The inconclusive evidence for the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis has led to proliferating asymmetric studies of carbon dioxide emissions, as scarce findings are observed in the agriculture-CO2 EKC literature. Prior studies have commonly focused on the linear impact of agriculture on carbon dioxide emissions. To bridge the research gap, this study investigates the symmetric and asymmetric impacts of palm oil on CO2 emissions within the EKC hypothesis framework using linear and nonlinear ARDL models. An estimation based on Malaysian time series data from 1978 to 2018 identifies significant symmetries and asymmetries between palm oil and CO2 emissions. The asymmetric NARDL reveals that the rise in palm oil production reduces CO2 in the long run, while reducing palm oil production increases emissions. Significant effects of renewable energy, oil demand, and trade openness on CO2 emissions are also found. This study confirms the evidence supporting the EKC hypotheses for both linear and nonlinear analyses, verifying the relevance of symmetric and asymmetric EKC studies for Malaysia. This study provides significant implications for policymaking, where the expansion in palm oil production represents a solution to environmental degradation.