Decoupling effects and drivers of agricultural carbon emissions in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area of Chongqing

Under the background of carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, exploring the characteristics of agricultural carbon emission and its driving factors in Chongqing Three Gorges Reservoir Area can provide scientific basis for the development of low-carbon agriculture in the reservoir area. Using the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) carbon emission factor measurement method, The agricultural carbon emissions in Chongqing Three Gorges Reservoir Area during 2015-2022 were calculated, the temporal and spatial differences of agricultural carbon emissions and agricultural carbon emission intensity in Chongqing Three Gorges Reservoir Area were systematically analyzed, and the decoupling relationship between agricultural carbon emissions and agricultural economic growth in Chongqing Three Gorges Reservoir Area was analyzed using the Tapio decoupling model. Furthermore, the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) model is applied to analyze the driving factors of agricultural carbon emission in the Three Gorges reservoir area of Chongqing. The results show that: The total agricultural carbon emission in Chongqing Three Gorges Reservoir Area showed an overall trend of fluctuation reduction, and the total agricultural carbon emission decreased from 6.4589 million tons in 2015 to 6.2074 million tons in 2022. The main source of agricultural carbon emission in Chongqing Three Gorges Reservoir Area was carbon emission caused by soil utilization in the process of crop planting. Carbon emissions from enteric fermentation and manure management processes in livestock and poultry farming. The agricultural carbon emission intensity in the Three Gorges Reservoir area of Chongqing showed a decreasing trend, and the gap of carbon emission intensity among the districts and counties in the Three Gorges Reservoir area of Chongqing gradually narrowed. The decoupling relationship between agricultural economic growth and agricultural carbon emissions in the Three Gorges Reservoir area of Chongqing from 2015 to 2022 shows a decoupling relationship on the whole. With the recovery and development of agricultural production, the total value of agricultural production has increased, and agricultural carbon emissions have rebounded. The decoupling relationship between agricultural economic growth and agricultural carbon emissions changes from strong decoupling relationship to weak decoupling relationship with 2019 as the node performance. Factors such as agricultural production efficiency, agricultural population scale and agricultural industrial structure inhibit the growth of agricultural carbon emissions in the Three Gorges Reservoir area of Chongqing, while agricultural economic scale factors promote the growth of agricultural carbon emissions. Based on the above results, this paper puts forward relevant suggestions such as focusing on reducing carbon emissions from livestock and poultry farming, controlling carbon emissions from farmland soil utilization, and exerting the inhibition effect of agricultural production efficiency, agricultural population size and agricultural industrial structure on agricultural carbon emissions in Chongqing Three Gorges Reservoir Area, hoping to provide theoretical basis for the development of low-carbon agriculture in Chongqing Three Gorges Reservoir Area.