The effects of agricultural development on CO2 emissions: empirical evidence from the most populous developing countries

Today, the importance of agriculture in securing the livelihood of human beings is not hidden. Nevertheless, its impact on environmental degradation has also become a concern for experts. Therefore, this study investigates the impact of agricultural development on CO2 emissions in the 15 most populous developing countries in the years 2004-2020 using panel quantile regression. In addition, the effect of gross domestic product, energy consumption, population, and trade openness has been explored. Results show that the agricultural value added is positive and significant in all quantiles except the 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 quantiles, and it becomes more in higher quantiles. Moreover, energy consumption and trade openness are the most robust influential variables. However, the effect of energy consumption is less than trade openness in lower quantiles, and in higher quantiles, it is just the opposite. Furthermore, gross domestic product is significant and positive in all quantiles except the 0.8 and 0.90 quantiles, decreasing in higher quantiles. Finally, the population's impact on CO2 emissions in 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 quantiles is positive and significant but insignificant in higher quantiles.