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Advances in Climate Change Research 13 (2022) 443e453
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Carbon footprint and carbon neutrality pathway of green tea in China

Ming-Bao HE a,b, Shi-Xiang ZONG b, Ying-Chun LI a,*, Ming-Ming MA a, Xin MA a, Kuo LI a,
Xue HAN a, Ming-Yue ZHAO a, Li-Ping GUO a, Yin-Long XU a
a
Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
b
Beijing Key Laboratory for Forest Pest Control, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China

Received 13 July 2021; revised 21 November 2021; accepted 1 April 2022

Available online 9 April 2022

Abstract

With the rising popularity of the concept of “carbon neutralization”, low-carbon products are likely to gain more advantages. Related to this,
green tead an important beverage that is widely consumed in Chinadalong with emissions from planting, processing, and use phase should be
given attention. Meanwhile, quantifying the carbon footprint (CF) of green tea is an essential task in developing the pathway to carbon neutrality.
In this study, we quantified the CF and mitigation potential of green tea through life cycle assessment, after which we investigated the pathway
toward carbon neutrality in 16 major tea-producing regions (except Hainan and Taiwan) in China. The system boundary was divided into six
subsystems from cradle to grave: cultivation, processing, transport, packaging, consumption, and disposal. The results showed that the total
carbon emissions of green tea reached 44.13 Mt CO2eq in 2019, of which 43% came from consumption and 28% from cultivation. There were
18.78 Mt CO2eq emissions from fertilizer production and application, while there was a 7.71 Mt CO2eq carbon sink of tea trees. The average
carbon intensity was 24.30 kg CO2eq kg
1 tea, while Shandong and Guizhou ranked as the top two provinces. Sichuan, Hubei, and Yunnan
Provinces had the largest amounts of carbon emissions at 6.79, 6.14, and 5.96 Mt CO2eq, respectively. By 2030, 2050 and 2060, total carbon
emissions would be reduced by 46%, 63%, and 86%, respectively, under carbon neutrality assumption. A small amount of 6.14 Mt CO2eq carbon
emissions was retained to be offset by carbon trading or zero-carbon cultivation. Finally, the results indicate that adopting low-carbon fertilizers
and clean energies will be a key entry point for carbon-neutral green tea.

Keywords: Carbon neutrality; Pathway; Life cycle assessment; Carbon footprint; Green tea; China

1. Introduction effective actions to curb the climate warming trend; in

Excessively high amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions can lead to irreversible consequences, such as global
warming and other more extreme events (Mikhaylov et al.,
2020). In response, the world must cut off at least 50% of
anthropogenic CO2 emissions by 2030 (significantly reduce
other GHG emissions) to maintain a 50% chance of avoiding
the worst effects of climate change (IPCC, 2018). For this
reason, many countries have begun to take much more
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: liyingchun@caas.cn (LI Y.-C.).
Peer review under responsibility of National Climate Center (China
Meteorological Administration).
particular, 124 of 202 countries have committed to achieving
net zero emissions before the World Climate Summit in
Glasgow, UK (Black et al., 2021). In September 2020, the
Chinese government declared that China would reach its car-
bon emissions peak by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by
2060. “Carbon neutrality” refers to achieving a balance be-
tween CO2 “sources” and “sinks” (IPCC, 2018). This means
that the total amount of GHG emissions directly or indirectly
produced by human activities within a specific period is
neutralized by afforestation, energy-saving, and emission
reduction efforts. Usually, it takes 60 years for developed
countries to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality from the
carbon emission peak, while China has committed to doing the
same for only 30 years (Zhao et al., 2022). All industries are

