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Green finance (GF) is recognized as a key driver of sustainable development. While existing studies have extensively discussed the relationship between GF and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), few have explored the coupling coordination relationship between GF and SDGs. In this paper, we use data from thirty Chinese provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions) from 2008–2021 to examine the degree of coupling coordination development (CCD) between GF and the SDGs systems using the CCD model. We find that most SDGs and their sub-goals exhibit a significant upward trend, except for SDG8, 14–16. GF presents a fluctuating upward trend, with a significant decline in 2010 and 2019. The CCDs between GF and SDGs and their sub-goals generally show an M-shaped upward trend in most regions, with most of them experiencing a synchronous decline in 2011–2012 and 2019. In the analysis of regional heterogeneity, the eastern region performs better in SDG8–9, the central region performs better in SDG3, 14–15, while the western region performs better in SDG7. This paper provides empirical evidence for a further in-depth understanding of the relationship between GF and SDGs, which can contribute to advancing GF development and the SDG process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social upgrading does not inherently follow economic upgrading; rather, they present a complex interplay. This paper, focusing on China, utilizes the coupling coordination degree and a panel regression model to shed light on the intricate interaction between social upgrading and economic upgrading. It is found that the coupling coordination degree of social and economic upgrading in China has improved from 0.33 to 0.49 since the mid-1990s, undergoing a shift from a stage of slight imbalance to low-level coordination. However, significant regional disparities are present in terms of economic upgrading, social upgrading, and their coupling coordination degree. Developed areas exhibit a higher degree of coupling coordination compared to less developed regions, indicating a connection between the coupling coordination degree and the level of economic growth. Economic globalization, public governance, and the legal environment positively impact the coupling coordination between social and economic upgrading, while economic privatization and corporate violations of law exert negative effects. The paper concludes with policy discussions for enhancing the coupling coordination between social and economic upgrading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the coupling coordination degree between digital economy and green technology innovation in 19 urban agglomerations across China from 2011 to 2020. Through the analysis of the coupling coordination degree model, spatial autocorrelation, multi-distance spatial clustering analysis, kernel density analysis and grey correlation model, this study uncovers the mechanism of coupling between digital economy and green technology in Chinese urban agglomerations. Data analysis revealed a significant increase in the coupling coordination between the digital economy and green technology innovation within urban agglomerations. However, there are noticeable spatial imbalances in this trend. Additionally, the multi-distance spatial distance analysis highlights a shift from a random distribution to a clustered distribution of spatial characteristics. The polarization features vary among each urban agglomeration and exhibit a significant positive spatial correlation. Factors such as economic sustainability, creative talent, policy support, digital impetus, and technological support will affect the coupling mechanism of green technology innovation and the digital economy in China's urban agglomerations. Policy recommendations are proposed to foster the development of the digital economy, promote coordinated growth within and beyond urban clusters, and ultimately build a digital ecological civilization that is both green and intelligent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tibetan sheep industry is a typical representative of plateau animal husbandry and grassland animal husbandry and is also one of the characteristic industries in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region. The study of this industry is of great significance to promoting the high-quality development of animal husbandry and the region. Based on the production data and statistical data of Tibetan sheep in the main producing areas of Qinghai Province, this paper adopts the entropy method and the coupling coordination degree model to study the high-quality development of animal husbandry in Qinghai province from five dimensions: product quality, production efficiency, economic benefits, environmental friendliness and environmental conditions. The results showed that the high-quality development level and coupling coordination degree of the Tibetan sheep industry in Haibei Prefecture, Hainan Prefecture, Haixi Prefecture and Huangnan Prefecture of Qinghai Province showed an upward trend from 2015 to 2020. Among them, the high-quality development level of the Tibetan sheep industry in Haibei Prefecture and Hainan Prefecture of Qinghai Province significantly increased from 2019 to 2020, but the coupling coordination degree decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing the spatiotemporal characteristics and driving mechanisms of the coupling coordination between the Green Transition of Urban Land Use and urban land use efficiency can help explore the future development direction of sustainable land use in cities. This paper constructs a theoretical framework for the coupling coordination between Green Transition of Urban Land Use and urban land use efficiency. We use several models, including the super-efficiency slack-based model, the coupling coordination degree model, the non-parametric kernel density estimation method, exploratory spatial data analysis, and the geographically and temporally weighted regression model to examine the real level of Green Transition of Urban Land Use and urban land use efficiency in the Yangtze River Delta region from 2003 to 2020. Based on this, we investigate the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and driving mechanisms of the two coupling coordination processes. The study found that (1) from 2003 to 2020, the overall trend of the coupling coordination between Green Transition of Urban Land Use and urban land use efficiency in the Yangtze River Delta region tended to be coordinated and developed, but still at a primary coordination level, with sufficient room for improvement in the future. (2) The coupling coordination level of each city in the Yangtze River Delta region from 2003 to 2020 showed obvious spatial non-equilibrium and correlation characteristics, and overall dynamic polarization effects were exhibited during the study period; the spatial pattern of high-value areas showed a regularity of prioritizing Shanghai and Zhejiang Province, gradually penetrating into Jiangsu