Intensify or Alleviate? Measurement of the Impact of China's Facility Agriculture on Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Comparative Analysis Based on Cucumber Industry

Facility agriculture can increase production efficiency and alleviate resource constraints. Its developmental level has become one of the most important indicators of the level of agricultural modernization worldwide. The Chinese government has attached great importance to the development of facility agriculture in recent years. Since 2020, the "No.1 Document" has continuously emphasized and deployed the development of facility agriculture. Global climate change has greatly impacted the traditional agricultural production that is vulnerable to weather changes, while the development of facility agriculture can to some extent alleviate the limitations of climate conditions on agricultural production. However, it is unclear whether facility agriculture can help alleviate the adverse effects of global climate change, i.e., reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In view of this, in this research, based on the data from the latest National Compilation of Cost and Benefit Data on Agricultural Products in 2022, the greenhouse gas emissions and carbon emission indicators of open-field and greenhouse cucumber productions in China were measured using the life cycle assessment method (the full cycle of agricultural ecosystems). Besides, the differences in greenhouse gas emissions between different cultivation patterns and provinces were explored, providing industry-level empirical evidence on how to vigorously develop facility agriculture while addressing global climate change. Finally, further discussions were made on how to reduce carbon emissions from facility agriculture based on the measurement results and conclusions. This research will provide reliable empirical basis for policy making and implementation and relevant academic research.