Impact of high-standard farmland construction policies on agricultural carbon emissions

High-standard farmland construction is an important part of the green transformation of agriculture and provides powerful support for promoting high-quality agricultural development. Based on panel data from 30 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) in China during 2006–2020, we employed the continuous double-difference method to systematically assess the impact of the high-standard farmland construction policies on agricultural carbon emissions and its path of action. We found that 1) the high-standard farmland construction policies had significant positive effect on curbing agricultural carbon emissions, and the conclusion held under a variety of robustness tests. 2) Heterogeneity analysis revealed significant differences in the emission reduction effects of the high-standard farmland construction policies among different land qualities areas as well as between the main and non-main grain-producing areas. 3) The results of the mechanism test indicated that the high-standard farmland construction policies had an inhibitory effect on agricultural carbon emissions by reducing the intensity of agricultural energy consumption and enhancing land productivity. Accordingly, further optimization of the financial expenditure structure of governments at all levels was proposed to effectively promote the construction of high-standard farmland, promote energy-saving agricultural machinery and equipment, improve soil quality, optimize the planting structure, and adopt diversified means to accurately and efficiently promote and implement policy measures for the construction of high-standard farmland, adhering to the principle of tailoring to the needs of local conditions.