The Impact of Agricultural Sector Growth on Total National Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Southeast Asia

Authors

  • Eka Nurjati

    Research Center for Behavioural and Circular Economy, National Research and Innovation Agency, South Jakarta 12710, Indonesia
  • Septian Adityawati

    Research Center for Macroeconomics and Finance, National Research and Innovation Agency, South Jakarta 12710, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/jees.v8i5.13315
Received: 19 March 2026 | Revised: 22 April 2026 | Accepted: 27 April 2026 | Published Online: 8 May 2026

Abstract

The agricultural sector plays a significant role in greenhouse gas emissions, particularly in developing countries within the ASEAN region. Despite ASEAN’s status as a group of emerging economies, environmental pressures continue to increase alongside economic and demographic growth. This study aims to examine the determinants of greenhouse gas emissions in six ASEAN countries—Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Malaysia—using panel data from 1997 to 2019 obtained from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators (WDI). Employing a robust fixed-effects model to address heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation, the results reveal that forest area and population size have a positive and statistically significant impact on greenhouse gas emissions, while fertilizer consumption, agricultural land, livestock production, and gross domestic product (GDP) are not statistically significant. These findings indicate that environmental degradation in ASEAN is driven by land-use dynamics and demographic pressures. The positive effect of forest area suggests that increases in forest coverage do not necessarily translate into lower emissions, likely due to forest degradation, deforestation, and land conversion. Meanwhile, the significant role of population highlights the increasing demand for resources, energy, and food as key drivers of emissions. Therefore, this study emphasizes the importance of strengthening sustainable land-use management, improving forest governance, and enhancing resource efficiency.

Keywords:

Agricultural Land; Total Population; Fertilizer Consumption; Livestock Production

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How to Cite

Nurjati, E., & Adityawati, S. (2026). The Impact of Agricultural Sector Growth on Total National Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Southeast Asia. Journal of Environmental & Earth Sciences, 8(5), 111–122. https://doi.org/10.30564/jees.v8i5.13315

Issue

Vol. 8 , Iss. 5 (May 2026): In Progress

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Article

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Copyright © 2026 Eka Nurjati, Septian Adityawati

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This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.

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