Research on the Coupled Coordination and Prediction of Technological Innovation and Ecological Environment Development in Coastal Regions of China

Abstract

Scientific and technological innovation and ecological progress are important forces for China’s high-quality development. Nevertheless, the current body of research seldom explores the mutual dependence and evolutionary patterns of the two regional systems when considering both historical and future perspectives. This paper aims to enhance the current theoretical research framework by focusing on the coastal region of China. It analyzes and predicts the co-evolution and space–time distribution process of two systems by constructing a coupled model and a gray prediction model. The results show the following: (1) the coupling and coordinated development level of the two coastal systems has basically reached the stage of good coupling and coordinated development, and the level has increased, but the gap has gradually increased, and Jiangsu and Guangdong have reached the leading level; (2) the spatial distribution in coastal areas is uneven, showing a convex spatial pattern of “high in the middle and low at both ends”; (3) during the forecast period, the overall coupling and coordination level of the two systems will continue to improve, but individual cities still cannot jump out of the development state of slow development processes. With the aim of fostering the harmonious growth of both systems at both regional and national levels, this paper proposes practical recommendations concerning the establishment of a sustainable interaction mechanism, the evolution of the industrial structure towards ecological sustainability, and the economic contribution to scientific and technological innovation. Furthermore, this article serves as a valuable reference for advancing the sustainable development of other nations.

1. Introduction

The adoption and execution of reform and opening-up measures in China have resulted in significant economic advancement, marking the beginning of a transformative age in history. The aforementioned statement highlights the disruption of the closed development status of the nation’s economy, which is primarily reliant on an expanded and export-oriented economic development model. This disruption serves to facilitate the swift advancement of both social and economic aspects, propelling the nation into a new phase of development in socialist modernization. However, at the same time, extensive development relies too much on the supply of ecological and environmental resources. During the course of seeking accelerated economic growth, the issue of ecological sustainability has not been adequately addressed, resulting in a range of challenges, including resource scarcity and degradation of the ecological environment. To a certain degree, it has impeded the progress of China’s economy. To mitigate the consequences of many environmental challenges, such as heightened energy consumption and the release of harmful waste gases, it is crucial to integrate the principles of sustainable development with approaches centered on technical innovation. This integration serves as crucial for the attainment of green technological innovation.

China’s 14th Five-Year Plan and Vision 2035 outline point out that China has shifted to a stage of high-quality development [1], but the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development is still significant, the innovation capacity is not yet able to meet the urgent needs of high-quality development, and ecological and environmental protection has a long way to go [2]. In 2018, China prioritized scientific and innovative technology and the ecological environment as the central focus of high-quality regional development. The report presented at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China recommends expediting the execution of the innovation-driven development strategy, advancing green development, and fostering a peaceful coexistence between humanity and the natural environment. Enhancing technological and scientific advancement catalyzes economic growth [3], while managing the ecological environment ensures an essential basis for economic development [4]. At the same time, there is a complex correlation relationship between the two, which is related, influenced, and coupled [5]. In the context of sustainable development, it is crucial to promote the integration and harmonized advancement of technological and scientific discoveries and environmental optimization. This will enable green development, set up a superior ecological environment, and enhance the impact of environmentally friendly sustainability on the advancement of scientific and technological innovation. This is highly significant in driving the progress of high-quality development in China [6]. Coastal areas have become an essential component in driving economic growth, leading the way in building an innovative country, and setting an example for sustainable development, thanks to the rapid speed of reform and opening up. The China Regional Innovation Capacity Evaluation Report, published by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2023, indicates that coastal regions possess one of the highest levels of innovation capacity in the country. In order to advance the high-quality development of the economy and transition from regional advantages to overall national strength, it is imperative to augment investments in technological and scientific advancement in coastal areas. Additionally, optimizing the ecological environment in these regions will serve as crucial support and guidance for China’s efforts to achieve high-quality development.

2. Literature Review

2.1. A Review of Research on Technological Innovation and Development

The emergence of science and technological advancement is a multifaceted phenomenon that arises from the collaborative evolution of scientific inquiry, technological progress, and applied innovation. The aforementioned entity is the outcome of the co-evolutionary process involving a triple helix configuration consisting of three distinct components. The theory of “innovation” was initially introduced by economist Schumpeter in his seminal work titled “Economic Development Theory [7]”. He believes that innovation is the recombination of various production factors by entrepreneurs. Innovation is not limited to scientific and technological inventions but also includes the process of using production inputs from scientific and technological inventions to create new economic benefits. Some scholars currently conduct relevant research and discussions around the two perspectives of technological progress and scientific and technological progress, but only some combine the two with innovation for in-depth research [8]. Another crucial theoretical framework is the utilization of Qian Xuesen’s open complex giant system to establish a scientific and technological innovation system within the context of a knowledge-based society. This approach involves examining the collaborative interplay between scientific research, technological advancement, and applied innovation in order to analyze diverse, innovative endeavors driven by contemporary science and technology. In the realm of technical innovation, both local and international research predominantly centers around the following two significant aspects.

The first is research on regional science and technological advancement capabilities. The importance of scientific and technological advances’ capabilities to promote national development is evident. Villarroel Gonzalez et al. discussed the importance of technological innovation in developing regions and pointed out that introduced and improved products and existing processes can affect a range of scientific, technical, organizational, financial, and commercial operations [9]. Jing et al. put forward that under the new wave of the scientific and technological revolution, the construction industry needs to change the traditional and outdated production modes through technological innovation to achieve industrial transformation [10]. Nancy et al. illustrate how integrating emerging technologies in the arts and humanities offers opportunities to promote digital intervention in social well-being and stimulate creativity and cultural exploration. Similarly, innovation plays an essential role in the development of different countries [11]. Li et al. proved that innovation is significant in promoting the comprehensive revitalization of China’s countryside and realizing the coordinated development of urban and rural areas [12]. Coban et al. pointed out that scientific and technological innovation in electric vehicles, energy system stability, and energy independence can solve problems for Turkey and other countries in evaluating the role of electric vehicles and their practical application in integrating vehicle–grid systems in electric power systems [13]. Liu et al. provided a comprehensive overview of the novel attributes and patterns observed in community innovation capacities [14]. This paper aims to offer a robust theoretical framework and policy guidance for the future advancement of regional scientific and technological breakthrough capacities.