Province and Anhui Province. (3) Economic and social factors have a positive influence on the degree of coupling coordination; natural factors and policy factors have a predominantly negative influence on the degree of coupling coordination. Research conclusions include establishing a regional collaborative development mechanism, utilizing the spatial spillover effect of leading cities; emphasizing science, education, and culture, strengthening the introduction of scientific and technological talents, increasing fiscal inputs, raising the level of economic development, and further expanding the driving effect of economic and social factors; and optimizing the layout of urban and rural construction land, developing urban land in an orderly manner, appropriately strengthening environmental regulation, thereby suppressing the negative effects caused by natural and policy factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coordinated development of ecological civilization and tourism contributes to the sustainable development of the Yellow River basin. By constructing an index system and a coupling coordination model, this paper studies the spatiotemporal evolution of the coupling coordination between ecological civilization construction and tourism industry in the nine provinces of the Yellow River basin, from 2008 to 2019. The factors affecting the coupling coordination were analyzed by the obstacle factor diagnosis model. The results of the coupling coordination model show that the overall trend of coupling coordination is on the rise, higher in the middle and lower reaches, and the cause of incoherence evolves from ecological lag to tourism lag. According to the results of obstacle factors analysis, the five upstream regions need to expand the market share of the tourism industry on the basis of promoting ecological system and ecological culture; the two midstream regions need to strengthen the market supply of the tourism industry and focus on the ecological civilization cognition; the two downstream regions can continuously strengthen tourism supply on the basis of protecting the ecological environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the coupling coordination degree (CCD) between digital village construction (DVC) and agricultural carbon emissions (ACE) is crucial for promoting village revitalization and sustainable agricultural development. Analyzing data from 30 provinces in China in 2011–2020, this paper employs the CCD model, the Dagum Gini coefficient, and the geographic detector for in-depth analysis. The results show that the overall level of CCD gradually increases over time, but the national CCD still remains in a state of "low coordination," and there are apparent spatial differences in the CCD among provinces. In addition, the overall difference in CCD shows a decreasing trend, and the contribution of inter-regional differences has gradually become the most critical source of CCD's regional difference. Finally, the spatial differences of CCD are the result of two-factor interaction, among which the innovation level is the most core driving factor. The above findings provide important implications for China and other developing countries to fully leverage the interaction between village digitalization and agricultural decarbonization to promote sustainable agricultural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urban expansion and energy transformation are two major challenges facing China. Many researchers have explored urban compactness and energy efficiency, but there is little literature on the coordinated development of the two. Therefore, this paper takes 35 cities in China as research object: The urban compactness evaluation index system is established, and the score is calculated using the entropy weight method; considering the bad output, SBM is used to calculate the green total factor energy efficiency (GTFEE); and the coupling coordination degree model is used to calculate their coordinated degree. The following conclusions can be inferred: (1) Although China's urban compactness has increased, it has not maintained a steady upward trend. Some more developed cities have the phenomenon of compactness rising first and then falling; (2) The overall GTFEE shows a continuous upward trend, but there is still much room for improvement, and regional disparities are significant; (3) The degree of coordination between the two maintains a steady upward trend, and the city's compactness lags behind GTFEE. Based on the findings of the study, this paper proposes policy recommendations that can serve as a reference for key decision-makers and are critical in promoting China's urbanization and energy transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes the panel data of 283 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2020 as the research sample, measures the comprehensive index of industrial structure optimization and air quality by using GRA-TOPSIS comprehensive evaluation method, explores the spatial and temporal divergence characteristics of industrial structure optimization and air quality and the spatial and temporal evolution pattern of coupled and coordinated development by using ArcGIS spatial analysis and coupled coordination degree model, and analyzes the driving factors of coupled coordination degree of industrial structure optimization and air quality by combining multi-scale geographically weighted regression model. The study found the following: (1) The overall level of China's urban industrial structure is low, and shows an obvious eastern > central > western decreasing trend; urban air quality has a strong spatial clustering and spatial locking effect. (2) During the study period, the coupling coordination degree of industrial structure optimization and air quality showed an inverted "W" shape fluctuation from 2011 to 2020. The coupling degree and coupling coordination degree in 2020 were both higher than that in 2011, and most cities were in the run-in stage and moderate coordination stage. (3) There is a consistency in the temporal evolution trend and spatial evolution pattern of industrial structure optimization and air quality coupling degree and coupling coordination degree. (4) The driving factors are ranked according to the scale of action: public transportation intensity > population density > government intervention > GDP per capita > industrialization level. At present, China is in a critical period of promoting high-quality development by ecological civilization, and it is recommended to optimize regional industrial structure, improve urban air quality, and promote coordinated urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mismatch between the supply and demand of ecosystem services has become a critical cause of the decline of urban ecological security. Studying the supply–demand matching of ecosystem services and exploring its association with urban spatial governance are imperative for ensuring sustainable urbanization. Taking Suzhou City as a case, the supply and demand values and matching degrees of five selected ecosystem services were