| Abstract |
The multiculturalism is the defining characteristic of globalization, having the greatest impact on the development of societies. Starting from this axiom, the hypothesis of the existence of diversity and structural differences is confirmed. Therefore, this research aims to identify structural differences among the countries of the European Union, but also between the European Union and China, in terms of economic behavior in the context of reducing pollution and the transition to a sustainable economy and a sustainable society. In addition, based on the structural analysis, a number of directions have been identified in order to achieve these goals, with the emphasis on integrating the circular economy into the environment and developing smart-city technologies. In order to reach all these essential points of the article, variables from adjacent areas were selected, meant to capture several structural components (pollution, transport, energy, innovation, population density, resource efficiency, level of economic development). The structural differences have been identified by using the principal component analysis (PCA), from the territorial profile angle. Finally, a number of dimensions (principal components) have been identified, in close correlation with the potential and territorial specificity (capacity to use resources) to accelerate the process of creating a sustainable society. |