IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/soceps/v101y2025ics0038012125001338.html

Exploring the agricultural synergy between carbon abatement and pollution reduction in China

Author

Listed:
  • Song, Yaoyao
  • Yang, Yuelin
  • Shang, Fangping
  • Jiang, Xuemei

Abstract

Given the prevalence of environmental issues facing agriculture, along with the pressing challenges of climate change and environmental pollution, it is imperative to pursue the agricultural synergy between carbon abatement and pollution reduction. This paper proposes a systematic measure of the synergy effect based on the construction of non-radial directional distance functions and marginal abatement cost of carbon emissions and pollution. The weak disposability assumption between agricultural desirable and undesirable outputs are incorporated and modeled strictly. Furthermore, we conduct an empirical analysis on 30 provinces of mainland China and derive several findings: (1) The agricultural synergy between carbon abatement and pollution reduction exists in most provinces, and it shows an evident upward trend; (2) The eastern region exhibits the lowest marginal carbon abatement cost, the highest marginal pollution reduction cost, and the highest synergy effect; (3) Further path selection analysis indicate that the carbon abatement priority scenario is the most applicable strategy. Based on our empirical findings, this study also provides corresponding policy recommendations to Chinese agricultural regulators.

Suggested Citation

  • Song, Yaoyao & Yang, Yuelin & Shang, Fangping & Jiang, Xuemei, 2025. "Exploring the agricultural synergy between carbon abatement and pollution reduction in China," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceps:v:101:y:2025:i:c:s0038012125001338
    DOI: 10.1016/j.seps.2025.102284
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0038012125001338
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.seps.2025.102284?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Choi, Yongrok & Zhang, Ning & Zhou, P., 2012. "Efficiency and abatement costs of energy-related CO2 emissions in China: A slacks-based efficiency measure," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 198-208.
    2. Jian Li & Xiangchen Sheng & Shuhua Zhang & Yixuan Wang, 2024. "Research on the Impact of the Digital Economy and Technological Innovation on Agricultural Carbon Emissions," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-18, June.
    3. Zhou, X. & Fan, L.W. & Zhou, P., 2015. "Marginal CO2 abatement costs: Findings from alternative shadow price estimates for Shanghai industrial sectors," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 109-117.
    4. Song, Yao-yao & Li, Jing-jing & Wang, Jin-li & Yang, Guo-liang & Chen, Zhenling, 2022. "Eco-efficiency of Chinese transportation industry: A DEA approach with non-discretionary input," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    5. Tanaka, Kenta & Matsukawa, Isamu & Managi, Shunsuke, 2020. "An experimental investigation of bilateral oligopoly in emissions trading markets," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    6. Jeanneaux, Philippe & Latruffe, Laure, 2016. "Modelling pollution-generating technologies in performance benchmarking: Recent developments, limits and future prospects in the nonparametric frameworkAuthor-Name: Dakpo, K. Hervé," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 250(2), pages 347-359.
    7. Jie Ye & Renshan Xie & Xingwei Deng & Minling Lin & Yang Chen & Ketao Lin & Jianzhou Yang, 2024. "Assessment of agricultural carbon emissions reduction potential and optimisation pathways based on a framework of equity and efficiency principles: Evidence from Fujian Province in China," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 70(3), pages 125-136.
    8. Timo Kuosmanen, 2005. "Weak Disposability in Nonparametric Production Analysis with Undesirable Outputs," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 87(4), pages 1077-1082.
    9. Xian, Yujiao & Hu, Zhihui & Wang, Ke, 2023. "The least-cost abatement measure of carbon emissions for China's glass manufacturing industry based on the marginal abatement costs," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    10. Chen, Wenying, 2005. "The costs of mitigating carbon emissions in China: findings from China MARKAL-MACRO modeling," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(7), pages 885-896, May.
    11. Xu, Bin & Lin, Boqiang, 2017. "Factors affecting CO2 emissions in China’s agriculture sector: Evidence from geographically weighted regression model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 404-414.
