Analysis of European positioning on environmental sustainability: A review

Abstract

Extreme weather events are becoming more common, reflecting the rapid advance of climate change, which is primarily caused by human activity. Whereas some effects are irreversible, others can be mitigated through actions that seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and thus limit global warming. In recent years, academia has been actively engaged in addressing this situation, as reflected in the volume of related scientific output. In this context, the objective of this research is to conduct a literature review of studies on environmental sustainability in the European Union (EU) published in the decade 2015–2024. The choice of the geographical scope of the study is based on the EU's strong commitment to climate neutrality. In order to identify the possible gaps in the literature and extract the main research directions, the PRISMA protocol is used together with an Rstudio library called bibliometrix. The results reveal an exponential growth in studies published in high-impact scientific journals, and a notable prevalence of international co-authorship. The analysis identifies three main lines of research. The first focuses on the structural foundations of sustainability, including circular economy, sustainable agriculture, and eco-innovation. The second addresses environmental policies promoted by the European Union and stands out as the most influential in terms of academic impact. The third explores energy efficiency in crisis contexts, with particular attention to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Energy transition, circular economy, and the pursuit of efficiency and productivity are among the most studied topics within the scientific community.