Spatiotemporal Evolution and Driving Mechanisms of Coupling Coordination Between Green Innovation Efficiency and Urban Ecological Resilience: Evidence from Yangtze River Delta, China

As a flagship low-carbon transition zone in China, the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) faces challenges in synergizing green innovation efficiency (GIE) and urban ecological resilience (UER). This study establishes a dual-system evaluation framework to quantify their coupling coordination degree (CCD) across the 41 cities of the YRD from 2010 to 2023 using coupling coordination modeling, Geodetector, as well as Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression (GTWR). Key findings reveal the following: (1) Temporally, GIE surged from 0.252 to 0.692, while UER rose steadily from 0.228 to 0.395. This joint improvement elevated the CCD from mildly discordant to primary coordination. (2) Spatially, an east–high, west–low gradient defined three regional typologies: coastal clusters with high coupling and intermediate coordination; the Yangtze River corridor with high coupling yet only primary coordination; and inter-provincial border zones with low coupling and low coordination. In these border zones, administrative fragmentation resulted in a CCD that was 10–23% lower than that of inland regions. (3) Mechanistically, the green innovation driving force and policy synergy degree were the dominant promoters. In contrast, urban expansion pressure and rigid ecological regulation exhibited spatially heterogeneous effects, with their overall inhibitory impacts most pronounced in highly urbanized coastal cores and inland industrial transition zones. The findings may serve as a practical case reference for tailoring governance strategies in global mega-city regions pursuing synergistic low-carbon transitions.