Greenhouse gas emissions from Brazilian agriculture and convergence clubs

Abstract

This work aims to assess whether there is a convergence in the emission of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) in the states of Brazil. To achieve this objective, the Phillips and Sul (2007) time series methodology was employed, testing the hypothesis of global (or common) convergence, using data from the Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Removal Estimation System (Sistema de Estimativas de Emissões e Remoções de Gases do Efeito Estufa -SEEG), for the period of 1989-2018, which provides the emission, in tons, of Carbon Monoxide (CO) in agriculture and livestock, as well as of Carbon Dioxide (CO2), for changes in land and forest use. Among the main results, the formation of different convergence clubs is suggested, rejecting the hypothesis of global convergence, and thus presenting four convergence clubs for the CO pollutant and three clubs for the CO2, with two divergent states. When analysing the convergence clubs, it was found that there was a significant reduction in CO emissions in all clubs, and while analysing the CO2, only two of the clubs, which were clubs 3 and 4, managed to reduce their emissions.