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444 HE M.-B. et al. / Advances in Climate Change Research 13 (2022) 443e453
required to make considerable contributions to reducing car-
bon emissions in the country.
Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) is one of the top three non-alcoholic
beverages throughout the world, following coffee and cocoa.
China is one of the major countries engaged in tea production and
consumption. Given that 50% of Chinese citizens have the habit
of drinking tea, over 85% of the tea produced in China is
consumed domestically (Chen et al., 2019). China's tea is clas-
sified into six major categories: green, yellow, white, oolong,
black, and dark tea. However, green tea is more popular in China.
In 2019, green tea accounted for 66.61% of the total tea pro-
duction (NBSC, 2020), making up 65% of China's domestic tea
market (Sun et al., 2020). China's green tea production meets not
only its domestic demand but also global demand, representing
79.38% of total tea exports worldwide in 2019 (Leng et al., 2020).
Therefore, exploring the pathway for carbon neutralization of
China's green tea industry will provide experience for other sec-
tors domestically and for other tea-producing countries globally.
Many studies and experiments have shown large amounts of
nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from tea plantations (Yao et al.,
2015; Li et al., 2016; G. Wang et al., 2020). N2O emissions
from tea plantations accounted for about 15% of the total N2O
emissions from Chinese farmlands in 2018 (Yao et al., 2020).
However, the 100-year global warming potential of N2O is 265
times that of CO2 (IPPC, 2014). This means that N2O emission
reduction has great potential for carbon mitigation. The
application of chemical nitrogen fertilizer could increase the
yield of tea by nearly 70% (Qiao et al., 2018). However,
excessive nitrogen use and high nitrogen loss have been
observed in China (Ni et al., 2019; Zou et al., 2021). These
phenomena not only bring environmental problems but also
increase planting costs. In addition, energy ues produces GHG
emissions during tea processing, transport, and consumption.
Experts estimate that producing 1 t green tea will emit 3.45 t
CO2 (Ruan, 2010), and 1 kg of green tea consumes 0.96 kWh
of electricity and 1.68 kg of coal, with a carbon emission of
4.5 kg (Cheng and Liao, 2016). Furthermore, existing research
have shown that the consumption stage is a hotspot of emission
(Cichorowski et al., 2015; Azapagic et al., 2016; Munasinghe
et al., 2017; Hu et al., 2019; Xu et al., 2019), mainly
because of the high energy consumption of water. Therefore,
the quantitative calculation of the green tea industry's GHG
emissions throughout its whole value chain and the accurate
evaluation of its mitigation potential in different stages can be
helpful in achieving the goal of carbon neutrality in China.
Carbon footprint (CF) is a vital quantification criterion to
check whether carbon neutrality is achieved. The term refers to
the GHG emissions of all related emission sources and sinks,
such as consumption and production, within the boundaries of
a specific spatiotemporal system (Peters, 2010). CF can be
quantitated by using the life cycle assessment (LCA). Existing
studies have mainly focused on CF accounting at the scale of
tea gardens and tea enterprises or on the specific phases of the
value chain. For example, Cheng and Liao (2016) calculated
the carbon emissions in the processing stage of green tea in
Sichuan, China. Xu et al. (2019) evaluated the life cycle of
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green tea based on enterprise data. Currently, there is a lack of
CF accounting for the entire value chain of green tea pro-
cessing. Countries such as India, Kenya, and Malawi have
conducted CF accounting for black tea, but the results lack
comparability (Cichorowski et al., 2015; Azapagic et al., 2016;
Zhu, 2019). This is because tea planting, processing, and
consumption stages in different countries have distinct char-
acteristics. Furthermore, details behind the current carbon-
neutral labeling vary widely, which leads to different and
incomparable results (Rogelj et al., 2021). In addition, only a
few studies have examined the pathway of carbon-neutral
agricultural products, despite the urgent need to explore
various ways to achieve the carbon neutralization of agricul-
tural products. Following the carbon emission contribution of
green tea at various stages in its life cycle, the current study
explored the possible emission reduction measures and carbon
neutralization pathway of green tea and built a carbon
neutralization framework model for other agricultural products.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Study area
Given the availability of green tea planting data in China,
this study identified the major green tea growing areas in 16
provincial administrative regions in 2019 from the China
Rural Statistical Yearbook 2020 (NBSC, 2020), as shown in
Fig. 1. However, due to the lack of fertilizer data, Hainan and
Taiwan provinces were not included.
2.2. Data sources
Activity level data refer to the agricultural inputs and en-
ergy consumption data of each stage in the life cycle of green
tea in 2019, which we collected from the China Statistical
Yearbook (NBSC, 2020) and existing literature (Table 1).
Emission factor (EF) is the coefficient that quantifies GHG
emissions per activity level and is mainly obtained through
literature evaluation and report guidelines. For the data that
cannot be obtained, we used the default value provided by the
IPCC guidelines (IPCC, 2019).
2.3. System boundary
The LCA method was applied in order to account for the
CF of green tea. At this point, we must first define the system
boundary for CF accounting, which must then be related to the
purpose of LCA. Next, we developed the flow chart of the
whole value chain of green tea based on ISO International
Standards to clearly express the project system boundary (ISO,
2006). The chart is shown in Fig. 2.
2.3.1. Cultivation
The GHG emission sources in the cultivation stage were
divided into four categories of emissions from the following:
a) the upstream production of chemical fertilizers, b) the
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HE M.-B. et al. / Advances in Climate Change Research 13 (2022) 443e453 445