The second aspect is the interaction correlation between the capacities of science and technological advancement and the process of economic development. During the 1990s, scholars began to increasingly focus their attention on regional innovation systems. Academic researchers have undertaken a number of investigations pertaining to the correlation between scientific and technological breakthrough capacities and economic progress, with particular emphasis on the contribution of scientific and technological innovation to regional economic advancement. In the context of the global economy, a country’s ability to attain a prominent position is closely tied to its capability for improving knowledge and fostering technological innovation [15]. At the national level, regional innovation in science and technology capability refers to the capacity of different scientific and technological advances’ creative components to come together, grow, and merge within a specific regional area. This capacity plays a crucial role in the economic development of both the nation and the region [16]. The regional innovation capacity is the fundamental catalyst for advancing regional industrial, economic, and social progress [17]. Balyan et al. highlight the rapid shift in Indian agriculture from traditional methods to digital agriculture. This change offers global solutions, enhances resource efficiency, reduces input prices, and fosters the well-being of farmers and economic prosperity [18]. According to Omri A et al., technical innovation is considered a crucial mechanism for achieving sustainable development [19]. The authors argue that the impacts of technological innovation would vary across nations with different income levels, namely low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries. Zhou X et al. underscored the significance of technological innovation-induced transformations in the industrial structure at the company level, highlighting their pivotal role in driving economic growth [20]. Technological innovation and structural changes promote sustainable economic growth that can reflect economic growth to a certain development level and advocate for the advancement of environmentally sustainable economic growth by improving and repairing the environmental conditions of the modern economy [21,22].

2.2. Review of the Literature on Ecological and Environmental Development

Since the 1960s, the global economy has developed rapidly, but the environmental problems caused by the extensive development model have caused humanity to reflect deeply on this. Essential documents and reports such as “Silent Spring”, “The Limits to Growth”, and the “Declaration on the Human Environment” awakened humankind’s awareness of environmental protection and gave birth to the United Nations Environment Program and some regional or national environmental protection agencies [23,24]. The conceptual definition of “sustainable development” was initially introduced in 1987 by the World Commission on Environment and Development in their publication titled “Our Common Future” [23]. The emergence of ecological civilization has also garnered popular attention. Nations across the globe have initiated efforts to embark upon the trajectory of sustainable development. Many nations initially prioritize the promotion of sustainable development within their borders by focusing on environmental protection and governance [25]. The ongoing progress in sustainable development has led to a shift in development priorities, transitioning from a sole emphasis on “ecological protection” to a more holistic approach known as “ecological civilization”. The issue of “ecological civilization” is often overlooked in the ecological environment research conducted by certain experts, who primarily concentrate their efforts on studying ecological cities [26]. Hu et al. addressed the influence of various eco-city development approaches in different nations, as well as the reasons and outcomes of eco-city construction [27]. The research conducted by another set of scholars primarily centers around two key subjects, namely “sustainable development” and “ecological civilization construction,” in relation to the ecological environment. Before the 18th National Congress (The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC)), China demonstrated a significant commitment to the preservation of ecological resources and the safeguarding of the environment. It has put up the proposition of utilizing the legal framework as a means to ensure the long-term sustainability of the environment. The 2003 Central Economic Work Conference identified “good ecology” as a new requirement for the socialist development path. The concept of building an ecological civilization system was clearly proposed for the first time in the report (“Unswervingly Following the Path of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and Striving to Build a Moderately Prosperous Society in All Respects” is a speech delivered at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China) of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. After the report of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China followed the idea of building an ecological civilization system and worked hard to establish a systematic and complete ecological civilization system [28]. Meng et al. argue that establishing ecological civilization is a severe pledge to address the worldwide escalating environmental and ecological challenges [29]. Establishing an ecological civilization necessitates dependence on scientific and technological advancements, adopting a sustainable development approach to overcome structural obstacles, and achieving a harmonious cohabitation between humanity and the natural world. Zhang et al. argued that establishing ecological civilization is a novel approach to proactively surpass industrial civilization’s limitations by embracing green and ecological principles [30].

2.3. Literature Review Examines the Correlation between Technological Innovation and the Evolution of the Ecological Environment

Researchers from both domestic and international backgrounds have obtained similar study findings about the correlation between innovation in technology development and natural environment development. However, there are a few differences in their research emphasis.

Some experts are focused on studying the bidirectional influence between the two. There are two main factors at play here. First, scientific and technological innovation impacts the ecological environment, and second, the evolution of ecological conditions influences the possibilities of scientific and technological innovation.

(1) Science and technological advancement have a positive role in promoting the ecological environment. Fussler and James proposed the concept of “eco-innovation”, emphasizing the improvement in production efficiency through new technologies, new processes, and new methods brought about by scientific and technological innovation [31]. Scientific and technological innovation can further alleviate the negative impact of economic production activities on the ecological environment. Abid N et al. and Yan et al. pointed out that technological innovation can be used as a tool to alleviate severe environmental crises [32,33]. Technological innovation can reduce carbon emission levels, promote environmentally sustainable development in various countries, and improve environmental quality [34,35]. Li et al. developed an evaluation index system to measure the overall efficiency of advances in the technological and ecological environment. They used an output-oriented relational two-stage data-envelopment examination model to assess the impact of technical advancements on environmental sustainability [36]. In their study, Wang et al. employed experimental geographic data analysis techniques and spatial econometric models to investigate the spatial correlation and influence of technological innovation on the ecological environment at both global and local levels [37]. Their findings indicate that technological innovation exerts varying impacts on the ecological environment across different regions. Furthermore, differences and relevant policy suggestions were put forward in response to local conditions. In addition, several academics believe that the extent of environmental contamination is intricately linked to degrees in technological advancement and development. Consequently, it is imperative to enhance efficiency and optimize the ecological environment by technical and scientific means [38].

(2) Ecological environment development impacts on technological and scientific creativity. The famous theory “Porter Hypothesis” proposes that in the short term, corporate production costs may tend to rise under strict environmental protection regulations, but in the long term, it can promote the upgrading of corporate structures and stimulate innovation vitality [39]. Yan and Cheng proposed that moderate environmental regulations will encourage enterprises to engage in technological innovation [40,41]. With the advent of the Industry 4.0 era, sustainable development has entered the agenda of many countries, pushing governments to adopt green technology innovation measures, affecting regional innovation and ecological efficiency. In addition, some scholars emphasize that environmental regulation is an essential means to promote regional green development, and various environmental rules can have diverse impacts on technology innovation [42].

The research direction of another group of scholars lies in the synergistic influence between two or more systems. They have conducted relevant research and discussions on the synergy and coupling coordination relationships between dual systems or multiple systems.

