Exploring the coupling coordination relationship between eco-environment and renewable energy development in rural areas: A case of China

China's rural need an energy transition to achieve the goal of "carbon neutrality". However, renewable energy development will bring about great changes in rural supply and demand. Therefore, the spatial-temporal coupling coordination relationship between rural renewable energy and the eco-environment needs to be re-examined. Firstly, the study analyzed the coupling mechanism based on the rural renewable energy system. Secondly, the evaluation indicator system of rural renewable energy development and eco-environment was constructed respectively. Finally, a coupling coordination degree (CCD) model was established based on 2-tuple linguistic gray correlation multi-criteria decision-making, prospect theory and coupling theory. The results show that the coupling coordination presented an evolutionary trend from low to high levels from 2005 to 2019. Under the influence of energy policies, it was predicted that the average CCD in China will increase from 0.52 to 0.55 by 2025. In addition, the CCD and external influencing factors of provinces varied widely under different times and spaces. Each province should promote the coordinated development of eco-environment and rural renewable energy with their advantages of resources and economy.