Can digitalization and greenification develop synergistically?

Abstract The Yangtze River Delta is the region with the most active economic development, the highest degree of openness and the strongest innovation capacity in China. Under the background of the rapid development of digitalization and information technology on a global scale, as well as the increasingly strong global call for addressing climate change and environmental issues, the Yangtze River Delta region is facing new opportunities for the coordinated development of digitalization and green. Therefore, this paper constructs a multidimensional index system to evaluate the digitalization and green level of 41 urban agglomerations including the Yangtze River Delta, and analyzes the digitalization and green coordination progress of the Yangtze River Delta from 2011 to 2020 by means of the entropy weight TOPSIS method and the modified coupling coordination degree model. The findings are as follows: (1) There is positive interaction and mutual promotion between digitization and greening in the Yangtze River Delta, which is conducive to promoting sustainable development. (2) The digitization level of the Yangtze River Delta has been significantly improved during the sample period, and the level of green and digital green collaborative development also maintains a steady upward trend. Compared with the other three provinces, the level of digitalization, green and digital green collaborative development of Shanghai is significantly higher. The research of this paper can provide certain theoretical and practical reference for the Yangtze River Delta to realize the digital green collaborative development under the goal of "double carbon".