(1) Investigations on the potential correlation between technological innovation and ecological environmental systems have been carried out. Wang and Cao explored the interplay between advances in technology and the ecological setting [5]. They achieved this by developing a dual-system evaluation index system and integrating it with the coupling coordination degree model. Yang et al. integrated the coupled coordination model and the panel vector autoregressive model to explore the dynamic relationship between the two systems [43]. It has been determined that technological innovation exerts a substantial and favorable influence on the ecological environment. There is a particular collaborative development relationship between the two. Li et al. used a spatial econometric model and a threshold regression model to conduct an empirical evaluation of the relationship between energy technology innovation and total factor ecological efficiency and obtained a significant spatial positive correlation, showing a spatial geographical distribution with similar characteristics [44].

(2) Research has been carried out on the interplay between the growth of the ecological environment and technological innovation, as well as examining the potential effects on other subsystems. Su investigated the impact of the technological creativity and ecological environment coordinated development level on the growth of a green economy using the panel vector autoregressive model, linked coordination model, and entropy weight technique [45]. The findings of the study indicate that the coordinated development level of the ecological environment and technological advancement exhibits a delayed effect on the green economy, ultimately yielding positive outcomes. Yin et al. employed the coupled coordination model and gray correlation analysis to examine the degree of coordination among three systems and the factors that influence system development [46]. The authors highlighted the significant strategic role of environmental regulation and technological advances in promoting sustainable growth. Xu et al. conducted a scientific analysis to determine and evaluate the interplay between the three systems of technological innovation, economic growth, and ecological environment in the urban agglomeration of the Yangtze River Delta [47]. The researchers employed various analytical tools, including the entropy method, coupling coordination model, spatial gravity center model, and GM (1, 1) gray forecasting model, to accurately calculate and assess this relationship. The research indicates that the distribution of the spatiotemporal coupling coordination level among Chinese cities is spatially uneven. Furthermore, it is projected that the overall spatiotemporal coupling coordination level will continue to rise in the future. However, it is expected that certain cities will experience a decline in their coupling coordination level, resulting in an imbalance.

Judging from the existing research results, the research mentioned above provides crucial theoretical support for the coupling and coordinated development of technological innovation and ecological environment development and the study of spatial pattern distribution. However, most of the research content comprises unilateral studies of the relationship between the two, the impact of regional economic development on the coupling coordination relationship, or consists of detailed research on the three subsystems. The research scope is mainly focused on the national level or specific provincial panel data. The research perspective is mostly about combining technological innovation and the economy or the ecological environment and economy. Few scholars focus on the coordination between technological innovation and ecological environment development by predicting the relationship between the two from a spatiotemporal perspective; research methods mostly use data envelopment models and coupling coordination models to evaluate regional technological innovation capabilities and ecological environment development comprehensively and rarely combine multiple methods to evaluate the two subsystems and analyze the relationship between them. This article utilizes prior knowledge to examine the level of coupling and coordinated development thoroughly, as well as the geographic distribution of technological and scientific advancement and environmental development in China’s coastal areas. Building upon this analysis, the article also makes predictions about the spatial and temporal development of scientific and technological advances’ innovation and the sustainable environment in coastal areas. The concept of the coordinated development relationship between innovation in science and technology and the environment’s development refers to the interconnected and mutually influencing process between scientific and technological creativity and ecological environment development. It aims to uncover the synergistic and symbiotic relationship and the evolutionary patterns between technological and scientific advancement and sustainable environment development. From the theoretical point of view, it is conducive to enriching the relevant research on the relationship between scientific and technological innovation and ecological civilization in terms of theory and research methods and improving the application scope of the theory. From the perspective of practical significance, this study can not only further improve the quality of economic development in coastal areas and promote the successful transformation of regions into world-class cities, but it also provides a basis and reference for the formulation of an ecological civilization and internal coordinated development strategies in other regions, to realize the overall development promoted by regional excellence.

3. Research Methods and Data Sources

3.1. Research Methods

3.1.1. Evaluation Index System Design

By reviewing the domestic literature that is highly relevant to scientific and technological innovation and ecological environment development in recent years and combining it with the opinions put forward in relevant documents such as the “Implementation Opinions on Deepening the Reform of the Ecological and Environmental Science and Technology System to Stimulate the Vitality of Scientific and Technological Innovation”, we measure the typicality of the data and their availability as the basis to build an indicator system for regional technological innovation and ecological environment development. This study selects panel data from China’s 11 coastal provincial administrative regions from 2010 to 2020 for empirical research. A total of 8 representative secondary indicators were selected from three aspects, environmental level, environmental governance, and pollution emissions, to form an indicator system for the regional coastal ecological environment system, drawing on the research results of scholars such as Guo Aijun et al., from the perspective of innovation factor input. Nine secondary indicators were selected from the three levels of output and the innovation environment to form a regional scientific and technological innovation indicator system [48]. The results are shown in

Table 1. Comprehensive evaluation index system for technological innovation and ecological environment development.

Target Layer	Criterion Layer	Variable Name	Indicator Layer	Attributes	Weights
Technological innovation	Investment in innovation elements	x1	Research funding intensity/%	just	0.041
		x2	Number of R&D projects/items in colleges and universities	just	0.048
		x3	R&D personnel full-time equivalent/person-year	just	0.085
	Innovation output	x4	Number of 3 patent authorizations/item	just	0.123
		x5	High-tech main business income/CNY 100 million	just	0.139
		x6	Number of scientific and technological papers published by colleges and universities	just	0.053
	Innovation environment	x7	Amount of science popularization funds raised/CNY 10,000	just	0.070
		x8	Number of high-tech industries/unit	just	0.121
		x9	Number of research and development institutions/unit	just	0.320
Ecological environment development	Environmental level	x10	Per capita park green area/m2	just	0.120
		x11	Green coverage rate of built-up areas/%	just	0.047
	Environmental governance	x12	Environmental pollution control as a share of GDP (%)/investment in environmental pollution control by region	just	0.196
		x13	Domestic waste detoxification rate (%)	just	0.050
		x14	Comprehensive utilization volume of general industrial solid waste/10,000 tons	just	0.355
	Pollutant emission	x15	General industrial solid waste generation/10,000 tons	burden	0.075
		x16	Total sulfur dioxide emissions/10,000 tons	burden	0.069
		x17	Industrial wastewater discharge/10,000 tons	burden	0.088

.

