Year: 2025 | Month: December | Volume: 12 | Issue: 12 | Pages: 879-896
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijrr.20251288
Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Material Efficiency, Waste Reduction, and Sustainable Agroecosystems
Nasruddin1, Fitryane Lihawa2, Dewi Wahyuni K. Baderan4, Marike Mahmud4
1Doctoral Program in Environmental Science, Universitas Negeri Gorontalo, Gorontalo, Indonesia
2,3,4Postgraduate Program, Universitas Negeri Gorontalo, Gorontalo, Indonesia
Corresponding Author: Nasruddin
ABSTRACT
Climate change mitigation requires integrated strategies across material production, food systems, and agroecosystems, yet evidence has often been fragmented across domains. This systematic literature review synthesizes findings from peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2025 to evaluate the potential of material efficiency, food loss and waste reduction with cold chain optimization, sustainable agroecosystems, and policy instruments in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Searches were conducted across major databases, applying transparent inclusion and exclusion criteria, and studies were assessed using established quality appraisal tools. A thematic synthesis was developed across four domains to quantify impacts, identify co-benefits, and assess trade-offs. Results indicate that material efficiency strategies such as design for longevity, reuse, remanufacture, and lightweighting reduce lifecycle emissions but face rebound risks. Food system interventions, including loss and waste reduction and optimized cold chains, generate both climate and health benefits, though their effectiveness depends on electricity decarbonization. Agroecosystem practices, including land-free bioenergy, residue management, and forest restoration, deliver substantial mitigation potential alongside biodiversity and water co-benefits, yet involve land competition and fire risks. Policy frameworks emerge as decisive in shaping outcomes: fossil and agricultural subsidies undermine progress, while nutrient footprint approaches and integrated governance enhance effectiveness and equity. Across all themes, contextual moderators’ income, infrastructure, governance, and energy systems explain divergent results, underscoring the necessity of adaptive and context-sensitive strategies. The review concludes that integrated, cross-domain approaches provide greater mitigation and co-benefits than isolated interventions. However, realizing this potential requires methodological advances, equity-oriented policy design, and adaptive governance. These findings advance theoretical frameworks on nexus governance and offer actionable guidance for developing effective and just climate mitigation portfolios.
Keywords: greenhouse gas mitigation; material efficiency; food loss and waste; cold chain optimization; sustainable agroecosystems; policy governance; climate resilience
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