate.

Results and discussion. The economic inventory relating to 7 case studies shows that the average cost for demolition and C&D waste management is € 7.04 per m³ of a demolished building. When a considerable proportion of metal waste stream is sold, this cost is minimised.

Conclusion. Following the results, it is possible to identify the criticalities of the C&D waste management chain and how to overcome them to close the loop in the construction sector. Future research should focus on expanding the market for high-quality recycled aggregates by encouraging their sale and usage in new buildings.

Recycling mussel shells offers environmental and industrial benefits. As a by-product of aquaculture and food processing, shells are often discarded, contributing to waste management challenges and costs. Recent studies highlight their potential as a sustainable source of high-purity calcium carbonate (CaCO3), which can be extracted through processes involving washing, grinding, and calcination. This valorization reduces waste volumes, lowers disposal expenses for producers and introduces low-cost raw material to the CaCO3 market. Notably, calcium derived from mussel shells can be utilized in emerging technologies such as calcium looping (CaL) for CO2 capture, where calcium oxide (CaO) acts as a regenerable sorbent. Using shell-derived calcium in such applications supports circular economy principles and enhances the environmental performance of carbon capture. The MATSHELL project explores the potential of recycling bivalve shells to produce biogenic CaCO3 and reuse for high-value applications. Findings show that biologically sourced precipitated CaCO3 offers a competitive alternative to conventional sources, with rising market demand in high-value sectors. However, key barriers exist, including supply chain integration, regulatory complexity, and limited industrial adoption. The results of our analysis, conducted by interviewing a panel of experts, identified potential actions to address the challenges in accordance with industrial symbiosis models. The potential of the developed model was enhanced by integrating appropriate activities to optimize its implementation.

This study employs quantitative methods to develop a Circular Economy (CE) adoption scale in the MENA oil and gas sector. Using Exploratory Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and Structural Equation Modeling, it validates theoretical constructs derived from Literature review. A comprehensive literature review of 110 articles combined with data from 230 industry workers in various Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries were analyzed to explore antecedents to CE adoption specifically in Oil and Gas sector. Findings reveal that innovation mediates the relationship between organizational drivers and external pressures, enhancing CE practices. While organizational inclination and external pressures positively affect innovation, moderation analysis shows that external pressures do not significantly amplify the impact on CE adoption. This research contributes to academic and practical discussions on integrating sustainability in the oil and gas sector, emphasizing innovation. Future studies should expand geographic scope, diversify sampling, and assess technological impacts on CE, providing crucial insights for policymakers and strategists in resource-heavy industries.

This paper investigates the implications of the substantial expansion of renewable energy sources, particularly wind power, on cross-border electricity trade in Europe. Employing Germany – a market with a high penetration of renewables – as a case study, the analysis demonstrates that during periods of high wind generation, Germany functions as a net exporter to all neighboring jurisdictions. Conversely, during periods of negligible wind injection, Germany reverts to a net importer position. This volatility is attributable, in part, to internal congestion within the German transmission system. In the absence of adequate infrastructure, this bottleneck results in the emergence of loop flows, which compromise network management in adjacent countries. Consequently, it is imperative to invest in domestic grid infrastructure within countries generating these loop flows, while simultaneously incentivizing renewable energy storage. This may be achieved through the reform of transmission and distribution network access tariffs. An alternative market design involves the implementation of zonal pricing (market splitting), as observed in the Nord Pool (e.g., Norway and Sweden), which would internalize congestion constraints. While the implementation of locational marginal pricing is often politically resisted in favor of uniform national pricing to ensure regional equity, the consequent socialization of congestion costs may induce spatial distortions and market inefficiencies.

This paper investigates the impact of institutional quality, the agricultural and industrial sectors, as well as renewable and non-renewable energy consumption on CO2 emissions in Tunisia, while accounting for institutional challenges and the energy transition. Using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach for the period 1996-2023, the analysis explores the linear relationships between these variables and CO2 emissions, incorporating the evolution of the country’s economic and energy policies. The results show that, in the long term, non-renewable energy consumption and industrial added value significantly contribute to the increase in CO2 emissions, whereas institutional quality plays a moderating role by influencing the trajectory of emissions. This suggests that improvements in governance and institutional frameworks could be instrumental in reducing CO2 emissions. In the short term, non-renewable energy consumption, industrial added value, and agriculture emerge as key drivers of rising emissions, although institutional quality acts as a stabilizer, mitigating fluctuations and facilitating adjustments to past imbalances. This study highlights the complex interactions among institutional, economic, and energy policies and their effects on the environment, emphasizing the importance of strengthening institutions to support a sustainable energy transition.

This study aims to elucidate the relation between oil, gas, coal, carbon prices and the clean market index. We adopt a piece-wise linear approach and assume that each piece represents a unique structural mechanism. We utilize an optimization model that endogenously finds cut-off dates on non-stationary data along with the model coefficients for each period. Our findings highlight that the clean market index is positively related to stock market performance and negatively related to carbon and oil prices. The direction of the effects of gas and coal, on the other hand, are found to be alternating among the break periods. Moreover, predictor importance of the factors also changes through the timeline. Empirical evidence indicates that splitting the time series data into pieces according to their distinct structural characteristics improves the prediction performance and it is imperative to better understand the behavior of the renewable energy market. By doing so, we aim to provide insights for policy makers on how to utilize the leverage effect of financial markets to empower renewable energy companies.