3.1.2. Entropy Weight Method

The entropy weight approach provides an objective means of assessing the progress of coastal technical innovation and the growth of the ecological environment. The principle is to convert each attribute value into a corresponding weight value and then normalize these weight values to the [0, 1] interval. Specifically, we divide each attribute value by the sum of all attribute values to obtain the weight value of each attribute, and then we sort them according to the weight value from large to small to obtain the optimal attribute combination. Since the meanings of various indicators are different and originate from different levels, such as economy, environment, and technology, resulting in differences in data dimensions and units, the entropy weight method is used to measure the weight of various indicators in the scientific and technological innovation system and ecological environment system in coastal areas. The initial phase in the computation process is data normalization. This study employs the range standardization approach to handle the three-level indicators, which encompass both positive and negative signs. The formula can be expressed as follows:

$$X_{\theta ij}^{\prime }=\frac{X_{\theta ij}-min\left(X_{\theta ij}\right)}{max\left(X_{\theta ij}\right)-min\left(X_{\theta ij}\right)}$$

(1)

$$X_{\theta ij}^{\prime }=\frac{max\left(X_{\theta ij}\right)-X_{\theta ij}}{max\left(X_{\theta ij}\right)-min\left(X_{\theta ij}\right)}$$

(2)

When the j-th indicator is a positive indicator, use Equation (1) to standardize the data; when the j-th indicator is a negative indicator, use Equation (2) to standardize the data. After standardizing the 17 indicators, the following step formula of the entropy weight method is further used to determine the weight of each indicator:

$$P_{\theta ij}=\frac{X_{\theta ij}^{\prime }}{\sum _{\theta =1}^d\sum _{i=1}^m{X}_{\theta ij}^{\prime }}$$

(3)

$P_{\theta ij}$ is the proportion of province i under the j-th indicator in year θ, $X_{\theta ij}^{\prime }$ is the value after standardization of the original data of the j-th indicator in province i in the θ year.

$$E_j=-\frac{1}{ln\left(dm\right)}{\sum }_{\theta =1}^d{\sum }_{i=1}^m\left[P_{\theta ij}ln\right(P_{\theta ij}\left)\right]$$

(4)

Extremely poor normalization may result in generating data with a value of 0. If $P_{\theta ij}$ happens to be 0, it needs to be trimmed and adjusted to define it as $P_{\theta ij}·ln{(P}_{\theta ij})=0$, to make it comply with the operation logic; E_j is the information entropy corresponding to the j-th indicator, d is the number of years involved in the statistical data, and m is the number of provinces involved in the statistical data.

Among them, $G_j=1-E_j$, $G_j$ is the difference coefficient of the j-th index, and the index weight can be used to calculate the entropy weight $W_j$. The calculation method is the following:

$$W_j=\frac{G_j}{{\sum }_{j=1}^n{G}_j}$$

(5)

The entropy weight method is used to calculate the weight of each indicator, as shown in Table 1.

3.1.3. Coupling Coordination Model

This paper uses the coupling coordination degree model of physics to analyze the coupling coordination relationship between technological innovation and ecological environment development. The dual-system coupling coordination model draws on the research results of scholars such as Guo Aijun [48]. The calculating formula in question is as follows.

The weight value calculated using the entropy weight method is linearly weighted to measure the comprehensive development level f(x) of regional scientific and technological innovation and the comprehensive development level g(y) of the ecological environment development optimization system:

$$C=n{[u_1{u}_2···u_n/\prod (u_i+u_j)]}^{\frac{1}{n}}$$

(6)

$$C\prime =2{\left[f\right(x\left)g\right(y)/\prod \left(f\right(x)+g(x\left)\right)]}^{\frac{1}{2}}$$

(7)

Since this study only involves two systems, Equation (6) can be directly simplified to Equation (7) to directly measure the coupling degree of the two systems $C^{\prime }$. In order to more accurately reflect the coupling coordination relationship between the two systems, the coupling coordination degree $D$ can be used to calculate the coupling degree of the two systems. The coupling coordination degree $D$ is calculated based on the coupling degree $C^{\prime }$ and the comprehensive level of technological innovation and ecological environment development $E$. The formula is as follows:

$$\mathrm{D}=\sqrt{\mathrm{C}\prime \times E}, \mathrm{E}=\mathrm{a}f\left(x\right)+bg\left(y\right)$$

(8)

Among them, a and b are undetermined coefficients. In the process of the coupled and coordinated development of the two systems, regional technological innovation and ecological environment development optimization are equally important, so a and b both take the value of 0.5. Referring to the coupling coordination classification standards of scholars such as Guo Aijun, the coupling coordination degree is divided into four levels, as shown in

Table 2. Standards for dividing the stages of coupled and coordinated development of regional scientific and technological innovation and ecological environment development.

Coupling Coordination Degree	Coupling and Coordinated Development Stage
0.1–0.3	Weak coupling coordination stage
0.3–0.5	Moderate coupling coordination stage
0.5–0.7	Good coupling and coordination stage
0.7–1.0	High-quality coupling coordination stage

.

3.1.4. Gray Prediction Model

Gray system theory was proposed and founded by Professor Deng Julong in the 1980s. It is a systems engineering discipline mainly based on mathematical theory. It is widely used in water conservancy, petroleum, transportation, and other aspects [49]. Gray systems mainly solve the uncertainty problem of “small samples and poor information” and have been widely used in research in various fields [50].

The gray system can be considered as an intermediary system that bridges the gap between the black system and the white system. A system that contains both known and unknown information is referred to as a gray system. The classification of technological innovation and the development of the ecological environment as a gray system arises from the presence of both certain and intrinsically unknown components influencing these processes. The GM (1, 1) model is well recognized as the predominant gray model in use. Furthermore, when compared to alternative models, the gray GM (1, 1) model exhibits several advantageous features, including a reduced reliance on sample data, enhanced accuracy in fitting, and simplified calculation [51]. Consequently, this model is employed to forecast the coupling and coordinated advancement of technological innovation and ecological environment development in China’s coastal cities over the forthcoming five-year period. By doing so, it furnishes a dependable theoretical foundation for the developmental trajectory of China’s coastal cities.

The GM (1, 1) model consists of a differential equation of the first order with a single variable. It is mainly suitable for the characteristic combination and prediction of a certain dominant factor and is used to represent the changing trend of future development and the changing form of the dominant factor. The modeling steps of gray system GM (1, 1) can be found in the literature, which is implemented through Matlab (R2023a). After constructing the prediction model, it is essential to test its accuracy against the evaluation criteria outlined in

Table 3. Accuracy classification of GM (1, 1) prediction model.

