Chinese tobacco production system: Resource-energy structure and carbon mitigation potential

China stands as the world’s largest tobacco producer. Characterized by a reliance on numerous smallholders and conventional resource- and energy-intensive practices, the Chinese flue-cured tobacco production system offers substantial potential for carbon (C) mitigation. Employing life cycle assessment and scenario analyses, we systematically evaluated this system from 2000 to 2020 to elucidate the spatiotemporal patterns of crop productivity, resource-energy structures, and C mitigation potential. Throughout this period, the average flue-cured tobacco yield remained relatively stable at 2334 kg ha −1 . In contrast, average C emissions exhibited a marginal increase in the 2010s, reaching 16472 kg CO₂-eq ha −1 . This trend was primarily driven by tobacco curing (70% of total emissions) and straw burning (15%), a finding consistent with the drivers identified by linear mixed-effects models. Notably, tobacco curing consumed an annual average of 4.11 million tons of coal, accounting for 23.9% of total coal usage in China’s agricultural sector. Scenario analyses demonstrated that a 53.5% reduction in annual C emissions would be achieved by prohibiting straw burning, and substituting coal with electricity for curing. Implementing these measures could yield an annual national societal benefit of 129.34 million USD, thereby facilitating the development of green agriculture and ecosystem sustainability. Consequently, these findings provide critical insights for promoting a green and sustainable transformation of tobacco production at regional and global scales. • Tobacco curing (70%) and straw burning (15%) dominate the C emissions. • Curing consumes 4.11 Mt coal annually, accounting for 23.9% of China’s agriculture coal use. • Electrifying curing and banning straw burning reduce C emissions by 53.5%. • Proposed strategies yield an annual economic benefit of 129.34 million USD.