| As China’s second largest carbon source,agricultural greenhouse gas emissions account for about 17%of the total greenhouse gas emissions(The carbon emissions from the agricultural sectors thereafter refer to the emission of CO2,CH4,and N2O that are converted into equivalent CO2 emissions).Therefore,it is necessary to accelerate the development of China’s low-carbon agriculture.Mainly based on the actual situation of China’s agricultural development and carbon emissions,domestic scholars focus on the measurement and regional comparisons of agricultural carbon emissions and carbon emission efficiency(or carbon productivity)in China and provinces(cities,districts),as well as identification of factors of agricultural carbon emissions and carbon emission efficiency.The research conclusion can provide an effective decision reference for the low agricultural carbonation process in China.However,there are few researches based on international experience,which can provide reference for Chinese agricultural carbonating.Against such background,the present study first elaborates the ecological mechanism of carbon emissions in the agricultural sector,and constructs the theoretical analysis framework for agricultural carbon emission efficiency,which is based on the sustainable development theory,3E system theory,EKC curve theory,externality theory,and ecosystem carbon cycle theory.Then,it makes comparative analysis of agricultural added value,total carbon emissions and intensity according to the data of the WIOD database,WDI database,OECD database,and FAO database,with the differences of 32 sample countries(including 19 developed countries and 13 developing countries)in the economic structures,the stage of development of the agricultural industry,and the scale of output value considered as well.Thirdly,based on the Kaya identical equation and LMDI models,it clarifies the effect of carbon source structure effect,scale effect and carbon emission effect on the carbon emission changes of agriculture in 32 sample countries.Tapio model is used to identify and compare the decoupling types of agricultural carbon emissions and agricultural economic growth in 32 sample countries.Finally,based on the DEA-Malmquist index method with expected and unexpected outputs,the carbon emission efficiency from 2001-2014 of agricultural sectors in 32 countries is measured.It analyzes and compares the diversity of economic structures and industrial development stages,then confirms the vital elements of agricultural sector carbon emissions efficiency with the usage of Panel probit model.Main conclusions are made after theoretical analysis and empirical research as follows:(1)Based on carbon emission intensity negotiations,carbon emission reduction responsibilities conform to the development interests of the Chinese agricultural sector.The total carbon emissions from China’s agricultural sector became top one around the world in 1979 and continues to this day,but the carbon intensity has dropped from 4.28kg CO2 e/$ 100 million in 2000 to 0.87kg CO2e/$ 100 million in 2014.That is a little higher than that in Japan and Greece,but is lower than the United States,Britain,France,Germany,Italy,Canada,Australia and other developed countries as well as all developing countries.In the global negotiations on agricultural carbon reduction,China will be in an advantageous position from the perspective of carbon intensity.(2)From the perspective of carbon emission efficiency,the low-carbon agricultural policies,experiences and practices of Japan,Australia,Canada,and Denmark can serve as key benchmarks for the formulation and implementation of China’s agricultural sector carbon emission reduction policies.In sample countries,only Japan(1.16),Australia(1.13),Canada(1.09)and Denmark(1.07)have higher carbon emission efficiencies than China(1.06).(3)The main agricultural departments should promote the development of agricultural products processing industry and the sale of fresh agricultural products to increase the scale of agricultural output value,implement practical training of agricultural employees to truly improve the skills of the main operators,and continue to improve the mechanization of the entire agricultural production process.The reason is that market size,human capital,and mechanization have a significant role in promoting the carbon emission efficiency of the agricultural sector in the sample countries.(4)For China’s agricultural sector,it is urgent to ensure the expansion of industrial scale while coordinating the improvement of carbon emission efficiency and ensuring environmental safety on the grounds that the scale expansion of the agricultural industry is a "double-edged sword".It will be helpful in achieving economies of scale and increasing carbon emissions efficiency,but based on the LMDI model,the decomposition of the relative factors shows that expansion of business scale is a contributing factor to the growth of carbon emissions for agriculture.(5)From the overall perspective of 32 sample countries,livestock breeding,agricultural land use and energy consumption are important sources of carbon emissions in the agricultural sector.In 2014,the proportion of the total carbon emissions of agricultural sectors in sample countries was 38.88%,34%,and 16.55%respectively.The main significance and innovation of this study include:Firstly,it is helpful for the Chinese government and relevant departments in clarifying the total carbon intensity and its position in the sample countries,and providing a reference for the international negotiations on agricultural carbon emission reduction responsibilities;Secondly,it calculates and compares the carbon emission efficiencies of the world’s major agricultural producing countries,clarifying the international location of China’s agricultural carbon emissions efficiency,and helping to identify the benchmark countries at this stage and in the future that can be learned and used for reference;Thirdly,based on international data,it identifies the key influencing factors of carbon emission efficiency which are the important supplements to the literature that are limited to the context of China.The study enriches the theoretical research results in this field,and provides a new discriminatory perspective for policy-makers to formulate agricultural low-carbon development strategies.Compared with the previous research,the data is more refined and reliable.Data from the national agricultural sector of the sample are collected from the SEA database,the WDI database of the World Bank,the OECD database,the FAO database,and other international databases,instead of replacing the agricultural sector with country-level data.The new database collection will effectively prevent measurement errors,which may lead to false conclusions and wrong policy inspiration. |