assessed. Additionally, we explored the relationship between ecosystem services and urban spatial governance, with a focus on urban functional zoning. The findings indicate that first, the supply value of water production, food production, carbon sequestration, and tourism and leisure fall short of the demand value, while the supply value of air purification exceeds the demand value. The spatial matching of supply and demand shows a typical circular structure, with areas in short supply predominantly located in the downtown area and its vicinity. Second, the degree of coupling coordination between the supply–demand ratio of selected ecosystem services and the intensity of ecological control is low. Urban functional zoning can affect the supply–demand relationship of selected ecosystem services, and intensified development efforts can exacerbate the mismatch between supply and demand. Third, research on the supply–demand matching of selected ecosystem services can facilitate the assessment and regulation of urban functional zoning. Urban spatial governance can be regulated based on land use, industry, and population, with a focus on achieving a better supply–demand matching of ecosystem services. Through the analysis, this paper is aimed to provide reference for mitigating urban environmental problems and formulating sustainable urban development strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon emission (CE) reduction has become the primary task of China's urban agglomerations (UAs) in achieving sustainable development goals. This paper uses a decoupling model and coupling coordination model to measure the relationship between the development levels of different types of UAs and CEs in China from 2004 to 2016. Concurrently, the geographically and temporally weighted regression model is used to explore the spatial heterogeneity of the impact of different driving factors on the CEs of UAs. The results show the following: Most UAs have the potential to further decouple CEs and economic growth. Most UAs are still in coordinated development (> 0.5). Among the service innovation UAs, the Yangtze River Delta UA has a coupling coordination of less than 0.3, while the Pearl River Delta UA has a coupling coordination of more than 0.8, showing polarization. Manufacturing and resource-based UAs are still in the grinding adaptation stage (0.5–0.8). There are apparent spatiotemporal differences in the impacts of various driving factors on the CE of UAs. The level of land urbanization and investment in fixed assets promote CEs. However, the level of population urbanization and industrial structure restrain CEs. Therefore, reducing land development and industrial transformation can be an effective means to reduce CEs in UAs. These findings will provide extensive insights for different UAs to achieve differentiated low-carbon development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To direct financial resources for achieving the goal of sustainable development, Chinese government has devoted increasing efforts to developing green finance. However, few studies explored the relationship between green finance and environmental governance. Thus, this paper first theoretically discusses the interactive connection between green finance and environmental governance. And then we construct two comprehensive indicator systems and use entropy method to calculate green finance index (GFI) and environmental governance index (EGI) for 30 provinces of China from 2004 to 2020. The theoretical analysis unveils the complementary and mutual reinforcing relationship of the interaction between green finance and environmental governance through green industry. Using the data of GFI and EGI, the coupling coordination degree of green finance and environmental governance (CCDGE) is measured by coupling coordination model. The trend analysis discovers that GFI is increasing over time while EGI starts decreasing from 2013. Although GFI has grown more rapidly than EGI, but the development of green finance still lags behind environmental governance because of its short history. Just because of the uncoordinated development between green finance and environmental governance, CCDGE has been hovering in the moderate coupling coordination stage for a long time and still has a great distance to the high coupling coordination level. These findings imply that the relationship between green finance and environmental governance is still in a state of disorderly development that restricts each other. Furthermore, the findings of spatial–temporal analysis show there are obvious regional differences in GFI and EGI and the interactive effect between green finance and environmental governance. Specifically, GFI and EGI in eastern China are the highest, while CCDGE presents with a ladder decline status of "eastern region > central region > northeast region > west region." Our findings provide vital references for policymakers to promote the coupling coordination development between green finance and environmental governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water environment capacity has drew the attention of policymakers and stakeholders to sustainable development, and its dynamic changes are ultimately impacted by population, capital, and industrial clusters under regional development. Previous research, however, has not been able to completely comprehend it. In this paper, the authors use the Coupling Coordination Degree model and the Geodetector model to study the temporal and spatial evolution of water environment capacity and its driving mechanism based on regional development represented by regional function including urbanization function, ecological function, and agricultural function using the Three Gorges Reservoir area on county scale as a case study from 2000 to 2015. The results showed that (1) compared with 2000, 2005, and 2010, the water environment capacity of the whole reservoir area in 2015 was significantly improved. (2) The urban functions of each district and county are increasing in different years, and the dynamic changes of ecological and agricultural functions are obviously different. (3) The water environment capacity of districts and counties in the head area. There are significant disparities in the relationship between water environment capacity and regional function in various regions. Differences in water environment capacity are largely influenced by ecological function and the interaction driver of the proportion of agricultural function and urban function, which are typically the biggest of all the components. This suggests that regional development is a top priority in order to improve the operability of the water environmental capacity through more regulation, rules, and planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether the industrial policy can promote the high-quality development of manufacturing industry, a large number of scholars have conducted empirical research on the effectiveness of tax policy, R&D policy and other aspects, but few scholars have studied how the effectiveness is affected. Our research