Purpose: In line with the 2050 carbon-neutral declaration, the agricultural sector is required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Korea has implemented a low-carbon agricultural product certification system for Net-Zero in this sector. Expanding the consumption of low-carbon certified agricultural products is essential for achieving national greenhouse gas reduction targets. This study examines the key factors influencing consumer purchasing decisions and their willingness to pay.Research design, data, and methodology: A survey was conducted in 2021 with 862 participants from the Rural Development Administration’s agricultural and food consumer panel, including 392 individuals who had experience purchasing low-carbon certified agricultural products and 470 without such experience. Frequency analysis was used to examine the participants ' demographic characteristics and perceptions of low-carbon products. Additionally, Logit and Ordered Logit models were employed to identify the key factors influencing purchasing decisions and willingness to pay for low-carbon agricultural products, given their ability to analyze categorical outcomes and consumer preferences.Results: The study emphasizes the importance of promoting the environmental and ethical values of low-carbon agricultural products. Consumers who perceive these products as contributing to environmental protection and climate change mitigation are more likely to purchase and pay for them. Furthermore, raising awareness of Green Cards and Carbon Points is crucial, therefore these programs must be promoted to encourage the consumption of low-carbon products.Implications: Highlighting the environmental and ethical values of low-carbon products is critical to increasing consumer purchase intentions and willingness to pay. Additionally, awareness of Green Cards and Carbon Points is currently low, necessitating more promotional efforts to link these programs with the consumption of low-carbon agricultural products.
Kim et al. (Tue,) studied this question.