Research on the coordinated development of provincial urbanization and carbon emission efficiency of construction industry in China

Background Energy conservation and emission reduction policies restrict the economic and social development of all countries in the world, and the impact on China, which has low urbanization, is more serious. In the process of promoting urbanization, the pressure of carbon emission reduction in the construction industry has increased, and the high emissions of the construction industry have made the low-carbon development of cities face severe challenges. China is at a critical stage of urbanization development, and there is become a general consensus on how to improve the carbon emission efficiency of the construction industry. The interaction between urbanization and the carbon emission efficiency of the construction industry is a long-term and complex process. As one of the industries contributing to China’s urbanization process and carbon emissions, it is of great practical significance to explore the coordination relationship between urbanization and the carbon emission efficiency of the construction industry (CEECI) to realize the goal of “double carbon”, promoting urbanization construction and solving the problem of “green development”. Taking 30 provinces in China as the research target area, the double weighted summation method and the undesirable output superefficiency window-EBM-DEA model are used to measure the provincial urbanization level and CEECI, respectively. Then, the coupling coordination degree model of the relative development index is introduced, and the spatial autocorrelation model and the spatial and temporal differentiation characteristics of the coordination level of urbanization and the CEECI are analysed. Results From 2010 to 2021, China’s urbanization level increased steadily, but the growth rate gradually decreased. There were significant differences in urbanization levels among provinces. The eastern provinces have a higher level of urbanization but lack an impetus in the later period, while the western provinces have a lower level of urbanization but a faster growth rate. The low-carbon development trend of China’s construction industry is good, and the overall development of the CEECI shows an “N” type, and the inflection points appear in 2013 and 2018. The interprovincial urbanization level is significantly different from that of the CEECI, and the development form of the central and western provinces is better than that of the eastern provinces. The coordination level of urbanization and the CEECI in China is transition