will try to fill the gap in this problem. Since manufacturing policies involve multiple fields, and different policies have different impacts, we need to analyze these policies as a whole and consider the impact of the relationship network between policy texts on the overall development of manufacturing. This can explain the impact of policies. We collected 95 manufacturing policy texts from 2011 to 2020 in Zhejiang Province and established a relationship network using the sector information and keyword information contained in the text data. We apply the complex network analysis method to the analysis of the relationship characteristics of policy texts and calculate the centrality, structural holes and other indicators of the relationship network. We further found that the characteristics of policy text relations have a significant impact on the production of policy effects by using the GRA (Grey Relation Analysis) and coupling coordination methods. The number of departments involved in the formulation of policy texts and the tightness of keywords have a positive impact on the policy effect. This enlightens the government to make unified policies based on departmental cooperation and strengthen the connection between policy texts and policy objectives. This research shows that text data can identify the value transmission law of policy effects, reveals the causes that affect the policy effects and provides the government with more practical operational plans in policy formulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable urban development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability, compensate for shortages in development process and improve the welfare of society as a whole. In this paper, a comprehensive system for evaluating the sustainable development of the economy–society–environment system and a coupling coordination model of the three systems for analysing the level of city sustainable development are presented. In addition, the spatial autocorrelation cluster of the coupling coordination degree is analysed. The spatial–temporal evolution law is explored by integrating the panel data of 285 cities above the prefecture level in China (2003–2017). The results show that (1) the level of coupling coordinated development has raised; (2) the subsystem lagging problem has been alleviated, but only for approximately 20% of the economy–society–environment priority type cities; and (3) the degree of coupling coordination shows a positive spatial autocorrelation, which presents dispersion to agglomeration, with cities in the high–high agglomeration category mainly distributed in the eastern region and the concentration of cities in the low–low agglomeration category changing from the Midwestern region to part of the north-east China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to realize the two-way development of marine ecological civilization and urbanization is an urgent problem in the construction and development of coastal cities. Therefore, this paper puts forward the method of coupling research on the two-way development of marine ecological civilization and urbanization in coastal cities. The method selects 20 evaluation indexes of marine ecological civilization construction from four aspects of marine resources endowment and marine system management, and 20 evaluation indexes of urban development from four aspects of population urbanization level and economic urbanization level, so as to jointly establish marine ecological civilization construction and cities in coastal cities. Based on entropy method to determine the weight of each index in the evaluation system, technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution method is used to improve the coupling coordination model to get the coupling coordination index, and uniform distribution function method is used to determine the coupling coordination level. In order to verify the performance of this method, the development level of marine ecological civilization and urbanization in 10 coastal cities was studied. The results show that from 2007 to 2016, the coupling coordination index of coastal cities has gradually increased from 0.5263 to 0.6406, which has obvious characteristics of regional agglomeration, showing a pattern of "East > South > North." The difference between the coupling coordination index obtained by this method and the actual coupling coordination index is less than 0.0010. According to the research results, the paper puts forward suggestions to promote the economic development of coastal cities and the construction of marine ecological civilization and help realize the coordinated development of economic society and marine ecological environmental protection in coastal cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yellow River Basin (YRB) is an important ecological barrier and an important economic zone in China. Under the new requirements of realizing ecological protection and high-quality development of the YRB, the coordinated development of basin economic development and ecological environment is an urgent research topic. Taking 36 cities along the Yellow River Basin as samples, this paper constructs an evaluation index system of economic development and ecological environment. The coupling coordination model and geographical weighted regression were adopted to analyze the coupling coordination relationship between economic development and ecological environment from 2008 to 2017, and the influencing factors were analyzed. The results showed that (1) the coupling coordination of urban economic development and ecological environment along the YRB showed significant regional heterogeneity, forming a low-value sag of the Loess Plateau; (2) the regional hot spots in the downstream of the YRB continuously extended inland, while these in the midstream converged; (3) the coupling coordination degree between economic development and ecological environment is affected by factors such as population size, openness, and advanced industrial structure, and the intensity varies significantly among regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid urbanization of Ya'an has brought about a series of environmental issues. By referring to the physical coupling model and using the data from 2010 to 2019, this paper establishes a coupling coordination model of the urbanization and eco-environment in Ya'an. First, the entropy method was used to calculate the weight of each index of urbanization and eco-environment systems. Then, the comprehensive urbanization level of Ya'an was calculated using four indexes: economic, population, spatial and social urbanization. The eco-environment evaluation index system included three main indexes: eco-environment level, pressure and response. Finally, coupling coordination model was used to determine the degree of coupling and coordination between urbanization and the eco-environment, and the spatial correlation of the coordination degree between districts and counties in Ya'an was analyzed. The results show that: (1) economic urbanization (37.76%) and eco-environment pressure (40.50%) made the most significant contributions to the urbanization and eco-environment subsystems, respectively. This shows that economic factors are the most significant contributors in promoting the development of urbanization. As it is very important for Ya'an to reduce environmental pollution and the pressure on the eco-environment, these findings suggest that more attention should be paid to economic development and environmental protection when formulating and implementing policies. (2) The degree of coupling coordination between urbanization and the eco-environment has increased every year, from moderate imbalance to high coordination. The overall development of spatial autocorrelation from positive to negative suggests that Ya'an should strengthen the interregional cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interrelationship between tourism urbanization (TU) and the ecological environment is extremely complex. Some studies have analyzed the interaction between them but ignored the ecosystem services. Therefore, exploring the coupling coordination relationship between TU and ecosystem services value (ESV) is significant. In this research, we established a coupling coordination degree (CCD) model between TU and ESV and used exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA), spatial variogram model, and obstacle degree model to evaluate the evolution characteristics of CCD and its obstacle factors in the Wuling Mountain area of Hunan Province (WMAHP). The results are as follows: (1) the comprehensive TU level shows an upward trend, and TU levels in the west are generally higher than in the east. The total ESV shows a fluctuating upward trend, and the average ESV is relatively low in the west and southeast. (2) The comprehensive CCD shows an increasing trend, and the coupling coordination relationship has changed from uncoordinated to coordinated in most counties. Spatially, the global spatial autocorrelation and spatial variation degree of CCD are insignificant. Wulingyuan and Yongding are uplift areas, and a subsidence area is in the southeast. It is worth noting that the problem of TU lag generally exists. (3) For the whole area, TU and economy are always the primary obstacle factors in the system and category layer, respectively, but the obstacle degree of the population has gradually increased. At the county level, TU restricts the CCD improvement in most counties, and the proportion of counties where the economy is the primary obstacle in the criterion layer exceeds 60%. Policymakers need to formulate targeted promotion strategies based on the coupling coordination and relative development level between TU and ESV for different counties. This paper provides valuable references for achieving coordinated development between TU and ESV in ecologically fragile areas worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coercive and constraints mechanism analysis between rural ecosystem health (REH) and urbanization is required to comprehend spatio-temporal coupling coordination relationship and promote rural ecosystem health development under the pressure of urbanization, especially those with dramatic changes in Chinese countryside. This paper, taking Chongqing municipality as the case study, analyzed the temporal and spatial characteristics of the coupling coordination between urbanization and REH of 38 districts and counties from 2010 to 2018 with support of coordination coupling degree (CCD) model, entropy method, and GIS spatial methods. The main conclusions were as follows: (1) the EUS (34.84%) and RSceS (35.64%) separately made the highest share contribution to urbanization and REH, the proportion of non-agricultural population in total population and consumption of farmland chemical fertilizer intensity were the main two indicators. (2) The study has confirmed the existence of an obvious differentiated U-shaped curves between urbanization and REH, a dynamic coupling coordination-X was found to exist, which conformed to a linear continuous growth curve, and has transitioned to "high quality coupling coordination" stage from "severe disorder" stage from 2000 to 2018; (3) the spatial differentiation characteristics of coupling coordination in 2018 have shown a significant regional differences pattern, and the coupling coordination in more developed areas was generally higher than most developed areas and less developed areas, namely western Chongqing > metropolitan areas > northeastern Chongqing and southeastern Chongqing. This report could provide policy implications for Chinese decision makers to formulate sustainable measures to balance urbanization development and REH protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the information age, digital information technology has gradually become a new quality of productivity to improve international competitiveness, and the status and importance of the pseudo human settlements(PHS) constructed by digital and information has been increasing in the human settlements(HS) system. In this context, exploring the coupling coordination of the internal systems of the PHS provides a theoretical basis for promoting the comprehensive improvement of the quality of the HS in the urban agglomerations, provides a theoretical reference for rationally interpreting the new type of human-land relationship in the information age, and provide a new perspective for the study of the human settlements geography. Currently, research on PHS is in its nascent stages, therefore, we construct a theoretical framework for the coupling coordination of the "three states" of the HS, takes the internal system of PHS as the entry point, empirically analyze the spatiotemporal characteristics of the PHS coupling coordination degree within urban agglomerations in eastern China and the driving factors by using the coupling coordination degree, spatial autocorrelation, the center of gravity and the ellipse of the standard deviation, and geo-detector models. Research shows: (1) Time course: exhibits an upward "inverted L" trend. (2) Spatial pattern: exhibits a general spatial pattern of "high in the north and low in the south". (3) Spatial correlation: shows a spatially positively correlated clustering trend. (4) Spatial evolution: demonstrates a decentralized pattern of migration from the northeast to the southwest, indicating that the coupling coordination grows faster in the southwest than in the northeast. (5) Driving factor: the development of coupling coordination degree of PHS results from multiple factors and systems. This research provides theoretical support for promoting the comprehensive improvement of the quality of PHS in the urban agglomerations in eastern China, and offers scientific reference for the construction of PHS in other regions of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examines the digital finance (DF) and regional sustainable development (RSD) across 90 cities within six major city clusters in China over the period from 2011 to 2020. By constructing an evaluation index system for DF and RSD, we employed the entropy value method to assess their