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Evaluating Agricultural Sustainability and Green GDP in China: An Emergy Analysis

Author

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  • Jiangfeng Hu

    (Chongqing Academy of Social Sciences, Chongqing 400020, China)

  • Jingjing Lyu

    (School of Business, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, China)

  • Xinyuan Zhang

    (School of Taxation, Jilin University of Finance and Economics, Changchun 130117, China)

Abstract

Agricultural sustainability is the foundation and a guarantee of sustainable human reproduction. The scientific assessment of China’s agricultural sustainability is a prerequisite for properly resolving the conflict between short-term economic interests and long-term ecological security. This paper uses the emergy analysis method to estimate agricultural sustainability in China and further calculates the agricultural environmental cost and green GDP. The results show that China’s agricultural emergy yield rate (EYR) is generally greater than 1. This means that more emergy is obtained in relation to renewable and non-renewable inputs from human activity, which also indicates that China’s agricultural agroecosystem is characteristic of a profound transition from a self-supporting tradition to a modern industry based on external economic resource consumption. In contrast, China’s agricultural growth is mainly driven by the input of a large amount of non-renewable resources, which makes the environmental loading rate (ELR) increase year by year, resulting in the deterioration of China’s agricultural emergy sustainability index (ESI). China’s agricultural green GDP accounts for about 94.4% of traditional GDP, which means that the average agricultural environmental cost is about 5.6%, mainly from land loss, accounting for 48.23% of the environmental cost.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiangfeng Hu & Jingjing Lyu & Xinyuan Zhang, 2022. "Evaluating Agricultural Sustainability and Green GDP in China: An Emergy Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-17, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:24:p:16735-:d:1002103
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Yuan-Wei Du & Yi-Pin Fan, 2023. "Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Agricultural Sustainability Assessment: A Study across 30 Chinese Provinces," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-23, June.

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