Fig. 1. Green tea production at the provincial level in China.

Table 1
Emission factors of each stage.
Stage Carbon emission sources Emissions factors Source

1
Cultivation Nitrogen fertilizer production 7.759 t CO2 (t N) Chen et al. (2015)
Phosphorus fertilizer production 2.332 t CO2 (t P2O5)
1
Potassium fertilizer production 0.660 t CO2 (t K2O)
1
EFN2O 1.92% Yao et al. (2020)
EF[volatilization and redeposition] 1% IPCC (2019)
EF[leaching/runoff] 1.1%
FracGASF[fertilizer volatilization] 11%
FracGASM[organic fertilizer] 21%
Fracleach-(H)[leaching/runoff] 24%
EFpetrooline 0.0679 t CO2 (GJ)
1 NDRC (2015)
Processing Coal 0.094 t CO2 (GJ)
1 NDRC (2015)
Natural gas 0.056 t CO2 (GJ)
1 NDRC (2014)
Power for processing machine Table 2
Packaging Plastic woven bag (50 kg) 0.374 kg CO2eq per bag Ma et al. (2019)
Product packaging 2.3 kg CO2eq kg
1 Xu et al. (2019)
Transport Diesel fuel 0.0725 t CO2eq (GJ)
1 NDRC (2015)
Consumption Boil water electricity Table 2 NDRC (2014)
Disposal Landfill treatment 0.80 kg CO2eq kg
1 Chen et al. (2013)
Incineration treatment 0.18 kg CO2eq kg
1 Lin et al. (2021)

