Short Food Supply Chains as Pathways Towards Carbon‐Neutral Rural Development: Evidence from Galicia, Spain

Achieving carbon neutrality requires transformative changes across multiple sectors, including food systems. Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) have been increasingly proposed as mechanisms capable of reducing transport-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while promoting more resilient forms of rural development. This study examines the potential contribution of SFSCs to carbon-neutral rural development using Galicia (Spain), with particular attention to the territories of Ferrolterra and As Pontes de García Rodríguez, as a case study. A scenario-based approach was employed to compare Regional Short Food Supply Chains and Conventional Long Supply Chains, assuming average transport distances of 80 km and 800 km, respectively. Transport-related greenhouse gas emissions were estimated using a ton-kilometre methodology based on European freight transport emission factors, while sensitivity analysis was conducted to evaluate the robustness of the findings under alternative assumptions. The results indicate that Regional Short Food Supply Chains generated approximately 90% lower transport-related emissions than Conventional Long Supply Chains, corresponding to an estimated reduction of 44.64 kg CO₂e per tonne of food transported. These differences remained stable across all sensitivity scenarios. The findings suggest that territorially embedded food systems may represent complementary instruments within broader climate-neutral development strategies, particularly in rural territories undergoing socioeconomic transitions associated with the decline of carbon-intensive activities. Although transport represents only one dimension of food-system sustainability, integrating regional food initiatives into climate and rural-development policies may contribute to reducing avoidable emissions while strengthening territorial resilience.