Accuracy Level	p Value	C Value
good	p ≥ 0.95	C ≤ 0.35
qualified	0.80 ≤ p < 0.95	0.35 < C ≤ 0.50
reluctantly	0.70 ≤ p < 0.80	0.50 < C ≤ 0.65
failed	p < 0.7	C > 0.65

Note: The prediction accuracy of the GM (1, 1) gray model can be divided into four levels according to the posterior difference ratio C and the small error probability p: ① When C ≤ 0.35 and p ≥ 0.95, the prediction accuracy is excellent; ② 0. 35 < C ≤ 0.50, 0.95 > p ≥ 0.80, the prediction accuracy is qualified; ③ 0.50 < C ≤ 0.65, p ≥ 0.70, the prediction accuracy is barely qualified; ④ C > 0.65, p < 0.70, the prediction accuracy is unqualified.

[52]. If both the p-value and C-value fall within acceptable ranges, predictive analysis can proceed; otherwise, further analysis of residual sequences and formula revision are necessary. The posterior difference ratio C is the ratio of the standard deviation S₂ of the residual sequence δ and the standard deviation S₁ of the original sequence x_i. The calculation method is the following:

$$\mathrm{C}=\frac{{\mathrm{S}}_2}{{\mathrm{S}}_1}$$

(9)

$$S_1^2=\frac{1}{n}{\sum }_{i=1}^n{[x_i-\overline{x}]}^2$$

(10)

$$S_2^2=\frac{1}{n}{\sum }_{i=1}^n{\left[{\delta }_i-\overline{\delta }\right]}^2$$

(11)

$$\mathrm{P}=\left\{\left|{\delta }_i-\overline{\delta }\right|<0.6745{\mathrm{S}}_1\right\}$$

(12)

3.2. Data Sources

Indicators suitable for this study were selectively selected from the “China Science and Technology Statistical Yearbook”, “China Environmental Statistical Yearbook”, “China Energy Statistical Yearbook”, the website of the National Bureau of Statistics, and the statistical yearbooks of various provinces, and average interpolation was used for individual missing data.

4. Results and Analysis

4.1. Comprehensive Level Measurement of Each System

To enhance the comprehension of the evolving patterns exhibited by each indicator, the comprehensive development index of the two systems in the coastal region is evaluated using linear weighting. Subsequently, an analysis is conducted to assess the comprehensive development level of the two systems, utilizing this index as a basis.

Table 4. Comprehensive development index of scientific and technological innovation in coastal areas from 2010 to 2020.

Province	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Tianjin	0.064	0.065	0.075	0.084	0.086	0.092	0.089	0.082	0.085	0.096	0.105
Hebei	0.041	0.043	0.050	0.051	0.057	0.063	0.071	0.069	0.080	0.082	0.103
Liaoning	0.077	0.078	0.082	0.086	0.084	0.082	0.088	0.093	0.085	0.089	0.099
Shanghai	0.155	0.156	0.169	0.185	0.217	0.190	0.198	0.214	0.223	0.232	0.245
Jiangsu	0.248	0.270	0.313	0.326	0.335	0.358	0.366	0.352	0.377	0.394	0.584
Zhejiang	0.162	0.149	0.173	0.186	0.196	0.208	0.219	0.233	0.257	0.280	0.400
Fujian	0.055	0.059	0.068	0.075	0.080	0.088	0.095	0.104	0.121	0.130	0.161
Shandong	0.117	0.127	0.149	0.156	0.169	0.181	0.184	0.175	0.181	0.188	0.241
Guangdong	0.258	0.260	0.288	0.312	0.324	0.364	0.397	0.399	0.523	0.554	0.944
Guangxi	0.032	0.034	0.043	0.045	0.042	0.046	0.049	0.047	0.049	0.053	0.057
Hainan	0.000	0.001	0.003	0.004	0.003	0.004	0.006	0.005	0.007	0.008	0.011
Average	1.209	1.242	1.412	1.510	1.595	1.677	1.763	1.773	1.988	2.105	2.950

and Figure 1 present the comprehensive development index of scientific and technical innovation, while

Table 5. Comprehensive development index of ecological environment development in coastal areas from 2010 to 2020.

Province	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Tianjin	0.372	0.423	0.406	0.411	0.429	0.362	0.347	0.403	0.361	0.363	0.376
Hebei	0.577	0.611	0.549	0.571	0.575	0.611	0.610	0.681	0.679	0.617	0.668
Liaoning	0.383	0.450	0.560	0.465	0.433	0.431	0.437	0.499	0.507	0.456	0.500
Shanghai	0.386	0.391	0.324	0.342	0.367	0.357	0.357	0.348	0.350	0.346	0.329
Jiangsu	0.425	0.442	0.449	0.498	0.502	0.506	0.518	0.535	0.532	0.509	0.518
Zhejiang	0.388	0.349	0.393	0.398	0.423	0.416	0.471	0.440	0.450	0.430	0.436
Fujian	0.408	0.381	0.464	0.496	0.424	0.432	0.449	0.462	0.453	0.446	0.430
Shandong	0.529	0.572	0.585	0.604	0.616	0.596	0.690	0.739	0.745	0.716	0.650
Guangdong	0.493	0.344	0.363	0.386	0.381	0.409	0.477	0.484	0.497	0.486	0.477
Guangxi	0.370	0.411	0.437	0.449	0.435	0.453	0.447	0.458	0.469	0.450	0.502
Hainan	0.381	0.406	0.461	0.413	0.405	0.382	0.386	0.425	0.407	0.377	0.364
Average	4.712	4.780	4.990	5.032	4.992	4.955	5.188	5.472	5.449	5.195	5.250

and Figure 2 depict the comprehensive ecological environment in the coastal area from 2010 to 2020.

As can be seen from Table 4 and Figure 1, (1) overall, the comprehensive development level of scientific and technological innovation in coastal areas basically maintained a stable upward trend from 2010 to 2020. This shows that while maintaining an excellent economic and technological foundation, the comprehensive development level of science and technological advancement in coastal areas has market vitality and huge development potential. Among them, Fujian, Shandong, Hainan, and Guangxi continued to maintain steady growth, with slow and steady growth rates. The level of scientific and technological advances in Jiangsu and Guangdong has always remained high and developed rapidly. (2) Specifically, during the development period, the comprehensive development index of scientific and technological advancement in the majority of coastal regions exhibited varied degrees of fluctuation. For example, the comprehensive development index of scientific and technological innovation in Tianjin, Liaoning, Shandong, and Guangxi dropped from 0.089, 0.088, and 0.184 in 2016 to 0.082, 0.085, and 0.181 in 2018, respectively. Most of them are caused by changes in the value of an indicator variable in the scientific and technological innovation layer, but the fluctuation range is small, and small-scale fluctuations will not affect the change range of scientific and technological innovation development. Most coastal areas are growing. Among them, the disparity in the level of scientific and technical innovation in coastal regions exhibits a persistent trend of widening. In 2010, the most significant gap in the level of science and technological progress development was only 0.258. In 2018, Hainan, which had the lowest level of technological innovation development, had a technological innovation level of only 0.007. Guangdong, which has the highest level of technological innovation, is as high as 0.523, and the gap widens to 0.516. (3) On the whole, coastal areas have a solid scientific and technological foundation and high scientific and technological innovation efficiency, which promotes the development and improvement in the comprehensive level of scientific and technological innovation in coastal areas.

