Spatiotemporal evolution and driving factors of green transformation in resource-based cities of Western China

Western China’s resource-based cities (WRBCs) have characteristics of “resource dependence” and “development lag,” and all resource-based cities will face difficulty accomplishing green transformation (GT). This paper uses 39 samples of WRBCs from 2003 to 2021, identifying the sources of differentiation in GT in WRBCs through the Dagum Gini coefficient, Kernel density function, and spatial Durbin model. Furthermore, we analyze the driving factors and effects of GT. The results show that the overall GT of WRBCs assumes a fluctuating upward tendency. Interregional disparities are the primary source of differentiation in the GT of WRBCs, and absolute differences within the region are generally narrowing. The digital economy (DIG), agglomeration of productive service industries (SEV), urban industrial innovation (UINV), infrastructure level (IL), and GDP can promote GT. DIG and IL produce positive spillover effects promoting the adjacent region’s GT; however, economically developed regions, the siphoning effect occurs, which is adverse to the GT of the adjacent region. The results are still valid after a series of robustness tests. GT has a positive spatial spillover effect, with an effective spillover boundary of 400 km and a peak of 300 km. This study can support the quantitative for promoting GT and balancing regional inequality in resource-based cities.