“To clarify the impact of urban-rural integration on agricultural carbon emissions, this study uses panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2023 to examine the agricultural carbon emission reduction effect and mechanism of urban-rural integration development. The study found that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between urban-rural integration and agricultural carbon emissions, and rural financial agglomeration is a nonlinear intermediary mechanism. Rural human capital has a single threshold effect and spatial spillover effects, providing a basis for various regions to implement policies according to the time to play the role of urban-rural integration in carbon emission reduction.”