Revista de Economia e Sociologia Rural
https://revistasober.org/article/doi/10.1590/1806-9479.2025.288293
Revista de Economia e Sociologia Rural
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Carbon pricing in agriculture: a systematic literature review

Precificação do carbono na agricultura: uma revisão sistemática da literatura

Daniela Tatiane de Souza; Fernando Antônio de Pádua Paim; Lauro Rodrigues Nogueira Júnior; Carlos Cesar Ronquim; Pedro Gilberto Cavalcante Filho

http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1806-9479.2025.288293 resr, vol.63, e288293, 2025
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Abstract

Carbon pricing involves assigning a monetary value to greenhouse gas emissions. This paper systematically reviews the state of carbon pricing in global agriculture over a 20-year period. Based on a systematic literature review, carbon valuation methods were correlated with prices attributed to determinants identified in academic publications, as well as extrapolated to the Brazilian agricultural environment. There was variation in carbon prices (minimum of USD 2.6/tCO2e and maximum of USD 157.5/tCO2e), determined by different socio-economic, agricultural and geographical heterogeneities. Our results showed negative relationship between Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and CO2 emissions per capita, indicating high elasticity of emissions in response to changes in carbon prices. There was also positive relationship between nitrogen fertilizer use per capita and carbon price. In 2021, the estimated carbon value for Brazilian agriculture using quantile regression was USD 11.54/tCO2e. It is therefore critical that scientifically robust carbon pricing methodologies be applied to agriculture to serve as benchmarks for national environmental valuation systems.

Keywords

agriculture, carbon pricing, CO2 emissions

Resumo

Resumo: A precificação do carbono envolve a atribuição de um valor monetário às emissões de gases de efeito estufa. Este artigo realizou uma revisão sistemática sobre preços do carbono na agricultura mundial nos últimos 20 anos. Partindo de uma revisão sistemática da literatura, os métodos de valoração e os preços atribuídos ao carbono foram correlacionados a um conjunto de determinantes identificados em publicações acadêmicas e extrapolados para o contexto da agricultura brasileira. Constatou-se variação nos preços do carbono (mínimo de USD 2,6/tCO2e e máximo de USD 157,5/tCO2e) com diferentes variáveis socioeconômicas, agrícolas e ambientais determinando o preço do carbono. Os resultados revelaram correlação negativa entre o Produto Interno Bruto (PIB) per capita e as emissões de CO2 per capita, indicando elevada elasticidade das emissões em resposta às mudanças na precificação do carbono. Além disso, observou-se associação positiva entre o uso de fertilizantes nitrogenados per capita e o preço do carbono. Em 2021, o valor do carbono estimado para a agricultura brasileira com o uso de uma regressão quantílica foi de USD 11,54/tCO2e. Ressalta-se a importância do uso de metodologias cientificamente robustas para a precificação do carbono na agricultura, a fim de servir como referência para os sistemas nacionais de valoração ambiental.

Palavras-chave

agricultura, precificação do carbono, emissões de CO2

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Submetido em:
10/07/2024

Aceito em:
28/09/2024

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