Impact of environmental policies on the profitability of greenhouse agriculture in southeastern Spain

Abstract Sustainable development has become an essential criterion for structural policies of the European Union, and these policies have extended its environmental dimensions. The EU has decided that circular economy will be framed within the principles of sustainable development. Thus, the changes brought forth will affect activities like agriculture, where environmental policy can undermine the stability of agricultural systems by reducing their profitability. The objective of this study was to evaluate how the implementation of these techniques impacted the southeastern peninsula of Spain, a farming region that supports the sovereignty and food security of the European Union in terms of fruit and vegetable products. The production techniques evaluated can increase production costs by up to 5.5%, although there are no significant differences in crop profitability. It is necessary to guarantee that all producers can access the incentive system to reduce their economic pressure, due in many cases to financial losses. In this regard, it is necessary to establish a specific green architecture for this subsector that factors in the effects of inflation to balance the triple aspect of sustainability.