IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v337y2025ics0360544225043518.html

Coupling coordination analysis of the energy–economy–environment–society system from an energy transition perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Xie, Yanjing
  • Sun, Yuhuan
  • Zhang, Tingyu
  • Chen, Xue-Li
  • Deng, Xiangzheng
  • Gao, Zhi
  • Song, Malin

Abstract

Exploring the coupling coordination degree (CCD) of the energy-economy-environment-society (3E1S) system is crucial for achieving sustainable regional development. This study develops an evaluation index system for the 3E1S system’s CCD, by comprehensively considering the factors of energy transition, high-quality economic development, environmental protection, and social progress from an energy transition perspective. The CCD model is applied to assess the CCD of the 3E1S system across 280 cities and four regions in China from 2005 to 2021. Additionally, spatial correlation analysis elucidates the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of the CCD in China’s urban 3E1S system, and its main influencing factors are discussed. The results reveal a consistent upward trend in the CCD of China’s 3E1S system. However, the overall level remains relatively low and displays distinct stage characteristics. The spatial distribution of the CCD is uneven, with lower values in the west, higher values in the east, and better coordination along coastal areas compared to inland regions. The CCD also exhibits a positive spatial correlation. Furthermore, achieving coordinated growth in the 3E1S system requires collaboration among its four subsystems. Notably, per capita GDP, industrial sulfur dioxide emissions, and number of university students per 104 people demonstrate significant regional heterogeneity in their influence on the CCD of the 3E1S system during the energy transition. Overall, this study provides scientific guidance for enhancing urban energy transition effectiveness and promoting high-quality regional development.

