Dynamic evaluation method of urban green growth level in Anhui province: a comprehensive analysis of 16 cities’ panel data from 2013-2017

Considering that green growth development is an increasingly important environmental trend, this paper develops an urban green growth development index and applies it to Anhui Province in China and its 16 cities. Previously, such analyses have taken place mostly at the provincial level, and research on cities is relatively rare. To fill the gap, this paper constructs an urban green growth economy evaluation index based on economic technology, social development, ecological environment, and energy emissions. Using the vertical and horizontal pull-off method to comprehensively evaluate the green growth development levels of 16 cities in Anhui province from 2013 to 2017, the residual expectation coefficient is used to measure and analyze differences in the development levels. The results show that Hefei and Huangshan emit a medium-high level of carbon, and the other 14 cities belong in the high-carbon category. Furthermore, cluster analysis shows that the green growth development levels of the 16 cities fall into four groups. There is a wide disparity between the groups, and the differences between groups are significantly larger than the differences within groups.