Mapping Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions via Multi-National Supply Chains: Evidence from Asia and the Pacific Countries

Abstract

The rapid increase in global agricultural trade has drawn increasing attention to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions stemming from agricultural activities. Through the application of multi-regional input–output modeling and complex network analysis, this study links embodied GHG emissions with the agricultural trade network especially focusing on Asia and the Pacific countries. The results showed a consistent upward trend in the total amount of direct agricultural GHG emissions associated with both production and consumption activities. However, the embodied agricultural GHG emissions exhibited a larger scale and higher growth rate. Among them, the pathways from Brazil to China and the United States to China are the largest net emission flows within this area. Regional clusters were observed in North America, Western Europe, and Southeast Asia, and their agricultural GHG patterns showed evolutionary characteristics. By depicting embodied agricultural GHG emissions and identifying GHG emission transfer patterns, this study aimed to promote agricultural GHG emission reduction strategies, which attempt to promote sustainable development by encouraging the low-carbon agricultural industry.