Suggested Citation

  • Xie, Yanjing & Sun, Yuhuan & Zhang, Tingyu & Chen, Xue-Li & Deng, Xiangzheng & Gao, Zhi & Song, Malin, 2025. "Coupling coordination analysis of the energy–economy–environment–society system from an energy transition perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 337(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:337:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225043518
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.138709
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544225043518
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2025.138709?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhai, Mengyu & Huang, Guohe & Liu, Lirong & Guo, Zhengquan & Su, Shuai, 2021. "Segmented carbon tax may significantly affect the regional and national economy and environment-a CGE-based analysis for Guangdong Province," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    2. Renato Vivas & Ângelo Sant’anna & Karla Esquerre & Francisco Freires, 2019. "Measuring Sustainability Performance with Multi Criteria Model: A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-13, November.
    3. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Raghutla, Chandrashekar & Chittedi, Krishna Reddy & Jiao, Zhilun & Vo, Xuan Vinh, 2020. "The effect of renewable energy consumption on economic growth: Evidence from the renewable energy country attractive index," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    4. Fu, Z.H. & Xie, Y.L. & Li, W. & Lu, W.T. & Guo, H.C., 2017. "An inexact multi-objective programming model for an economy-energy-environment system under uncertainty: A case study of Urumqi, China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 165-178.
    5. Ahmad, Nisar & Aghdam, Reza FathollahZadeh & Butt, Irfan & Naveed, Amjad, 2020. "Citation-based systematic literature review of energy-growth nexus: An overview of the field and content analysis of the top 50 influential papers," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    6. Hanley, Nick D. & McGregor, Peter G. & Swales, J. Kim & Turner, Karen, 2006. "The impact of a stimulus to energy efficiency on the economy and the environment: A regional computable general equilibrium analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 161-171.
    7. Lin Ding & Zhenfeng Shao & Hanchao Zhang & Cong Xu & Dewen Wu, 2016. "A Comprehensive Evaluation of Urban Sustainable Development in China Based on the TOPSIS-Entropy Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-23, August.
    8. Li, Fengyun & Zhang, Junxia & Li, Xingmei, 2023. "Energy security dilemma and energy transition policy in the context of climate change: A perspective from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    9. Chindarkar, Namrata & Goyal, Nihit, 2023. "Did it increase energy consumption? A difference-in-differences evaluation of a rural electrification policy in Gujarat, India using night-time lights data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    10. Xiong, Zhiqiao & Hu, Jin & Li, Wenfeng, 2024. "From policy to practice: Enhancing enterprise productivity through energy transition initiatives," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    11. Zheng, Huanyu & Song, Malin & Shen, Zhiyang, 2021. "The evolution of renewable energy and its impact on carbon reduction in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    12. Oliveira, Carla & Antunes, Carlos Henggeler, 2004. "A multiple objective model to deal with economy-energy-environment interactions," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 153(2), pages 370-385, March.
    13. Han, Jie & Zhang, Wei & Liu, Xuemeng & Huang, Hongyun & Işık, Cem, 2025. "The role of green finance in energy transition: Regional variations and the moderating impact of women political participation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    14. Nelson, Tim & Dodd, Tracey, 2023. "Contracts-for-Difference: An assessment of social equity considerations in the renewable energy transition," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    15. Jie Wang & Shaohong Wu & Lulu Liu & Rui Yan & Shuang Zhou, 2024. "Coupling Coordination Relationships Between Ecosystems and Economic Development in Qinghai and Tibet," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-18, October.
    16. Ozcan, Burcu & Tzeremes, Panayiotis G. & Tzeremes, Nickolaos G., 2020. "Energy consumption, economic growth and environmental degradation in OECD countries," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 203-213.
    17. Hawdon, David & Pearson, Peter, 1995. "Input-output simulations of energy, environment, economy interactions in the UK," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 73-86, January.
    18. Zhang, Xiaofeng & Xia, Peng & Peng, Fen & Xiao, Min & Zhao, Tingbo & Fu, Ang & Wang, Meng & Sun, Xiaoqin, 2024. "Multiple spatial-temporal scales assessment of solar and wind resources potential integrating geospatial-technology-correlation indicators: A case study of Hunan Province," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    19. Qingsong Wang & Zhaopeng Xu & Qian Yuan & Xueliang Yuan & Jian Zuo & Yizhi Song & Mansen Wang, 2020. "Evaluation and countermeasures of sustainable development for urban energy‐economy‐environment system: A case study of Jinan in China," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(6), pages 1663-1677, November.
    20. Dong, Jun & Chi, Yong & Zou, Daoan & Fu, Chao & Huang, Qunxing & Ni, Mingjiang, 2014. "Energy–environment–economy assessment of waste management systems from a life cycle perspective: Model development and case study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 400-408.
    21. Du, Juntao & Shen, Zhiyang & Song, Malin & Zhang, Linda, 2023. "Nexus between digital transformation and energy technology innovation: An empirical test of A-share listed enterprises," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    22. Li, Dong & He, Bin & Yao, Qingyu & Yang, Wanping, 2025. "The formation mechanism of China's energy transition pattern based on the analysis of the “dynamics-efficiency-quality” ternary system," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 225-239.
    23. An, Chao & Zhou, Peng, 2024. "Energy transition affordability in China: Disparities and determinants," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    24. Hu, Yanan & Duan, Weili & Zou, Shan & Chen, Yaning & De Maeyer, Philippe & Van de Voorde, Tim & Takara, Kaoru & Kayumba, Patient Mindje & Kurban, Alishir & Goethals, Peter L.M., 2024. "Coupling coordination analysis of the water-food-energy‑carbon nexus for crop production in Central Asia," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 369(C).
    25. Zhang, Guoxing & Nuruzzaman, Md & Su, Bin, 2021. "Nexus between household energy consumption and economic growth in Bangladesh (1975–2018)," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    26. Zhang, Ping & Shi, XunPeng & Sun, YongPing & Cui, Jingbo & Shao, Shuai, 2019. "Have China's provinces achieved their targets of energy intensity reduction? Reassessment based on nighttime lighting data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 276-283.