application of fertilizers, c) the plastic woven bags used during
harvesting, and d) the fossil fuel consumed by pruning ma-
chines. Pesticides and irrigation were only used in some, not
all of the tea plantations we examined. Therefore GHG
emissions generated by pesticides and irrigation were not
considered in this study.
Tea gardens have capacities in both tea tree carbon sinks
and soil carbon sequestration. According to previous studies
(Wang et al., 2018), the soil carbon sequestration capacity in
tea gardens decrease with the increase of planting years after a
certain period; they also vary greatly depending on the dif-
ferences in tree ages (Li et al., 2015; Zhu et al., 2019).
Therefore, only the volume of tea tree carbon sink was
calculated in the current study. The soil carbon sequestration
capacity was not considered.
2.3.2. Processing
The processing stage of green tea mainly includes fixation,
rolling, drying, and screening. The primary energy consump-
tion considered in green tea processing involves the use of
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446 HE M.-B. et al. / Advances in Climate Change Research 13 (2022) 443e453
Fig. 2. GHG emission system boundary of the green tea industry.
coal, electricity, and natural gas. According to differences in
energy consumption structure, we assumed two processed
energy structures (Table 3) following Cheng and Liao (2016).
2.3.3. Transport
When transporting goods, vehicles generate GHG emis-
sions. In the green tea industry, the vehicles are mainly diesel
trucks, whose carbon emissions are primarily related to the
transportation distance. For this study, Beijing, Shanghai, and
Guangzhou were selected as the main markets (Ni, 2013), and
the main green tea production areas in these provinces were
respectively selected as the origins.
2.3.4. Packaging
The packaging process of green tea products also emits
GHGs. Here, we divided packaging into transport and product
packaging. “Transport packaging” refers to the plastic woven
bags that transport tea from tea gardens to factories. The
carbon emission contribution generated in this part belongs to
the cultivation stage, while those generated in the packaging
stage are referred to as product packaging emissions. This
study selected the average data of different packaging styles
Table 2
CO2 emission factors of China's regional power grid (NDRC, 2014).
Region Average grid
emission factor
(t CO2eq (MW h)
1)
North China Regional Power Grid (Shandong) 0.8843
East China Regional Power Grid (Jiangsu, Zhejiang, 0.7035
Anhui, and Fujian)
Central China Regional Power Grid (Henan, Hubei, 0.5257
Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, and Chongqing)
Northwest Regional Power Grid (Shanxi) 0.6671
China Southern Regional Power Grid (Guangdong, 0.5271
Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou)
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and materials as the representative green tea product pack-
aging (Xu et al., 2019), given that the materials used for tea
packaging and packaging forms in the market are generally the
same.
2.3.5. Consumption
The consumption stage refers to carbon emissions gener-
ated by consumers who use water dispensers to boil water
while making tea. Based on Guan et al. (2018), the average
amount of green tea consumed per person in China is 3e5 g;
thus, we assumed the green tea consumed per instance was 4 g.
Then, we calculated water consumption based on the capacity
of a water dispenser (800 ml) (Xiong and Zhong, 2020).
Hence, we calculated the carbon emissions of the consumption
stage according to the combination of 4 g tea consumption and
800 ml hot water.
2.3.6. Disposal
The emissions from the disposal stage mainly refer to those
generated by tea residues after drinking. Tea residues are
considered kitchen waste according to the garbage classifica-
tion. The most widely used method of domestic waste disposal
in China is sanitary landfill and incineration for power gen-
eration (Han et al., 2021). Thus, according to the proportion of
treatment methods in each province, the average ratios of
landfill and incineration were 70% and 30%, respectively
(CEPPC, 2014).
2.4. Carbon footprint accounting method
The CF of green tea was calculated according to the
following formula:
Etotal ¼ ECultivation þ EProcessing þ ETransport þ EPackaging
þ EConsumption þ EDisposal ð1Þ
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HE M.-B. et al. / Advances in Climate Change Research 13 (2022) 443e453 447

Table 3 3. Results
Mitigation assumptions of carbon neutrality in all stages (%).
Stage Mitigation options 2019 2030 2050 2060 3.1. Green tea CF and its composition
Cultivation Optimize fertilizer application 0 70 50 0
New types of fertilizers 0 30 50 100 In 2019, the total GHG emissions of China's green tea
Dieselization of agricultural 100 50 20 0 throughout its life cycle (cradle to grave) was 44.13 Mt
machinery
Electrification of agricultural 0 50 80 100
CO2eq (Fig. 3). The total emissions' order of contribution at
machinery each stage was as follows: consumption > cultivation >
Processing Coal þ Power 50 10 0 0 processing > packaging > disposal > transport. The emis-
Natural gas þ Power 50 40 30 0 sions in the consumption stage reached 18.64 Mt CO2eq,
Clean energy 0 50 70 100 accounting for 43% of the total emissions, followed by the
Transport Diesel fuel 100 50 20 0
Clean energy 0 50 80 100
emissions from the cultivation and processing stages at 12.17
Packaging Traditional packaging 100 50 30 0 and 7.09 Mt CO2eq, respectively. The total contribution of
Low-carbon packaging 0 50 70 100 packaging, disposal, and transportation was only 13%.
Consumption Thermal power generation 100 50 30 0 In the cultivation stage, GHG emissions from fertilizer
Clean power generation 0 50 70 100 application reached 10.23 Mt CO2eq, followed by emissions
Disposal Landfill 70 40 20 10
Incineration 30 60 80 90
from chemical fertilizer production (8.55 Mt CO2eq) and tea
pruning and fresh leaf transportation (1.11 Mt CO2eq). The
biomass formed by the photosynthesis of tea trees is an
important carbon sink. In our study, we estimated that the
Carbon emissions of each stage were calculated by IPCC annual carbon sink of tea trees in China was 7.71 Mt CO2eq.
(2019) as:
X 3.2. Spatial characteristics of green tea carbon
Ei ¼ ADj  EFj ð2Þ emissions