As can be seen from Table 5 and Figure 2, (1) overall, the ecological environment development level in coastal areas basically showed a fluctuating upward trend from 2010 to 2020, which shows that my country’s coastal areas fully responded to the national call from 2010 to 2020. The construction of ecological civilization has achieved remarkable results. The ecological environment development and optimization in the coastal areas of Shandong, Hebei, Jiangsu, Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Liaoning has a good level of development and optimization, and the results are relatively outstanding. (2) Specifically, there are varying degrees of fluctuations, but the amplitude is within an appropriate range and ultimately shows an upward trend compared with 2010. After 2015, the overall growth rate is relatively fast, and there are also fluctuations in some provinces, but the amplitude of the fluctuations is not apparent. There are still specific gaps in the ecological environment development of various provinces and regions, and the gap is still widening. The gap between the highest and lowest regional ecological environment development levels widened from 0.208 in 2010 to 0.395 in 2018.

The development level of scientific and technical innovation in coastal areas is observed to be comparatively lower than the development level of the ecological environment when both systems are considered together. Simultaneously, over the course of 11 years, there has been a discernible positive trajectory in the advancement of scientific and technological innovation, as well as in the development of ecological environments in coastal regions. Simultaneously, regions characterized by elevated levels of scientific and technical innovation exhibit superior levels of ecological environment development, exemplifying the reciprocal coupling interplay between these two systems.

4.2. Analysis of the Level of Coupling and Coordination between Technological Innovation and Ecological Environment Development

4.2.1. Analysis of the Temporal Evolution Trend of Coupling Coordination Degree

The objective is to determine the connecting coordination degree between technological and scientific advancement and the ecological environment’s development in coastal areas from 2010 to 2020 using Equations (6)–(8). Additionally, the coupling coordination degree between scientific and technical innovation and sustainable environment development in coastal areas will be calculated based on the existing classification standards for the coupling coordination degree. The presented data in this study pertain exclusively to the coupling coordination degree values and kinds seen in coastal areas for the years 2010, 2016, and 2020, as well as the corresponding 10-year average. This limitation is attributed to spatial constraints. The selection of 2016 as the median value for analysis can be attributed to the implementation of the country’s “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan”. The proposal put out by the Central Committee for the formulation of the 13th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development has exerted a substantial influence on the domains of innovation in technology and the ecological environment. The aforementioned factor has significant consequences, as seen by the findings presented in

Table 6. Coupling coordination degree and types of scientific and technological innovation and ecological environment development in coastal areas.

Province	2010	Type	2016	Type	2020	Type	11-Year Average	Type
Tianjin	0.362	moderate coupling coordination	0.404	moderate coupling coordination	0.439	moderate coupling coordination	0.407	moderate coupling coordination
Hebei	0.364	moderate coupling coordination	0.422	moderate coupling coordination	0.516	good coupling and coordination	0.421	moderate coupling coordination
Liaoning	0.388	moderate coupling coordination	0.415	moderate coupling coordination	0.472	moderate coupling coordination	0.427	moderate coupling coordination
Shanghai	0.441	moderate coupling coordination	0.477	moderate coupling coordination	0.526	good coupling and coordination	0.480	moderate coupling coordination
Jiangsu	0.524	good coupling and coordination	0.603	good coupling and coordination	0.747	excellent coupling coordination	0.611	good coupling and coordination
Zhejiang	0.453	moderate coupling coordination	0.514	good coupling and coordination	0.659	good coupling and coordination	0.518	good coupling and coordination
Fujian	0.356	moderate coupling coordination	0.416	moderate coupling coordination	0.528	good coupling and coordination	0.422	moderate coupling coordination
Shandong	0.457	moderate coupling coordination	0.549	good coupling and coordination	0.641	good coupling and coordination	0.542	good coupling and coordination
Guangdong	0.553	good coupling and coordination	0.608	good coupling and coordination	0.818	excellent coupling coordination	0.614	good coupling and coordination
Guangxi	0.306	moderate coupling coordination	0.362	moderate coupling coordination	0.407	moderate coupling coordination	0.357	moderate coupling coordination
Hainan	0.112	weak coupling coordination	0.205	weak coupling coordination	0.250	weak coupling coordination	0.191	weak coupling coordination

.

Overall, the coupling coordination degree of the two systems in coastal areas from 2010 to 2020 ranged from 0.191 to 0.611, and both coastal areas showed an increasing trend; at the same time, the number of provinces with a medium coupling coordination degree was more significant, accounting for 55%. The proportion of provinces with good coordination reached 36%, indicating that the level of coupled and coordinated development of the two systems in coastal areas is basically in the stage of moderate coupling and coordinated development.

Specifically, in 2010, only Guangdong and Jiangsu were in the stage of good coupling and coordination. By 2020, the coupling coordination degrees of the two provinces reached 0.818 and 0.747, respectively, rising to the high-quality coupling coordination stage, indicating that Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces gradually became coastal areas for scientific and technological innovation cooperation. It is a “marine benchmark” for the coupling and coordination of ecological and environmental development; Hainan has always been in a low coupling coordination stage, with huge future development space and an urgent need for policy guidance. In addition, other provinces have also experienced varying degrees of growth, such as Hebei, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, and other provinces, which have improved from moderate coupling coordination to good coupling coordination, further indicating that the coupling and coordinated development of the two systems in coastal areas is continuing to be optimized.