    27. Yang, Jinghua & Xiong, Ming & Li, Xingying, 2025. "Energy transition policy and rural revitalization of Chinese ethnic regions," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    28. Shi, Kaifang & Chen, Yun & Yu, Bailang & Xu, Tingbao & Chen, Zuoqi & Liu, Rui & Li, Linyi & Wu, Jianping, 2016. "Modeling spatiotemporal CO2 (carbon dioxide) emission dynamics in China from DMSP-OLS nighttime stable light data using panel data analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 523-533.
    29. Huang, Qiu & Lin, Silu & Guo, Yizhuo, 2024. "Can energy transition improve the quality of life for the population?–Empirical analysis of 30 provinces in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    30. Bridge, Gavin & Bouzarovski, Stefan & Bradshaw, Michael & Eyre, Nick, 2013. "Geographies of energy transition: Space, place and the low-carbon economy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 331-340.
    31. Panayiotis Tzeremes, 2019. "Does the Environmental Kuznets Curve Exist in the Chinese Regions?," Global Economic Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(4), pages 363-377, October.
    32. Jianping Huang & Haipeng Yu & Xiaodan Guan & Guoyin Wang & Ruixia Guo, 2016. "Accelerated dryland expansion under climate change," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 6(2), pages 166-171, February.
    33. Dong, Qianyu & Zhong, Kaiyi & Liao, Yijia & Xiong, Runli & Wang, Fengbo & Pang, Min, 2023. "Coupling coordination degree of environment, energy, and economic growth in resource-based provinces of China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fengfan Han & Anqi Ren & Jinxin Liu & Lixingbo Yu & Fei Jia & Haochen Hou & Ying Liu, 2024. "Towards Sustainable Industry: A Comprehensive Review of Energy–Economy–Environment System Analysis and Future Trends," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-19, June.
    2. Sun, Xiaohang & Duan, Haiyan & Song, Junnian & Zheng, Heran & Yang, Wei & Mi, Zhifu, 2024. "Carbon peaking trajectory links to development of a coupled urbanization-industrialization-energy system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 309(C).
    3. Abid, Nabila & Ahmad, Fayyaz & Aftab, Junaid & Razzaq, Asif, 2023. "A blessing or a burden? Assessing the impact of Climate Change Mitigation efforts in Europe using Quantile Regression Models," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    4. Syeda Tayyaba Ijaz & Sumayya Chughtai, 2022. "The Impact of Financial, Economic and Environmental Factors on Energy Efficiency, Intensity, and Dependence: The Moderating Role of Governance and Institutional Quality," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 12(4), pages 15-31, July.
    5. Minihan, Erin S. & Wu, Ziping, 2012. "Economic structure and strategies for greenhouse gas mitigation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 350-357.
    6. Fu, Z.H. & Xie, Y.L. & Li, W. & Lu, W.T. & Guo, H.C., 2017. "An inexact multi-objective programming model for an economy-energy-environment system under uncertainty: A case study of Urumqi, China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 165-178.
    7. Oliveira, Carla & Antunes, Carlos Henggeler, 2011. "A multi-objective multi-sectoral economy–energy–environment model: Application to Portugal," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 2856-2866.
    8. Wang, Qiang & Wang, Lili & Li, Rongrong, 2023. "Could trade protectionism reshape the nexus of energy-economy-environment? Insight from different income groups," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    9. San Cristóbal, José Ramón, 2012. "A goal programming model for environmental policy analysis: Application to Spain," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 303-307.
    10. Bashir, Muhammad Farhan & Pata, Ugur Korkut & Shahzad, Luqman, 2025. "Linking climate change, energy transition and renewable energy investments to combat energy security risks: Evidence from top energy consuming economies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    11. Wu, Hong, 2023. "Evaluating the role of renewable energy investment resources and green finance on the economic performance: Evidence from OECD economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    12. Lv, J. & Li, Y.P. & Huang, G.H. & Ding, Y.K. & Li, X. & Li, Y., 2022. "Planning energy economy and eco-environment nexus system under uncertainty: A copula-based stochastic multi-level programming method," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 312(C).
    13. Soares, N. & Martins, A.G. & Carvalho, A.L. & Caldeira, C. & Du, C. & Castanheira, É. & Rodrigues, E. & Oliveira, G. & Pereira, G.I. & Bastos, J. & Ferreira, J.P. & Ribeiro, L.A. & Figueiredo, N.C. & , 2018. "The challenging paradigm of interrelated energy systems towards a more sustainable future," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 171-193.
    14. Oliveira, C. & Coelho, D. & Pereira da Silva, P. & Antunes, C.H., 2013. "How many jobs can the RES-E sectors generate in the Portuguese context?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 444-455.
    15. Huang, Qiu & Lin, Silu & Guo, Yizhuo, 2024. "Can energy transition improve the quality of life for the population?–Empirical analysis of 30 provinces in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    16. Abdeslam Boudhar & Said Boudhar & Aomar Ibourk, 2017. "An input–output framework for analysing relationships between economic sectors and water use and intersectoral water relationships in Morocco," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 6(1), pages 1-25, December.
    17. Yao Li & Yugang He, 2024. "Unraveling Korea’s Energy Challenge: The Consequences of Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Energy Use on Economic Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-29, March.
    18. Tao, Weiliang & Sachin, Kumar Mangla & Weng, Shimei & Deng, Xiangzheng & Chen, Xue-Li & Song, Malin, 2025. "Exploring the impact of energy saving and emission reduction fiscal policy on renewable energy development: Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 463-483.
    19. Li, Xiaoyang & Huang, Guohe & Wang, Shuguang & Zhang, Xiaoyue & Luo, Bin, 2025. "Synergistic Management of Water, energy, and carbon: A case Study from Shandong Province, China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 381(C).
    20. Nguyen Ngoc Thach, 2024. "Bayesian Hierarchical Modeling of Individual Effects: Renewables and Non-Renewables on Global Economic Growth," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(3), pages 21582440241, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:337:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225043518. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.