where Ei , total GHG emissions of stage i; ADj, activity data of
step j; and EFj emission factors of step j.
2.5. Pathway-building for carbon neutrality
In clarifying the pathway to achieving carbon neutrality,
this study did not consider the impacts of technological
progress, tea consumption structure, and climate change on
green tea production. It was assumed that green tea pro-
duction would remain stable in the future. Given the current
inputs and energy consumption rates of tea cultivation, along
with high levels of processing and consumption, future
emission reduction efforts are likely to intensify. Therefore,
this study assumed that the current green tea industry had
reached its peak of GHG emissions. The use of clean energy
and the optimization of planting management practice were
the main measures applied to reduce emissions in all stages
of green tea in China. Furthermore, the scenarios of inputs
and energy consumption rates in various stages of China's
green tea industry in 2030, 2050, and 2060 were established
(Table 3).
In the cultivation stage, optimizing the types and amounts
of chemical fertilizer was the major mitigation measure
(Akiyama et al., 2010; Hirono and Nonaka, 2014; Ni et al.,
2019; Yao et al., 2020). In the disposal stage, we defaulted
that the tea waste residues were generally mixed with do-
mestic waste (CEPPC, 2014). We made assumptions about
energy structure adjustment according to the China Carbon
Neutralization Comprehensive Report 2020 (Energy
Foundation, 2020).
As can be seen, Sichuan, Hubei, and Yunnan had the
highest carbon emissions at 6.79, 6.14, and 5.96 Mt CO2eq,
respectively (Fig. 4). In comparison, Jiangsu, Chongqing,
Shandong, and Guangdong had the lowest emissions (below
1.00 Mt CO2eq).
Furthermore, there were great differences in carbon emis-
sion intensity per unit yield (CI) of green tea in different
provinces (Fig. 5). On average, the CI of green tea in China
was 24.30 kg CO2eq kg
1. The CIs of Shandong and Guizhou
were the highest at 30.93 and 30.63 kg CO2eq kg
1, respec-
tively. Shandong had the highest CI in the consumption stage,
with 15.48 kg CO2eq kg
1, while Guizhou ranked second,
mainly due to the highest CI in the cultivation stage, which
was 13.44 kg CO2eq kg
1. The lowest CIs were in Chongqing,
Henan, and Guangxi with 17.30, 18.42, and 19.08 kg CO2eq
kg
1, respectively, which can be attributed to the low CIs in
the consumption and cultivation stages. In Chongqing, Henan,
and Guangxi, the CIs of the cultivation stage ranged from 0.41
to 2.16 kg CO2eq kg
1, while their CIs in the consumption
stage were all below the average.
3.3. Pathway to achieving carbon neutrality in the green
tea industry
We calculated the life cycle carbon emissions of China's
green tea sector in 2030, 2050, and 2060 based on the
assumption of the carbon neutrality pathway (Table 4). By
2030, 2050, and 2060, the total carbon emissions of green tea
in China are predicted to decrease to 23.88, 16.35, and 6.14 Mt
CO2eq, respectively. From the perspective of each stage, the
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448 HE M.-B. et al. / Advances in Climate Change Research 13 (2022) 443e453
Fig. 3. Carbon footprint of green tea in China in 2019 and its composition of cultivation (Mt CO2eq).
Fig. 4. Total GHG emissions of green tea at the provincial level in China in
2019.
carbon emissions generated by the processing, transport,
packaging, and consumption stages would reach zero from
2019 to 2060. However, by 2060, there would still be 5.69 and
0.45 Mt CO2eq carbon emissions in the cultivation and
disposal stages, respectively.
We calculated the contribution rates of carbon emission
reductions in 2030, 2050, and 2060 based on the carbon
emissions of the green tea sector in 2019 (Fig. 6). Based on
the mitigation ratios in each stage, the consumption stage
would account for the highest proportion, reaching 21%, 30%,
and 42% in 2030, 2050, and 2060, respectively. Meanwhile,
cultivation and processing would contribute a total of 18%,
23%, and 31% of mitigations in the same years. Thus, the
total rates of 46%, 63%, and 86% of mitigations would be
contributed in the years 2030, 2050, and 2060, respectively. In
terms of annual growth rate, contributions would increase by
0.85% from 2030 to 2050 and by 2.32% from 2050 to 2060
annually.
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4. Discussion
4.1. CF of green tea
Our results revealed that the consumption stage was the
largest source of carbon emissions in the whole life cycle of
green tea (Fig. 3). This finding is in accordance with existing
studies (Cichorowski et al., 2015; Azapagic et al., 2016;
Munasinghe et al., 2017; Hu et al., 2019; Xu et al., 2019). The
high carbon emission in the consumption stage was mainly
due to a large amount of electricity needed in infusing tea.
Currently, China mainly uses coal electricity, which leads to
high carbon emissions in the consumption stage. Furthermore,
we found that Shandong tea produced the highest emissions,
mainly because it had the highest grid emission. Although
boiling water currently produces large amounts of emissions,
this will easily be offset in the future when clean energy be-
comes widely available.
The processing of green tea is a vital stage that is worthy of
further attention. Our results showed that this stage involved
most of the energy inputs, although the processing stage of
carbon emissions was not high. Our findings suggest that there
are more emissions from the grave to gate cultivation (28%)
than processing (16%), contrary to previous studies
(Munasinghe et al., 2017; Vidanagama and Lokupitiya, 2018).
This may be due to the fact that the results for site studies and
large-scale research are likely to differ across regions. How-
ever, some studies have obtained the same results as ours
(Cichorowski et al., 2015; Xu et al., 2019).
The processing of green tea in China can be divided into
premium high-quality green tea and bulk green tea. The pro-
cessing of the former is more cumbersome than that of the
latter, resulting in greater energy consumption. However, we
can only calculate carbon emissions according to the pro-
cessing method of ordinary green tea. Thus, we hope that a
follow-up study will fill the carbon emission data of green tea
processing in various provinces.
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HE M.-B. et al. / Advances in Climate Change Research 13 (2022) 443e453 449

