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Research on digital economy (DE) and carbon environment governance (CEG) holds paramount importance in attaining sustainable development objectives. By focusing on 30 provinces within China as specific instances, this research constructed a comprehensive evaluation framework to assess the overall progress of DE and CEG from 2011 to 2020. Moreover, it employed a coupling coordination model alongside spatio-temporal evolution patterns to examine the state of coupling coordination development (CCD) and the temporal and spatial features within DE-CEG. First, the overall levels of China's DE and CEG were both showing an upward trend, with the average level of CCD improving year by year. The spatio-temporal arrangement exhibited a distinctive “bell-shaped” pattern, characterized by narrow at both ends, wide in the middle. The average level of CCD in three major regions was east, central and west followed a descending order, underscoring notable spatial and temporal disparities within the DE-CEG. Second, kernel density estimation and exploratory spatial data analysis substantiated the spatio-temporal differentiation for the CCD within DE-CEG. Notably, these analyses unveiled prevailing spatial patterns of “high-high” and “low-low” agglomeration, spatial agglomeration effect became significant over time. Finally, among the absolute differences, the central region exhibited the least disparity, while the western region displayed the greatest variation, with absolute differences undergoing a fluctuating trajectory. Among the relative differences, the most pronounced contrast was observed between the eastern and western regions, whereas the disparities between the central-east and central-west regions were comparable. Remarkably, relative differences accounted for over 40% of the total variation, emerging as the predominant contributor to the overall divergence in CCD within China's DE-CEG framework. Consequently, it is imperative for future developmental efforts to focus on diminishing the relative disparities among regions. In light of the research findings, a set of strategies and recommendations had been formulated to propel the CCD of China's DE and CEG.
Li et al. (Mon,) studied this question.