EVALUATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES AND THEIR IMPACTS

Ivana Filipović; Sonja Jovanović; Zorana Stanković

doi:10.59267/ekoPolj260147F

Authors

Ivana Filipović Ph.D, Assistant professor , Faculty of Economics, University of Niš, Trg kralja Aleksandra Ujedinitelja 11, 18000 Niš, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8594-6887
Sonja Jovanović Ph.D, Full professor, , Faculty of Economics, University of Niš, Trg kralja Aleksandra Ujedinitelja 11, 18000 Niš , Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0937-9195
Zorana Stanković Ph.D, Assistant professor, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Niš, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8974-3916

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59267/ekoPolj260147F

Keywords:

Agricultural, climate change, environmental performance, sustainability, EU countries

Abstract

Agriculture is a major contributor to climate change,exerting significant pressure on environmental systems.The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship betweenthe environmental performance of agricultural productionand climate change in the European Union (EU) countriesand to assess the degree of their homogeneity accordingto sustainability indicators. Correlation and clusteranalyses were applied using data from the EnvironmentalPerformance Index (EPI). The results confirm a statisticallysignificant positive correlation between agriculturalperformance and climate change mitigation, identifyingthree clusters of EU countries with different levels ofenvironmental efficiency. The findings indicate thatcountries with higher agricultural sustainability achievebetter results in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Thepaper concludes that future agricultural policies within theEuropean Union should promote sustainable productionmodels that contribute to climate change mitigation whilesimultaneously enhancing the overall environmentalperformance of the agricultural sector.

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