Long-term effects of some determinants in the agricultural sector on CO2 emissions: Panel data analysis by income groups of world countries

Abstract

Climate change is defined as one of the biggest problems of the third millennium. All countries in the world are striving to produce policies on this issue and achieve a common consensus. Regulations are being made in various sectors and efforts are continuing to adopt ecofriendly production techniques. Just as climate change affects all sectors, it is also affected by the production activities of the sectors. One of these sectors is the agricultural sector. Inputs and production techniques used in agriculture create direct environmental costs. The production techniques used by countries depending on their income level and development level contribute to the climate change process to a certain extent. In this research, the effects of the inputs used in agricultural production on CO2 emissions according to the income levels of the countries of the world were investigated by panel data analysis. According to the results obtained, the effect of the arable land size of low and low-middle income group countries, the pesticides they use in agriculture, the animal fertilizers they use in agricultural production, the CO2 level released from the energy they use in agriculture, and the effect of their agricultural nitrogen use on the total CO2 level is statistically significant. While the effect of pesticide uses and the amount of nitrogen used in agriculture by middle-high income countries is statistically significant, it can be said that the amounts of pesticides used by high-income countries in agriculture, animal fertilizers used in agricultural production, the level of CO2 released from the energy they use in agriculture and their use of agricultural nitrogen are statistically significant. While the results obtained reveal the relationship between the amount used and CO2 emissions, they also indicate that the inputs used can be quality and environmentally friendly inputs. In classical suggestions, suggestions are made such as controlling input levels and preventing excessive use. However, the increasing world population and the resulting increase in nutritional needs emphasize the importance of optimal input use in agricultural production. It makes it important that qualitative, ecofriendly and effective inputs should be used rather than input usage possibilities and quantity-dimensional control.