Introduction: The interplay between the green transformation of cultivated land use (GTCLU) Q7and agricultural carbon emissions (ACE) plays a critical role in promoting sustain-able land management and advancing high-quality agricultural development. This study examines the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration (YRDUA) and con-structs a GTCLU evaluation framework based on spatial, functional, and modal dimensions. Methods: We assess the level of GTCLU and the agricultural carbon emissions intensity (ACEI), and apply a coupling coordination degree model to quantify their interaction. Using Geographical Detector and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR), we further analyze how natural, economic, and social fac-tors infuence their coupling coordination degree (CCD). Results: Results indicate that between 2002 and 2022, GTCLU from 0.25 to 0.22, indicating a declining trend, with a persistent north–south gradient of higher levels in the north. ACEI initially increased before declining, spatially concentrated in central regions. The mean CCD increased from 0.31 to 0.32, with a net rise of 0.01. Spatially, low values in the central region and high values in the peripheral area. Temperature emerged as the strongest driver of CCD ( q = 0.41 in 2022), followed by population density ( q = 0.35 in 2002). Factor interactions were predominantly bifactor-enhanced or nonlinear-enhanced, with temperature combined with rural income or popula-tion density explaining up to 76% of CCD variation. GWR results show spatially heterogeneous efects: temperature, rural income, and population density gen-erally exerted positive infuences, while other factors tended to have negative impacts. Discussion: These fndings underscore the need for coordinated strategies that enhance GTCLU–ACEI synergy and support region-specifc, low-carbon agri-cultural pathways in the YRDUA.