levels, and the coupling coordination degree (CCD) model to evaluate their interplay. Our analysis extended to temporal and spatial disparities, distribution dynamics, and the convergence of CCD through kernel density estimation, Markov chain analysis, σ -convergence, and β -convergence techniques. The results indicate a consistent upward trend in CCD, yet it remains at a low level with pronounced regional disparities and temporal characteristics. The kernel density distribution's central tendency has shifted rightward progressively, albeit with a decelerating pace annually. The Markov transition probability matrix suggests a stable CCD across various levels, hinting at "club convergence". Furthermore, both σ -convergence and β -convergence analyses reveal significant convergence trends in CCD, enhanced by economic growth factors. Using the Quadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP) method, we found that regional economic growth disparities significantly influence the CCD's regional variances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the panel data of 19 old revolutionary base areas in China from 2003 to 2020, this study measures the process of sustainable development and the coupling and coordination of economic, environmental, and social systems in less developed regions and investigates the influencing factors of sustainable development. The results show that the sustainable development of the old revolutionary base areas has generally shown an upward trend, while in recent years, it has fluctuated and declined. The coupling coordination degree of the system has similar characteristics, and the sustainable development and coupling coordination degree of the eastern region are higher than that of other regions. The regression results show that both effective government and efficient markets can promote the sustainable development of the old revolutionary base areas. Government factors play a more vital role in the eastern region, and market mechanisms play a greater role in the central and western regions. Nevertheless, the interaction term between the market and government is negative, indicating that the coordination between government factors and the market mechanism needs to be improved in revitalizing the old revolutionary base areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With 31 provinces and cities in Mainland China selected as the research objects, the paper explores the acting mechanism of industrial cluster, urbanization and population cluster, builds a measurement index system for the spatial-temporal coupling characteristics of industrial cluster, urbanization and population agglomeration, and then measures the coupling coordination degrees of industrial agglomeration, urbanization and population agglomeration in provinces since 2000 and researches the spatial-temporal evolution and spatial differentiation characteristics of coupling coordination degree. Research results show: ① industrial agglomeration, urbanization and population agglomeration have formed a dynamically coordinated relationship with mutual influences, mutual promotion and joint development; ② the comprehensive development levels of industrial agglomeration, urbanization and population agglomeration in China are rising year by year, but the overall coupling degree and coordination degree of the three are low, but the coupling coordination relationship will improve continuously with time, still showing obvious differences in provinces and the spatial tendency of being 'high in the east and low in the west'; ③ the coupling coordination presents a continuous spatial agglomeration state, and the agglomeration intensity is 'high on two ends and low in the middle', thus forming the outstanding hot-spot in areas eastern coastal regions and the outstanding cold-spot areas in western regions; ④ the government should promote industrial agglomeration, industrial structure optimization and upgrading and urbanization, and make reasonable planning for population agglomeration degree practically and effectively, to ensure the matching and coordinated development of industrial agglomeration, population agglomeration and urban bearing capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The watershed system has a complex game relationship between the benign operation and coordinated development of various elements of flood-sediment transportation, eco-environment, and socio-economy (FES). With the increasing breadth, depth, and intensity of human activities in watersheds, it is urgent to coordinate the FES. The relationship of water–sediment in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) is complex, with a prominent contradiction in water supply and a fragile ecosystem. This research tries to build a comprehensive evaluation model for FES and explore the complex interaction between FES in the YRB from 2000 to 2020. The results demonstrated that (1) the comprehensive flood-sediment transportation index (CFTI) and comprehensive eco-environment index (CEI) presented fluctuating growth. In contrast, the comprehensive socio-economy index (CSI) revealed a linear growth trend. The CFTI of Sanmenxia, CEI of Toudaokuan, and CSI of Ningxia had the highest growth rates, with 36.03%, 6.48%, and 107.5%, respectively. (2) FES's positive and negative effects were alternating, with heterogeneity in both time and space. (3) The coupling coordination degree (CCD) in the YRB indicated an increasing trend, ranging from 0.53 to 0.87, from reluctantly coordinated development to good coordinated development. The lagging subsystem was CFTI (2000–2001 and 2008–2020) and CSI (2002–2007), and the CEI was not lagging. (4) Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) demonstrated significant differences in the CCD of the YRB, and areas with similar CCD within the basin tend to be centrally distributed in space. At the same time, there was negative spatial autocorrelation in coordination. The results provide a scientific theoretical and methodological framework for strategic research on the YRB system's governance, protection, and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the interplay between ecosystem services and human well-being in Seni district, which is a pastoral region of Nagqu city on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is investigated. Employing the improved InVEST model, CASA model, coupling coordination model, and hierarchical clustering method, we analyze the spatiotemporal patterns of ecosystem services, the levels of resident well-being levels, and the interrelationships between these factors over the period from 2000 to 2018. Our findings reveal significant changes in six ecosystem services, with water production decreasing by 7.1% and carbon sequestration and soil conservation services increasing by approximately 6.3% and 14.6%, respectively. Both the habitat quality and landscape recreation services remained stable. Spatially, the towns in the eastern and southern areas exhibited higher water production and soil conservation services, while those in the central area exhibited greater carbon