There are increasing levels of coupled coordinated changes due to the following reasons:

① Innovation in science and technology has led to technological advancement, resulting in a more environmentally friendly economic development mode and an improved ecological environment. As scientific and technological innovation advances, new technologies, materials, and processes are continually being developed. These discoveries drive economic growth and facilitate the transition to new forms of economic development. The green development mode is gradually supplanting the old production mode, characterized by high pollution and high energy consumption, with a mode focusing on low pollution, low energy consumption, and high efficiency. This transition has successfully safeguarded the natural environment in coastal regions, diminished pollution discharges, and enhanced environmental quality. In Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces, adopting new energy technologies has led to a steady rise in the use of clean energy sources like wind and solar energy. This has resulted in the replacement of certain traditional fossil fuels in the energy structure. This mitigates the release of greenhouse gases and fosters the enhancement of the local biological environment. Simultaneously, both provinces aggressively advocate for adopting clean production technology to mitigate industrial pollution, achieving a mutually beneficial outcome of economic growth and environmental protection.

② The ongoing advancement of technological and scientific developments has led to the enhancement of technology, the acquisition of talent, and the emergence of a green economy to foster the development of an environmentally conscious society. The ongoing advancement of technological and scientific advances facilitates the enhancement of technology and offers substantial human resources to assist the creation of an ecological civilization. An increasing number of scientific and technological experts are dedicating their efforts to researching environmental protection, ecology, and related topics. This influx of intellectual talent is a reliable source of support for developing an ecological society. Simultaneously, advances in technology and science have given rise to a green economy and facilitated the improvement and modernization of economic systems. Zhejiang has been at the forefront in recent years. Through advancing scientific and technological breakthroughs, we will actively pursue establishing environmentally friendly economic models, explicitly focusing on circular and low-carbon economies. The achievement of efficient resource utilization, trash reduction, and recycling is made possible by technical innovation. Furthermore, Zhejiang has proactively recruited and nurtured highly skilled individuals in environmental protection. It has developed multiple environmental research institutions and innovative technological platforms, which have played an essential part in supporting the development of an ecological society.

③ The national plan is being implemented to construct a society prioritizing ecological civilization. This strategy aims to expedite the shift towards scientific and technological breakthroughs and enhance the capabilities in this field. The coastal areas actively respond to the national plan by embracing the call to establish a society focused on ecological civilization. They are also expediting the shift towards adopting ecological scientific and technical innovation concepts. Enterprises, universities, and scientific research organizations are incentivized to engage in scientific and technology innovation activities related to environmental protection and ecology through policy guidance, financial support, and other measures. These novel activities strengthen the capacity for innovation in science and technology in coastal regions and facilitate the seamless integration of scientific and technological creativity with the development of the ecological environment. In Shandong, promoting scientific and technological advances and ecological environmental conservation is actively encouraged, following the national sustainable development policy. By creating funds dedicated to environmental innovations in science and technology and developing parks specifically for environmental breakthroughs in science and technology, numerous firms and scientific research institutions focused on environmental protection have been enticed to establish their presence in these areas. These firms and scientific research organizations have produced significant advancements in environmental protection technology and materials, offering substantial assistance for developing an ecological civilization society in Shandong.

4.2.2. Analysis on the Spatial Evolution Trend of Coupling Coordination Degree

In accordance with the division and deployment of China’s coastal areas in the “14th Five-Year Plan”, the Northern Maritime Economic Circle (mainly including the sea and land areas of Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning, and Shandong), the Eastern Maritime Economic Circle (including the sea and land areas of Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang), and the Southern Maritime Economic Circle (including the sea and land areas of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, and Fujian) were analyzed, and the spatial evolution trajectories of technological innovation and ecological environment development optimization in China’s coastal areas were analyzed and spatially visualized. The specific dynamic evolution trajectories of technological innovation and ecological environment development in China’s coastal areas over time are shown below.

From the comparison of different periods in Figure 3, we can see the spatial evolution trajectory of the coordination between technological innovation and ecological environment development in coastal areas of the country. Among them, the degree of coupling and coordinated development shows a trajectory of gradually spreading from the eastern maritime economic circle to the north and south. From the perspective of the overall spatial pattern distribution, the distribution is “high in the eastern marine economic zone and low in the north and south marine economic zones”, that is, a convex spatial pattern of “high in the middle and low at both ends”. Specifically, in 2010, the coupling and coordinated development index in most coastal areas was in a barely coordinated state. However, Jiangsu and Guangdong have relatively high coupled coordinated development indexes and are in a primary coordination state. Guangdong and Jiangsu have always placed technological innovation and ecological coordination in prominent positions. In 2016, most of the coupling and coordinated development indicators in coastal areas were upgraded to primary coordination status, forming a spatial pattern of “preliminary agglomeration” with Guangdong and Jiangsu as the leaders. Jiangsu and Guangdong took the lead in reaching the intermediate level of coordination. In response to the call of the 13th Five-Year Plan, Guangdong and Jiangsu took the lead in further improving their scientific and technological level and technological innovation capabilities and fully implementing the concept of green development. In 2020, the coupling coordination development index in coastal areas further improved, and a spatial pattern of agglomeration of coupling coordination degrees began to form. In the coastal areas, seven regions, including Hebei, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, and Guangdong, reached the intermediate level or above of coordination status, and most of them are from the Eastern Maritime Economic Circle and the Southern Economic Circle. Among them, Jiangsu and Guangzhou took the lead in entering a state of good coordination. Although Hainan has been optimizing coordination, the reason why it is still on the verge of imbalance is that Hainan relies on its superior location advantages to vigorously develop primary and tertiary industries, such as fruit agriculture and tourism, and constantly improve and optimize the ecological environment. However, the backwardness of the secondary industry makes its scientific and technological innovation capabilities insufficient and incompatible with its ecological level, which indicates that Hainan Province has massive room for future development.

4.3. Trend Prediction of Dual-System Coupling Coordination Degree

4.3.1. GM (1, 1) Model Testing

The accuracy of the GM (1, 1) model constructed in

Table 7. Test of GM (1, 1) model for coupling and coordination of two systems in coastal areas.

Province	C Value	p Value
Tianjin	0.43913	0.81818
Hebei	0.24396	1
Liaoning	0.58745	0.63636
Shanghai	0.33591	0.90909
Jiangsu	0.31345	0.90909
Zhejiang	0.28233	0.90909
Fujian	0.24807	1
Shandong	0.23969	1
Guangdong	0.25395	1
Guangxi	0.29279	1
Hainan	0.1921	1

was tested, and Matlab software was used to calculate the predicted value, posterior ratio C, and small error probability p. The results are shown in Table 5. The C value and p value are combined to judge each model. The accuracy of the models reached the qualified level, and a gray prediction can be made.

