Do Agricultural Exports Mitigate the Impacts of Carbon Emissions in Türkiye?

Agricultural exports influence ecological outcomes by promoting sustainable farming and eco-friendly technologies, aligning with international standards, and contributing to decarbonization and environmental sustainability. Türkiye has seen considerable growth in agricultural exports, but this rapid expansion raises concerns about its environmental consequences, especially regarding carbon emissions and overall ecological sustainability. This article investigates the impact of agricultural exports on environmental sustainability within the context of trade liberalization policies during Türkiye’s export-oriented agricultural expansion from 1990 to 2015, utilizing the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach. The findings demonstrate that agricultural exports significantly reduce environmental degradation over the long term. This is further validated by the Conditional Error Correction (CEC) model, which confirms that agricultural exports enhance ecological quality by lowering carbon emissions. Additionally, renewable energy consumption supports environmental sustainability by reducing carbon emissions. This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge by presenting empirical evidence on the interplay between agricultural exports and environmental sustainability in Türkiye. This article suggests that policymakers focus on an export-oriented agricultural extension strategy to address environmental challenges. Such a strategy should be aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and integrate agricultural exports as a key component of Türkiye’s long-term environmental sustainability plan.