Input-output efficiency may directly affect the unit emis- Table 4

sion intensity of green tea. The top five provinces in terms of Carbon emissions of different stages under carbon neutrality assumption (unit:
Mt CO2eq).
CIs were Shandong, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang
(Fig. 5a), whose yields were all lower than the mean yield, Stages 2030 2050 2060
except Shandong (Fig. 7). Furthermore, their nutrient input Cultivation 8.17 7.12 5.69
lines were much higher than the yield line (Fig. 7). This could Processing 3.04 1.63 0.00
Transport 0.46 0.18 0.00
mean that the high input with low output led to an increase in Packaging 2.12 1.27 0.00
emissions. Moreover, the differences in CIs in the planting Consumption 9.32 5.59 0.00
stage were the primary cause of CI differences in the whole Disposal 0.77 0.56 0.45
life cycle of green tea in all the provinces (Fig. 5b). In fact, Total 23.88 16.35 6.14
this is the main finding of the current study. The varying cli-
matic and soil conditions in different planting areas create
significant differences in nutrient consumption and yield. From an individual perspective, even though the planting area
Therefore, the differences of CIs in the planting stage were of the province is large, it is not automatically classified as
mainly caused by the amount of fertilizer and yield in each large-scale intensive planting. Furthermore, the total yield of
province. Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, and Henan are green tea has a great impact on total emissions. In particular,
famous green tea planting areas in the middle and lower rea- Yunnan, Sichuan, and Hubei, the top three provinces in terms
ches of the Yangtze River. In comparison, Hubei, Hunan, of green tea production (Fig. 1), also ranked in the top three
Sichuan, Guizhou, Chongqing, and Southern Shaanxi are provinces in terms of total emission (Fig. 4). This is mainly
famous green tea planting areas in the middle and energy input because the yield gap between provinces is large, and the top
levels, and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, while other three provinces account for 44.36% of China's total green tea
provinces mainly produce bulk green tea. The provinces with production. Overall, if the output efficiency can be improved
large emissions were also mainly concentrated in these famous while ensuring the quality of tea, the carbon emissions gener-
green tea planting areas (Fig. 4). The yields of famous green ated by tea production will be reduced.
tea planting areas were all lower than the average level
(Fig. 7), and we also observed large nutrient inputs. These 4.2. Pathways to carbon neutrality
resulted in high inputs and low outputs, which, in turn,
increased carbon emissions in the cultivation stage. Fertilization was also the main emission source among all
According to a previous study, with the same production emission sources at the cultivation stage, and the cultivation
and energy input levels, large-scale plantation could, to a system would likely remain at 5.69 Mt CO2eq emissions
certain extent, reduce their GHG emissions from the cultivation coming from the use of fertilizers by 2060 (Table 4). Our re-
stage (Y. Wang et al., 2020). However, we found that provinces sults confirm the findings of Chen et al. (2021), who reported
with large planting areas have higher emissions in the culti- that fertilization served as the key emission source. Rigarlsford
vation. For example, among the top three planting areas of et al. (2020) indicated that GHG emissions were reduced by
Guizhou, Yunnan, and Sichuan, Guizhou and Sichuan have 16% after improving fertilizer usage in tea gardens. Thus, the
higher emissions (Fig. 7). It is highly likely that most local tea primary route to reducing emissions in the cultivation stage is
gardens in China are operated and managed by small farmers. the use of scientific fertilization, the correct method, and the

