An Environmentally-Extended Input-Output analysis of province-level carbon emissions from energy use in China's food system

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the province-level carbon emissions from energy use in China's food system including direct and indirect emissions in both pre- and post-agricultural production using Environmentally-Extended Input-Output (EEIO) analysis. It also analyzes the determinants of emission intensity in China's food system using a panel regression model. The results show that there was a large spatial variation in energy-related carbon emissions, intensity, and per capita emissions in China's food system among provinces, due to socioeconomic factors and agricultural endowments. Shandong, Sichuan, Hubei, and Heilongjiang were consistently ranked as the largest provinces of carbon emissions from energy use in the food system. On the contrary, provinces including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Hainan, Ningxia, and Qinghai produced significantly lower emissions. Additionally, fossil fuels were still the major energy sources of energy-related emissions in China's food system for most provinces. For factors affecting the emission intensity, most of them exhibited disparate effects on the emission intensity in different regions and on the national level. For instance, the expansion of agricultural land per capita increased emission intensity in eastern and central China but decreased in western China. The expansion of irrigation areas raised the emission intensity in eastern China while decreasing in central China. The study concludes that there has been significant progress in the emission reduction of China's food system with most provinces seeing a decline in energy-related emissions, intensity, and per capita emissions. Moreover, incorporating various socioeconomic and agricultural factors at the provincial level, it is necessary to optimize regional policies to effectively address the various demands for reducing carbon emissions within the food system, while fostering regional collaboration and complying with national directives. Also, a transition from traditional fossil fuel use along the agricultural supply chain to renewable energy is urgent for low-carbon food system transformation in China.