sequestration services. The coupling and coordination relationship between ecosystem services and human well-being improved significantly over the study period, evolving from low-level coupling to coordinated coupling. Hierarchical clustering was used to classify the 12 town-level units into five categories. Low subjective well-being townships had lower livestock breeding services, while high subjective well-being townships had higher supply, regulation, and support ecosystem services. Good transportation conditions were associated with higher subjective well-being in townships with low supply services. We recommend addressing the identified transportation disparities and enhancing key regulatory and livestock breeding services to promote regional sustainability and improve the quality of life for Seni district residents, thus catering to the diverse needs of both herdsmen and citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to coordinate the tourism industry with the ecological environment has become an important issue. However, there is a lack of attention to special ecological function areas, such as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Basin. This study evaluated the degree of coupling coordination and distinguished obstacle factors between two systems, the tourism industry and the ecological environment in the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Basin from 2008 to 2017. The development level index of the tourism industry showed "sustained growth-slight decline-rapid growth." Jiangsu showed the highest annual growth rate (17.26%) for the development level index of the ecological environment. The comprehensive evaluation index changed in stages, showing a trend of large overall growth and small partial decline. The coupling coordination degree improved rapidly on the whole, developing from close to incoordination in 2008 to good coordination and quality coordination in 2017. In most cases, the provinces demonstrated the ecological lag type during this period. The greatest increase in obstacle degree was in the ecological environment pressure in the control layer. Generally, the main obstacles hindering the coupled and coordinated development of these two systems were the volume of household garbage clearance, wastewater emissions, A-level scenic spots, total consumption of domestic tourists and the number of inbound tourists. This study clearly reveals the evolution, degree and types of coupling coordination in the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Basin of the two systems, which contributes to healthy basin development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to introduce a novel coupling coordination degree (CCD) model to evaluate the degree of coupling coordination between socio-economic development and CO2 emission of 76 contracting countries in The Paris Agreement. The efficiency of the novel CCD model is demonstrated by scenario analysis in the contracting countries during the period between 2005 and 2015 on the basis of the theory of environmental Kuznets curve. The following results are obtained. Firstly, the subjectivity of the traditional CCD model contaminates the robustness of the evaluation. Secondly, the novel CCD of contracting countries during the survey period ranged between approximately 0.35 and 0.4, which is in the overall development stage of low coordination. Thirdly, the novel CCD of the two systems at the global level is not symmetrical in spatial distribution, and the European continent is generally higher than the African, while other continents sit on an intermediate level. Lastly, the novel CCD between socio-economy and CO2 emission systems presents a positive correlation with regional resident income in groups with varied income levels. The findings of this research provide rich policy references for facilitating global climate cooperation by balancing socio-economic development with CO2 emission mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Karst World Heritage Site (KWHS) combines high-grade landscape resources and a fragile ecological environment. As an essential tool for heritage conservation and maintaining local interests, its buffer zone is primarily located in remote villages, a crucial and challenging area for rural revitalization. The conflict between heritage conservation and development is particularly acute at the site. How to deal with the relationship between the heritage site's OUV conservation and the buffer zone's tourism industry development and realize the synergy between the two subsystems? Few studies have focused on it. There is an urgent need to explore the synergistic mechanism of the KWHS's OUV conservation and the buffer zone's tourism industry development. Accordingly, this study takes the Libo-Huanjiang KWHS, one of the 'South China Karst' series of heritage sites, as a case study. The coupling coordination degree model, gray correlation analysis (GCA), and Geographic Information System (GIS) spatial analysis are used. The results show that: (1) There is a synergistic effect between the Libo-Huanjiang KWHS's OUV conservation and its buffer zone's tourism industry development, showing a favorable trend. The mean value of the coupling coordination degree increased from 0.57 in 2015 to 0.63 in 2020, and the overall situation improved from barely coupling coordination state to primary coupling coordination. (2) Influenced by the main driving factors, such as NDVI, landscape dominance, government support for tourism development, tourists' satisfaction, and residents' support, the coupling coordination of the four tourist scenic areas in the study area differed slightly in 2015 and 2020. Yaoshan Ancient Village Scenic Area is the highest in both years, increasing from 0.69 to 0.81, followed by the Mengliu Buyi Scenic Area (0.59), Wanmu Meiyuan Scenic Area is relatively stable with a slight increase, and Lianshanwan Scenic Area (0.45) is the lowest. (3) The four dimensions of ecological resources, policy drivers, economy drivers, and social facilitators work together to create a synergistic mechanism between the KWHS's OUV conservation and the buffer zone's tourism industry development. Future research can promote synergy between the two by formulating a comprehensive plan, encouraging sustainable tourism, establishing a diversified tourism industry, strengthening heritage education and training, enhancing community participation, and reinforcing stakeholder cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating ecosystem services supply–demand relationships into ecological management zoning is a hot topic. Most studies have focused on the matching relationship between the supply and demand of ecosystem services. However, the extent to which both are coordinated at different matching levels is ignored, that is, whether ecosystem services supply and demand tend to reinforce each other at high levels or constrain each other at low levels. Therefore, taking Dalian as an example, this study constructed a research framework for ecological management zoning by integrating the matching and coupling