Fig. 5. Carbon emission intensity per unit yield in each province (a) and each stage (b) in 2019.
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450 HE M.-B. et al. / Advances in Climate Change Research 13 (2022) 443e453
Fig. 6. Mitigation proportions of each stage in 2030, 2050, and 2060.
right timing, as well as the application of the appropriate fer-
tilizer at the right proportion (Roberts, 2007). For example,
organic-inorganic compound fertilizer, slow-and controlled-
release fertilizer, or adding biochar can significantly reduce
N2O emissions (Burton et al., 2008; Yao et al., 2020). Inte-
grated drip fertigation technology can also improve water and
nutrient efficiency and reduce soil nitrification, thus reducing
N2O emissions (Abalos et al., 2014). Moreover, tea gardens can
inhibit nitrification and denitrification in acid soil by applying
lime nitrogen, significantly reducing N2O emissions (Hirono
and Nonaka, 2014; Zhang et al., 2020). Although scientific
fertilization can effectively reduce GHG emissions, tea gardens
were unable to achieve near-zero emissions.
The agriculture sector has the potential to reduce emissions
and absorb carbon from the atmosphere and fix it in plants and
soil (Lehner and Rosenberg, 2017). Moreover, studies have
shown that the tea garden ecosystem has a strong potential for
carbon sequestration (Li et al., 2011; Zhang et al., 2017; Pang
et al., 2019). Enhancing the carbon sequestration potential of
the tea garden ecosystem mainly begins in two steps. The first
step is to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) content. Ac-
cording to a study, the application of biochar increases SOC by
39%, followed by covering crops (6%) and conservation
tillage (5%) (Bai et al., 2019). The second step is to enhance
the photosynthesis of tea trees. The primary process of
inducing the carbon sequestration of tea trees is to improve the
optical energy utilization rate of tea trees, which means
enhancing photosynthesis in these trees (Zhang et al., 2013).
The main methods to achieve this include using elite varieties,
rational close planting, allocating shelterbelts or other crops to
improve the biodiversity and ecosystem stability of tea gar-
dens and improving the light energy utilization and land uti-
lization rate of tea trees (Lehner and Rosenberg, 2017).
Therefore, the refined management of the tea cultivation stage
should be conducted to promote the sustainable development
of the tea industry and reduce GHG emissions.
Carbon neutrality cannot be achieved by one industry
alone; rather, it requires systematic, comprehensive, and co-
ordinated cooperation from all stakeholders. Under the CF of
the green tea sector, carbon neutrality must be considered from
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many aspects. First, we must promote low-carbon trans-
formation in all industries and regularize the certification
standards of carbon-neutral products at the national level. The
adjustment of the energy consumption structure is one of the
main strategies for achieving low-carbon transformation, and
most researchers believe that China must start producing zero-
carbon power first and then expand the use of such clean en-
ergy (Mallapaty, 2020).
The second aspect is clarifying the emission reduction task
of tea enterprises. Our study has shown that carbon emissions
from the green tea processing stage accounted for 16% of the
total (Fig. 3). Achieving carbon neutrality entails strict carbon
emission standards or high carbon emission costs, and its
realization can also affect its future market competitive ad-
vantages (Wang and Zhang, 2020). In the meantime, the cer-
tification of carbon-neutral products can increase social
participation among the public. Therefore, enterprises should
invest in low-carbon transformation as soon as possible,
optimize the production process to reduce carbon emissions,
and increase green innovations to achieve zero-carbon emis-
sions in all aspects of the production process while reducing
costs.
Third, from the consumers' perspective, the consumption
stage is one of the primary sources of carbon emissions
(Fig. 3). Consumers' personal choice behaviors will thus
determine the carbon emissions generated by the consumption
stage in the whole life cycle of green tea. Indeed, consumers'
choices have great potential for facilitating emission reduction
