This study explored effective pathways to promote agricultural emission reduction using market-based environmental information tools based on micro-survey data from 895 rural households in Shandong and Henan provinces. It employed a moderated chain mediation model to empirically analyze the impact and mechanism of carbon label recognition on farmers’ green production behavior. The results indicated that: 1) Carbon label recognition not only directly promotes farmers’ green production behavior but also exerts a significant indirect driving effect through value perception and sense of responsibility. 2) Mechanism tests reveal that value perception and sense of responsibility not only function as independent mediators but also form a chain mediation path of “recognition→value perception→sense of responsibility→behavior”, illustrating the gradual psychological process of behavioral change from instrumental rationality evaluation to the internalization of value norms. 3) Moderated mediation analysis showed that the above mechanisms are significantly influenced by farmers’ intrinsic traits and external contexts, with risk preference positively moderating the mediation path centered on value perception, while market distance negatively moderates the mediation path centered on sense of responsibility. Therefore, when implementing carbon labeling system for agricultural products, policy design should follow the behavioral transformation logic of “incentive- internalization” and implement targeted interventions based on differences in farmers’ risk attitudes and market accessibility to more effectively guide the transition to green agricultural production.
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