coordination relationship of ecosystem services supply–demand. We found that the supply of ecosystem services in Dalian decreased by 23.70% and the demand increased by 22.54% from 2005 to 2019. There was an obvious mismatch and disharmony in the supply and demand of ecosystem services, and the matching and coordination often did not exist simultaneously. Overlay analysis was used to divide Dalian into four ecological management zones: eco-conservation, eco-development, eco-improvement, and eco-restoration zones. This study helped in integrating the matching and coupling coordination relationship of ecosystem services supply–demand into the environmental management system, which has practical significance for the sustainable development of ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land spaces function in capacities of urban development, agricultural production, and ecological conservation, among many others. Research of land space utilization efficiency (LSUE) and coupling coordination relationships among its subsystems are significant for sustainable land space development. In this study, taking the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River (UAMRYR) as the study area, we establish a measurement index system to evaluate the LSUE (2000–2018) and analyze its coupling coordination degree by utilizing an improved coupling coordination model. The main results include the following. (1) The average efficiency levels of urban space and agricultural space in the UAMRYR increased 2000–2018, while the average efficiency of ecological space declined. (2) The spatial pattern of the LSUE values varied greatly, with the distributions of high-efficiency and low-efficiency levels significantly different. (3) The coupling degree of LSUE includes three types, i.e., high-level coupling, break-in, and antagonism. Each coupling degree type was characterized by change over time. (4) The proportion of areas with high coupling coordination and moderate coupling coordination increased from 2000 to 2018, while the proportion of areas with basic coupling coordination, moderate imbalance, and serious imbalance declined during this period. Given that the spatial differentiation of the LSUE and its coupling coordination, it is necessary to implement a differential land space development strategy in the UAMRYR. This study is helpful to promote the efficient utilization and coordinated development of land space utilization systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pearl River Basin (PRB) is a significant area for economic development (ED) and ecological protection in China. Studying the relationship between carbon emission (CE) and ED is crucial for China and the world to cope with climate change and achieve CO2 reduction. For 48 cities in the PRB, we used the coupling coordination model and geographically weighted regression model to analyze the coupling coordination degree (CCD) between CE and ED and investigate the main influencing factors. The results suggested that (1) the CCD presents spatial heterogeneity, with the Pearl River Delta having the highest value and the middle reaches having the lowest value; (2) the coupling coordination type between CE and ED changes from incoordination to coordination in general; and (3) the resident income and population size have a positive influence on the CCD of the cities in the lower reaches, while the secondary industry scale has a beneficial impact on the upstream. Finally, we put forward corresponding policy suggestions to achieve sustainable development in terms of reducing economic inequities, enhancing public expenditure and innovation capability, and streamlining the industrial structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study discussed the interaction mechanism of new-type urbanization and ecological environment, and then relevant data of the nine cities in Wanjiang Demonstration Area in 2016 was gotten. With the entropy weight method, the coupling coordination degree model and the exploratory spatial data analysis method, the coupling coordination degree and spatial agglomeration characteristics of new-type urbanization and ecological environment in Wanjiang Demonstration Area were analyzed. The results show that: Firstly, the comprehensive development index of the new-type urbanization and the ecological environment shows obvious positive correlation, and it appears a higher internal consistency through the whole development stage. The coupling degree of the nine cities is in a relatively balanced situation, Hefei and Ma'anshan are in the high level coupling stage, Xuancheng is in the antagonistic stage, and the other six cities are all in the stage of grinding. Secondly, the coupling coordination degree of new-type urbanization and ecological environment shows a weak positive correlation in space, and the degree of spatial agglomeration is not very significant. Except for Hefei with the over harmonization condition, the other eight cities are in the situation of maladjustment. Thirdly, according to the spatial agglomeration analysis, the local spatial autocorrelation of the coupling coordination degree is obvious. Although the different agglomeration regions show some expansion or contraction in the spatial evolution, cities with high degree of coupling coordination are clustered, while cities with low degree of coupling coordination are dispersed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of economic and urbanization systems exerts a negative impact on environmental system. To achieve the sustainable development of a country, it is important to obtain an in-depth understanding of the interaction among economic, urbanization and environmental systems. A coupling coordination model of the three systems is constructed in this research to investigate the interactions among the three systems in China. This study determines the contribution rate of each indicator to the three systems during the studied period, then evaluates the development levels of the three systems and finally explores coupling coordination levels among them. The results show that economic scale, spatial urbanization and environmental governance are the prominent indicator in the economic, urbanization and environmental systems, respectively. The findings suggest that the policy makers need to consider these indicators for the development of the three systems. Furthermore, the development level of economic, urbanization and environmental systems in China generally shows an upward trend, while the environmental system development has been lagging behind the development level of economic and urbanization systems. The spatial difference exists chronically, but such differences are gradually decreasing as time evolves. Among these systems, the reduction of difference in urbanization system is most obvious. Although the coupling coordination level of the three systems presents an upward trend, unbalanced development of these systems in regional level still exists. The insightful implications are discussed for coordinated development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]