The Relationship Between Agricultural Carbon Dioxide Emission and Agriculture Subsectors Production: Static Panel Data Approach

Abstract

Human activities contribute to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which have serious environmental, economic, and social effects of climate change. This has sparked efforts to find large-scale solutions to eliminate the causes of climate change. While these solutions mainly involve reducing carbon emissions through global agreements, individual nations have also taken steps to cut emissions by changing production methods, such as irrigation and fertilisation, to ensure the efficient and effective use of resources and the proper storage and transportation of food. As a result, the agricultural sector is both a source and a victim of this process. The sector's environmental impact varies due to differing production techniques and energy needs across various sub-sectors like vegetable, grain, and fruit production. Increases in carbon dioxide emissions in this sector are connected not only to production activities but also to demographic and social factors, such as the rural population proportion. This study aims to explore the effect of vegetable, grain, and fruit production, as well as the rural population ratio, on carbon dioxide emissions. To achieve this, a static panel data analysis was conducted across 21 European countries from 1970 to 2023. According to the research findings, vegetable production increases carbon emissions from agriculture. However, it was found to have a significant, albeit borderline, impact on fruit production and to reduce carbon emissions. These results demonstrate that agriculture's contribution to carbon dioxide emissions varies by sub-sector and provide valuable information for developing sustainable agricultural policies.