Exploring the nexus between agriculture and greenhouse gas emissions in BIMSTEC region: The role of renewable energy and human capital as moderators

Abstract

Agriculture and the food system emit a considerable amount of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in the atmosphere. Hence, current researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders are calling for improving the environmental performance of agriculture. This study utilizes the countries of The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) to investigate the effect of agriculture value-added, pesticide use, renewable energy adoption, human capital, and economic growth on greenhouse gas emissions. The moderation effect of renewable energy use and human capital is also introduced to see whether they can offset agriculture's emissions in these BIMSTEC economies. Having reported a state-of-the-art literature review, the econometric procedure applies the second-generation unit root tests, panel cointegration and panel quantile regression for three preferred model specifications. The result from the Panel quantile regression method reveals a U-shaped relationship between agriculture value-added and greenhouse gas emissions, suggesting the significance of a small farming system. Human capital has a negative effect, whereas pesticide use has a positive effect on greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, the moderation effect of human capital and pesticide use suggests that human capital is not significant enough to offset the effect of pesticide use on the greenhouse gas emissions, whereas the interaction of renewable and pesticide use suggests that renewable energy adoption in the agriculture sector can mitigate the effect of pesticide use on GHG emissions. Finally, the conclusions of the study support the achievement of few sustainable development goals.