    12. Fukuyama, Hirofumi & Weber, William L., 2009. "A directional slacks-based measure of technical inefficiency," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 274-287, December.
    13. Pietzcker, Robert C. & Osorio, Sebastian & Rodrigues, Renato, 2021. "Tightening EU ETS targets in line with the European Green Deal: Impacts on the decarbonization of the EU power sector," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    14. Fare, Rolf, 1989. "Multilateral Productivity Comparisons When Some Outputs Are Undesirable: A Nonparametric Approach," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 71(1), pages 90-98, February.
    15. Chen, Zhenling & Yuan, Xiao-Chen & Zhang, Xiaoling & Cao, Yunfei, 2020. "How will the Chinese national carbon emissions trading scheme work? The assessment of regional potential gains," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    16. Leleu, Hervé, 2013. "Shadow pricing of undesirable outputs in nonparametric analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 231(2), pages 474-480.
    17. Ying Liu & Haiying Tang & Aamer Muhammad & Guoqin Huang, 2019. "Emission mechanism and reduction countermeasures of agricultural greenhouse gases – a review," Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 9(2), pages 160-174, April.
    18. Mehdiloo, Mahmood & Podinovski, Victor V., 2019. "Selective strong and weak disposability in efficiency analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 276(3), pages 1154-1169.
    19. Fukuyama, Hirofumi & Song, Yao-yao & Ren, Xian-tong & Yang, Guo-liang, 2022. "Using a novel DEA-based model to investigate capacity utilization of Chinese firms," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    20. Podinovski, Victor V. & Kuosmanen, Timo, 2011. "Modelling weak disposability in data envelopment analysis under relaxed convexity assumptions," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 211(3), pages 577-585, June.
    21. Yang, Shubo & Jahanger, Atif & Hossain, Mohammad Razib, 2023. "How effective has the low-carbon city pilot policy been as an environmental intervention in curbing pollution? Evidence from Chinese industrial enterprises," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    22. Rolf Fare, 1993. "Derivation of Shadow Prices for Undesirable Outputs: A Distance Function Approach," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 75(2), pages 374-380, May.
    23. Zhu, Junpeng & Wu, Shaohui & Xu, Junbing, 2023. "Synergy between pollution control and carbon reduction: China's evidence," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    24. Zeng, Qing-Hua & He, Ling-Yun, 2023. "Study on the synergistic effect of air pollution prevention and carbon emission reduction in the context of "dual carbon": Evidence from China's transport sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    25. Färe, Rolf & Grosskopf, Shawna & Pasurka, Carl A., 2007. "Environmental production functions and environmental directional distance functions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(7), pages 1055-1066.
    26. Bowen Xiao & Dongxiao Niu & Han Wu & Haichao Wang, 2017. "Marginal Abatement Cost of CO 2 in China Based on Directional Distance Function: An Industry Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-19, January.
    27. Xian, Yujiao & Yu, Dan & Wang, Ke & Yu, Jian & Huang, Zhimin, 2022. "Capturing the least costly measure of CO2 emission abatement: Evidence from the iron and steel industry in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    28. Pietzcker, Robert & Osorio, Sebastian & Rodrigues, Renato, 2021. "Tightening EU ETS targets in line with the European Green Deal: Impacts on the decarbonization of the EU power sector," EconStor Preprints 222579, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, revised 2021.
    29. Biao Hu & Hongjia Dong & Ping Jiang & Jingan Zhu, 2020. "Analysis of the Applicable Rate of Environmental Tax through Different Tax Rate Scenarios in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-14, May.
    30. Liu, Dachuan & Wang, Pu & Sun, Yan & Zhang, Huawei & Xu, Shanqing, 2024. "Co-abatement of carbon and air pollutants emissions in China’s iron and steel industry under carbon neutrality scenarios," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shen, Zhiyang & Bai, Kaixuan & Hong, Tianyang & Balezentis, Tomas, 2021. "Evaluation of carbon shadow price within a non-parametric meta-frontier framework: The case of OECD, ASEAN and BRICS," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    2. Jeanneaux, Philippe & Latruffe, Laure, 2016. "Modelling pollution-generating technologies in performance benchmarking: Recent developments, limits and future prospects in the nonparametric frameworkAuthor-Name: Dakpo, K. Hervé," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 250(2), pages 347-359.
