The evolution and a temporal-spatial difference analysis of green development in China

According to the dissipative structure theory, this study establishes an indicator system and information entropy model to analyze the evolution of green development. The integrated weighting method is used to assess the level of green development. Finally, we analyze the level of green development from temporal and spatial perspectives. The results show that the total entropy of almost all provinces and cities in China has been reduced, indicating that the degree of order of the green development system has been strengthened. The level of green development has increased from 2000 to 2014 but overall was not high. From a temporal view, the level of green development converges with a big gap. From a spatial view, there are tremendous differences among the eastern, central, and western areas. Based on these findings, we put forth reasonable suggestions for promoting the level of green development in China.