Regional differences and dynamic evolution of China's agricultural carbon emission efficiency

To develop low-carbon agriculture, it is necessary to deeply analyze the spatial evolution and regional differences of China's agricultural carbon emission efficiency (ACEE). Clarifying how the carbon emission efficiency differs between and within regions and how it evolves can help achieve a win-win situation for both economy and ecology. This study uses the inter-provincial agricultural industry panel data from 2000 to 2019 and selects the three-stage super-efficiency slack-based measure data envelope analysis (SBM-DEA) model to measure ACEE. Additionally, this study uses the Dagum Gini coefficient and the Kernel density model to analyze the sources of regional differences in ACEE and the internal dynamic evolution, respectively. The empirical results reveal the following: (i) China's ACEE is in a state of inefficient. Only the ecological protection area is efficiently optimized. Moreover, the phenomenon of ACEE agglomeration appears spatially in Southern and Northern China for a certain periods of time. (ii) The overall Gini coefficient of China's ACEE has shown a gradual decline, which indicates that the overall ACEE is converging, while the intra-group gap and transvariation intensity between regions have primarily contributed to the regional gap in China's ACEE. (iii) The absolute difference of the internal ACEE between regions shows an expanding trend, and the uneven development of the ACEE between regions is obvious. Based on the results, this paper could put forward a basis for effectively formulating regionally differentiated emission reduction policies and better realizes the development of sustainable agriculture.

Automated summary

This study analyzes the spatial evolution and regional differences of China's agricultural carbon emission efficiency (ACEE) and finds that ACEE in China is relatively low and exhibits spatial agglomeration. Moreover, the regional gap in ACEE is primarily contributed by intra-group differences and variations between regions, while the absolute difference within regions is expanding.