in the future. In Europe, choosing green consumption can
reduce carbon emissions by as much as 25% (Moran et al.,
2020). A study showed that students who attended the global
climate change course can reduce individual carbon emissions
by 2.86t per year (Cordero et al., 2020). Thus, if consumers
can change their choices as soon as possible (e.g., drinking
carbon-neutral tea, using clean energy, etc.), they may increase
the mitigations in other stages. Therefore, we suggest that
individuals actively participate in mitigation efforts and take
the initiative to embrace a low-carbon and environmentally
friendly consumption concept.
4.3. Uncertainty of carbon emissions assessment
In this study, the carbon emissions of the Chinese green tea
sector were quantified using the LCA method based on the
best available data. In the case of plant areas, fertilizers, and
yields, detailed national statistical data from each province
were used. However, the geographical and climatic conditions
in different regions vary, along with significant differences in
nutrient consumption and yields. Thus, specific county-level
data can offer more comprehensive coverage of all local
practices. Moreover, only two representative processing lines
were considered. In fact, there are many green tea processing
plants with varying energy structures and ratios in China.
Through field research, obtaining the energy data of typical
regional tea processing plants can significantly improve the
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HE M.-B. et al. / Advances in Climate Change Research 13 (2022) 443e453
Fig. 7. Input-output and CIs in the cultivation stage for provincial level emissions in 2019.
accuracy of carbon emissions accounting in the green tea
processing stage. Furthermore, compared to the cultivation
and processing stages, although the data available for other
stages were limited, we made reasonable assumptions based
on extensive literature and reports to make the results reliable.
The estimation results can provide very basic information that
can help achieve the goal of carbon neutralization of China's
green tea industry.
5. Conclusions
The LCA method was used to calculate the CF of China's
green tea industry and its emission reduction potential based
on the carbon neutrality path scenario of the entire value chain
of the green tea sector. The pathway to achieving carbon
neutrality in the green tea sector was explored. The results
indicated that the total carbon emissions throughout the value
chain reached 44.13 Mt CO2eq in 2019.
Furthermore, the total carbon emissions of various prov-
inces showed remarkable spatial differences. In particular,
provinces with high total emissions were mainly concentrated
in Southwest China, with Sichuan, Hubei, and Yunnan leading
the list. Provinces with high carbon emission intensity were
mainly distributed along the Yangtze River, with Shandong,
Guizhou, and Jiangxi being the top three provinces. During the
entire life cycle of green tea, consumption and cultivation
were the most important emission sources, contributing 43%
and 28% of total carbon emissions, respectively. Meanwhile,
high inputs and low outputs in the cultivation stage led to
higher carbon emissions. We also found that clean energy
plays a very important role in the realization of carbon
neutralization in this sector.
Our results also revealed that emissions would be reduced
by 46%, 63%, and 86% by 2030, 2050, and 2060, respectively,
and that the average annual emission reduction rate would be
between 0.84% and 2.29%. The remaining 14% of carbon
emissions not eliminated could be offset by purchasing
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451
emission reduction through carbon trading. Finally, through
the application and promotion of new fertilizers and clean
energy in the future, China's green tea industry is expected to
be carbon-neutral by 2060.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest..
Acknowledgment
This work was supported by the National Key R&D Pro-
gram of China (2019YFA0607403), the National Natural
Science Foundation of China (D41105115), Chinese Academy
of Agricultural Sciences Central Public-interest Scientific
Institution Basal Research Fund (BSRF202202) and the
Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program
(ASTIP).
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