IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v18y2026i8p3838-d1919057.html

Circular Economy Strategies in Sustainable Agriculture: Pathways to Climate Resilience and Decarbonization

Author

Listed:
  • Elena Simina Lakatos

    (Institute for Research in Circular Economy and Environment Ernest Lupan, 400561 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
    Department of Technical Sciences, Academy of Romanian Scientists, 050044 Bucharest, Romania
    Department of Economics, Faculty of Horticulture and Rural Development Business, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

  • Andreea Loredana Rhazzali

    (Institute for Research in Circular Economy and Environment Ernest Lupan, 400561 Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

  • Ligia Maria Nan

    (Institute for Research in Circular Economy and Environment Ernest Lupan, 400561 Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

  • Ráhel Portik-Szabó

    (Institute for Research in Circular Economy and Environment Ernest Lupan, 400561 Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

  • Anamaria Sim

    (Institute for Research in Circular Economy and Environment Ernest Lupan, 400561 Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

  • Lucian-Ionel Cioca

    (Institute for Research in Circular Economy and Environment Ernest Lupan, 400561 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
    Department of Technical Sciences, Academy of Romanian Scientists, 050044 Bucharest, Romania
    Faculty of Engineering, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, 550024 Sibiu, Romania)

Abstract

In the context of accelerating climate change and increasing pressure on natural resources, agriculture needs to rethink its operating models to ensure both sustainability and long-term stability. The circular economy (CE) is increasingly invoked as a possible solution, but its concrete contribution to the climate resilience of agricultural systems remains insufficiently integrated and often assessed in a fragmented manner. This study aims to analyze the role of circular strategies in strengthening the climate resilience of agriculture, through a systemic approach based on multiple indicators. The methodology is based on a structured and comparative analysis of recent scientific literature, complemented by a bibliometric and co-occurrence analysis of keywords, in order to identify the main research directions and evaluation methods used. The analyzed indicators cover dimensions related to soil, water, crop performance, energy and socio-economic resilience of farms. The results suggest that circular economy strategies may contribute to climate resilience through cumulative, and context-dependent effects, including improvements in soil quality, resource-use efficiency, and reduced dependence on external inputs. However, evidence regarding direct impacts on production stability and adaptive capacity remains heterogeneous and often indirect. The study contributes by proposing an integrated conceptual framework that highlights the systemic nature of climate resilience and its links to decarbonization pathways, providing a basis for future empirical research and policy development.

Suggested Citation

  • Elena Simina Lakatos & Andreea Loredana Rhazzali & Ligia Maria Nan & Ráhel Portik-Szabó & Anamaria Sim & Lucian-Ionel Cioca, 2026. "Circular Economy Strategies in Sustainable Agriculture: Pathways to Climate Resilience and Decarbonization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-38, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:18:y:2026:i:8:p:3838-:d:1919057
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/18/8/3838/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/18/8/3838/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:18:y:2026:i:8:p:3838-:d:1919057. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask MDPI Indexing Manager to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.