ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Environmental Economics and Management
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1644348
Comparison of Green and Low-carbon Development Path between Yellow River Basin and Yangtze River Economic Belt--Configuration Analysis Based on "Two Mountains Theory"
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shandong University, Jinan, China
- 2Lanzhou University of Finance and Economics, Lanzhou, China
- 3Northeastern University, Shenyang, China
- 4Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, China
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The integration of industrial ecology and ecological industrialization represents a critical mechanism for resolving the economy-ecology dichotomy in riverine systems, exemplifying the paradigm that "ecological assets translate to economic value." This investigation employs fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to examine datasets from 18 provincial jurisdictions within the Yellow River Basin and Yangtze River Economic Belt, deconstructing the multifaceted determinants of sustainable development in these watersheds. Results demonstrate that industrial ecology and ecological industrialization exhibit "asymmetric complementarity," highlighting the necessity for multifactorial approaches to sustainable development rather than monofactorial interventions. The analysis further elucidates distinct developmental trajectories between watersheds: the Yellow River Basin manifests "industrial ecological compensation-driven" and "dual coupling upgrading" pathways, whereas the Yangtze River Economic Belt demonstrates "technological innovation breakthrough" and "system synergy symbiosis" modalities. Eco-industrialization emerges as a fundamental component in high-performance configurations across these watersheds, emphasizing the importance of ecological value transformation at various spatial scales. Through establishing an integrated "theory-methodevidence" framework, this study enhances the explanatory power of the "two-mountain theory" and provides theoretical underpinnings for evidence-based policy formulation in watershed management, offering strategic guidance for implementing contemporary ecological economic systems.
Keywords: Green and low-carbon development, Yellow River Basin, Yangtze River Economic Belt, coordination of two modernizations, Fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA)
Received: 10 Jun 2025; Accepted: 06 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Jiang, Cui, Jia and Jin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jintao Cui, Lanzhou University of Finance and Economics, Lanzhou, China
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