Synergetic evolution of energy-economy-environment-society system: A case study of Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration, China

With the growing pressure of energy and environment accelerated by rapid economic development, the contradiction and imbalance among them and society are extremely remarkable. To balance the conflicts among energy, economy, environment and society for all-round coordinated development. This paper uses the statistical and nighttime light data of Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration (CCUA) from years 2006–2020. Firstly, this article constructed a more extensive evaluation indicator system to consider energy consumption, economic development, environmental protection and social stability. Secondly, Haken model was applied to the system level to provide a better evaluation of the energy-economy-environment-society (3E+S) system. Finally, interactive factors affecting the synergistic evolution was explored by using Geo detector. The results express that: (1) The order parameter explains how the state transition occurs at the critical point of the system, which is the dominant factor in the evolution. In 3E+S system, the order parameter changed from energy subsystem to society subsystem in 2013. (2) From 2006 to 2020, the synergy score fluctuated up and down in the range of 0.455–0.599. The synergy evolution of CCUA showed a development trend with a dual-core characteristic that Chongqing and Chengdu are the central. (3) The implication of two-factor interaction on synergetic evolution of the 3E+S system became more significant than that of single factor. It is anticipated that the research findings in this paper will serve as significant references for achieving harmonious development and sustainable development of energy, economy, environment, and society.