    3. Pham, Manh D. & Zelenyuk, Valentin, 2019. "Weak disposability in nonparametric production analysis: A new taxonomy of reference technology sets," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 274(1), pages 186-198.
    4. Yuanxiang Zhou & Shan Wang & Shuqi Xu & Qingyuan Zhu, 2025. "Big data in data envelopment analysis with undesirable outputs based on simulation and environmental-health matching data of Chinese industrial enterprises," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 348(1), pages 279-298, May.
    5. Abad, Arnaud & Briec, Walter, 2019. "On the axiomatic of pollution-generating technologies: Non-parametric production analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 277(1), pages 377-390.
    6. Ke Wang & Yujiao Xian & Chia-Yen Lee & Yi-Ming Wei & Zhimin Huang, 2019. "On selecting directions for directional distance functions in a non-parametric framework: a review," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 278(1), pages 43-76, July.
    7. Podinovski, Victor V., 2019. "Direct estimation of marginal characteristics of nonparametric production frontiers in the presence of undesirable outputs," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 279(1), pages 258-276.
    8. Wu, F. & Wang, S.Y. & Zhou, P., 2023. "Marginal abatement cost of carbon dioxide emissions: The role of abatement options," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 310(2), pages 891-901.
    9. Wei, Chu & Löschel, Andreas & Liu, Bing, 2015. "Energy-saving and emission-abatement potential of Chinese coal-fired power enterprise: A non-parametric analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 33-43.
    10. Sahoo, Nihar R. & Mohapatra, Pratap K.J. & Sahoo, Biresh K. & Mahanty, Biswajit, 2017. "Rationality of energy efficiency improvement targets under the PAT scheme in India – A case of thermal power plants," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 279-289.
    11. Cui, Lixin & Dong, Ruxue & Mu, Yunguo & Shen, Zhiyang & Xu, Jiatong, 2022. "How policy preferences affect the carbon shadow price in the OECD," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    12. Fukuyama, Hirofumi & Matousek, Roman & Tzeremes, Nickolaos G., 2024. "A unified framework for nonperforming loan modeling in bank production: An application of data envelopment analysis," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    13. Du, Limin & Lu, Yunguo & Ma, Chunbo, 2022. "Carbon efficiency and abatement cost of China's coal-fired power plants," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    14. D’Inverno, Giovanna & Carosi, Laura & Romano, Giulia & Guerrini, Andrea, 2018. "Water pollution in wastewater treatment plants: An efficiency analysis with undesirable output," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 269(1), pages 24-34.
    15. Zhou, P. & Ang, B.W. & Wang, H., 2012. "Energy and CO2 emission performance in electricity generation: A non-radial directional distance function approach," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 221(3), pages 625-635.
    16. Kao, Chiang & Hwang, Shiuh-Nan, 2023. "Separating the effect of undesirable outputs generation from the inefficiency of desirable outputs production in efficiency measurement," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 311(3), pages 1097-1102.
    17. Wen, Xiaojie & Yao, Shunbo & Sauer, Johannes, 2022. "Shadow prices and abatement cost of soil erosion in Shaanxi Province, China: Convex expectile regression approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    18. Chen, Po-Chi & Yu, Ming-Miin & Chang, Ching-Cheng & Hsu, Shih-Hsun & Managi, Shunsuke, 2015. "The enhanced Russell-based directional distance measure with undesirable outputs: Numerical example considering CO2 emissions," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 30-40.
    19. Chu, Junfei & Shao, Caifeng & Emrouznejad, Ali & Wu, Jie & Yuan, Zhe, 2021. "Performance evaluation of organizations considering economic incentives for emission reduction: A carbon emission permit trading approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    20. Yu, Ming-Miin & Rakshit, Ipsita, 2023. "Target setting for airlines incorporating CO2 emissions: The DEA bargaining approach," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:soceps:v:101:y:2025:i:c:s0038012125001338. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/seps .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.