This study investigates the long-run relationship and Granger-type predictive causality between food and energy inflation in Türkiye, with a particular focus on asymmetric transmission, price stickiness, and structural changes. Monthly data covering the period from January 2003 to February 2025 are employed. The analysis begins with linearity testing, followed by the application of Fourier-based unit root and cointegration tests to account for structural shifts. Long-run coefficients are estimated using Dynamic OLS, Fully Modified OLS, and Canonical Cointegration methods. In addition, Hatemi-J asymmetric causality tests are conducted within a Granger framework to examine the direction and nature of shocks. The findings reveal that a 1% increase in energy inflation leads to a 1.13% increase in food inflation in the long run. Bidirectional Granger-type causality is detected for positive shocks, whereas negative shocks exhibit weaker and asymmetric linkages. These results support the presence of price stickiness and nonlinear transmission mechanisms. Overall, the study provides a comprehensive framework for understanding energy-food inflation dynamics and highlights the importance of accounting for asymmetries in policy design.

The present study undertakes an evaluation of the magnitude of plastic pollution and analyses its repercussions on aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric ecosystems, with a specific emphasis on the CO₂ emissions that are a consequence of this pollution. The empirical analysis focuses on a sample of twenty Asian and OECD countries in order to compare the dynamics of plastic production, consumption, and management during 2000-2023.

The findings indicate the presence of significant disparities between the two regions. The Asian economies are distinguished by a pervasive presence of plastic pollution, a phenomenon that is intricately intertwined with the pursuit of rapid economic growth and the dearth of comprehensive waste management systems. In contrast, OECD countries benefit from more structured environmental policies, yet continue to exhibit notably elevated levels of consumption. The analysis also reveals a significant correlation between plastic pollution and carbon dioxide emissions, illustrating the contribution of this pollution to the worsening of climate change. The findings emphasize the necessity for the implementation of integrated public policies that encompass a multifaceted approach to address the environmental and socio-economic challenges posed by plastic.

Achieving sustainability requires a coherent policy mix to address the climate change problem. To internalize the cost of carbon emissions resulting from the existing mode of production, central market-based mechanisms, such as carbon taxes and emissions trading systems (ETS), can be applied. Nevertheless, structural and technological context may affect their effectiveness. In this context, the present study tries to assess the impact of carbon pricing instruments on CO2 emissions while explicitly accounting for the structural and technological framework by integrating energy intensity and the usage of low-carbon energy in the energy mix, using a dynamic panel approach based on the Generalized Method of Moments for 31 OECD countries over the period 1997-2020.

The results show that the implementation of carbon taxes or ETS does not have a statistically significant impact on emission reductions. However, combining the two instruments alongside a higher penetration of low-carbon energy sources leads to a significant decline in emissions. These findings suggest that the effectiveness of economic instruments should be combined with complementary structural and technological transformations. An integrated policy mix that simultaneously promotes energy efficiency and accelerates the transition toward low-carbon energy systems may be embedded with carbon pricing.

cooking energy transitions. While the traditional energy ladder hypothesis suggests that households move from firewood to cleaner fuels as incomes rise, empirical evidence increasingly shows that this transition is neither smooth nor purely income-driven. Using NSSO consumption data and Census-based energy-use information for Bihar, this study shows that rural firewood consumption patterns exhibit significant nonlinear dependence, challenging the assumption of predictable and linear fuel transitions. Importantly, we clarify that statistical evidence is interpreted as nonlinear and complex dynamics, rather than deterministic chaos. We further estimate the Atkinson Energy Inequality Index across cooking fuels and find that inequality in access to modern cooking energy is substantial and varies by fuel type. Sensitivity analysis across inequality aversion parameters (e = 0.3, 0.5, 0.9) confirms the robustness of these disparities. States with higher cooking-energy inequality tend to show slower improvements in clean fuel penetration and lower multidimensional development progress. Our findings suggest that rural energy transition is shaped not only by income but also by structural inequality and complex behavioral patterns. Policies focusing solely on subsidies or income growth are therefore insufficient. Instead, locally adaptive, inequality-sensitive, and behaviorally informed strategies are required to ensure equitable and sustainable clean cooking transitions.

Il saggio analizza l’influenza che la sentenza della Corte costituzionale n. 51 del 2015 ha avuto sul diritto del lavoro. La tesi espressa da questa decisione – il contratto collettivo a cui rinvia la legge è un parametro a cui commisurare il trattamento economico dei lavoratori di una cooperativa – viene valutata alla luce delle problematiche connesse agli artt. 36, c. 1, e 39, cc. 1 e 4, della Costituzione. Inoltre, viene analizzato anche il rilievo che la decisione della Corte può avere in relazione alla retribuzione proporzionata e sufficiente di cui all’art. 36 Cost. e a una eventuale legislazione sul salario minimo. In tale contesto, si afferma la incostituzionalità del criterio adottato dalla l. n. 144/2025, con il suo riferimento ai contratti collettivi maggiormente applicabili. Infine, il saggio si concentra sulle leggi che rinviano ai contratti collettivi e sul problema della possibile violazione dell’art. 39, cc. 4 e 1, della Costituzione. L’Autore rileva come, a parte la l. n. 144/2025, tale legislazione non violi né i principi in tema di estensione erga omnes dei contratti collettivi, né la libertà del datore di lavoro di scegliere il contratto collettivo.

Lo scritto analizza l’influenza della cultura giuslavoristica nella giurisprudenza costituzionale degli ultimi trent’anni sulla c.d. privatizzazione del pubblico impiego. Dopo una breve bilancio qualiquantitativo, l’Autore si sofferma su tre sentenze in tema di contrattazione collettiva, organizzazione del lavoro ad alta professionalità e dirigenza, sottolineandone l’impatto sull’iter delle riforme degli anni scorsi e gli insegnamenti sulle attuali prospettive di nuove riforme.