4.3.2. GM (1, 1) Time Series Evolution Trend Prediction

According to the constructed GM (1, 1) model, the coupling and coordinated development trend of technological innovation and ecological environment development in my country’s coastal areas in the next year is predicted. The prediction results are shown in

Table 8. Forecast of the evolution trend of coupling coordination degree in various provinces in coastal areas from 2021 to 2025.

Province	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Tianjin	0.444	0.450	0.455	0.460	0.466
Hebei	0.525	0.546	0.567	0.589	0.613
Liaoning	0.461	0.467	0.473	0.479	0.484
Shanghai	0.538	0.549	0.560	0.571	0.582
Jiangsu	0.738	0.762	0.787	0.813	0.840
Zhejiang	0.666	0.697	0.729	0.763	0.798
Fujian	0.538	0.562	0.587	0.612	0.639
Shandong	0.660	0.683	0.707	0.731	0.756
Guangdong	0.831	0.879	0.929	0.983	0.989
Guangxi	0.408	0.417	0.426	0.436	0.446
Hainan	0.261	0.275	0.289	0.304	0.320

.

Figure 4 displays the time prediction chart depicting the coupling coordination degree between technological innovation and ecological environment development. The projected outcomes for the coupled and coordinated development in coastal regions between 2021 and 2025 are as follows:

(1) From 2021 to 2025, various coastal areas will maintain an upward development trend, but the gap will further widen. Specifically, most coastal areas will be at a good coupling level (0.5–0.7). Furthermore, it is projected that the regional disparity will increase from 0.570 in the year 2021 to 0.669 by the year 2025. This suggests that the degree of integration and synchronization between technological advancement and ecological environment development in coastal regions exhibits disparities and will persist in the foreseeable future.

(2) The degree of coupling and coordination between the two systems in some coastal areas has increased rapidly. For example, the degree of coordinated development of SC and EN in Zhejiang and Shandong has been significantly enhanced. Zhejiang improved from moderate coordination in 2021 (0.666) to good coordination in 2023 (0.729). This shows that appropriate policies and solutions can accelerate the collaborative optimization of technological innovation and ecological environment development, thereby promoting an improvement in the degree of coupling coordination.

(3) The degree of coupling coordination in some coastal areas is slowly improving. Among them, Liaoning, Guangxi, and Hainan need to catch up in development. Hainan will shift to moderate coordination by 2024, while Liaoning and Guangxi will be in a state of moderate coordination. It shows that there are different influencing factors and development backgrounds in different regions. Hence, it is vital to tailor strategies to suit the specific circumstances of each locality and offer distinct remedies to foster the harmonized advancement of scientific and technological innovation and ecological environment establishment in coastal regions.

4.3.3. GM (1, 1) Spatial Evolution Trend Prediction

Figure 5 display the spatial distribution of the linkage coordination between innovation in technology and the natural environment development from 2021 to 2025.

(1) The overall spatial pattern distribution continues to exhibit the convex spatial pattern characteristics commonly referred to as “high in the middle and low at both ends”.

(2) Specifically, the coupling coordination degree in Liaoning, Guangxi, and Hainan is relatively low. Because Liaoning, Guangxi, and Hainan are still dominated by resource-based industries and have a high proportion of labor-intensive industries, the secondary industry is not suitable for the ecological environment, scientific and technological innovation is slowly improving, and the degree of coordination cannot be improved quickly. Other coastal provinces have shown varying degrees of growth trends, and Hebei and Fujian have developed from a moderate coupling and coordination stage to a good coupling and coordination state. The industrial structure adjustment carried out in Hebei and Fujian has achieved remarkable results, and the construction of an ecological civilization has been vigorously strengthened through policy guidance and industrial upgrading.

(3) Overall, the economic strength of coastal areas is relatively muscular, and most special economic zones are located in coastal areas with rapid urbanization. As the country vigorously promotes the construction of an ecological civilization, strengthens investment in environmental governance, and improves environmental standards, technological innovation and ecological environment development promote and influence each other. While strengthening the construction of ecological civilization, coastal areas realize green scientific and technological innovation, thereby achieving a harmonious situation in which the coordinated development of the two systems is jointly promoted, thereby enhancing the interaction between scientific and technological innovation and ecological environment development, causing the coupling coordination degree of each province to show a “retreat”. The development trend shows “weakness, trending toward excellence, and excellence creation”. In the future, coastal regions will urgently need to pay attention to the socio-economic benefits and ecological and environmental issues brought about by the development of technological innovation, as well as deal with the coordinated development relationship between technological innovation and ecological and environmental development.

5. Conclusions and Policy Implications

5.1. Analysis Conclusion

This article selects time series data of technological innovation and ecological environment development in coastal areas from 2010 to 2020 to construct a comprehensive evaluation system for technological innovation and ecological environment development. At the same time, the coupling coordination model was used to analyze the collaborative coupling relationship between technological innovation and sustainable environment development in coastal areas. Finally, the gray prediction model is used to explore further the dynamic relationship between the two in time and space. We conclude as follows:

(1) The overall development level of technological and scientific advancement and ecosystem development in coastal areas exhibited a fluctuating and increasing pattern, with scientific and technological innovation generally lagging behind the development of the ecological environment. The development level of the two systems in coastal areas exhibited a positive and generally synchronized trend; nevertheless, the regional disparity continued to widen.

(2) Based on the time analysis, the innovations in technology and science and ecological environment development in coastal areas have achieved a high level of coupled and coordinated development. The two systems have experienced an increase in their coupled and coordinated development. The coupling and coordinated advancement of scientific and technological innovation and environmental development in Jiangsu and Guangdong have achieved a high level of excellence, with Guangdong Province standing out in particular in terms of its coupling development. Despite maintaining a growth tendency, Hainan Province is currently in a stage of weakly connected development. Based on the spatial analysis, the distribution of the coupling coordination level between technological and scientific breakthroughs and ecological environment development in most coastal locations has a distinct spatial dislocation pattern, and the development tendency is further enhanced. It indicates that the progress of advances in science and technology and the state of the natural environment have passed the initial phase of adjustment and adaptation. Over time, the adverse effects of scientific and technological advancements and changes in national policies’ supply-side structure gradually diminish and eventually evolve in a consistent and balanced manner in the long term. The need to improve the ecological environment is driving technological innovation enterprises to adapt and improve. These enterprises are embracing sustainable ecological concepts to extend their lifespan, create new value, and establish long-term development mechanisms. This will lead to a more prominent synergy between technological and scientific creativity and the development of the ecological environment in the future.

(3) From a temporal standpoint, the forecast outcomes for the coupling coordination level of the two systems in the majority of coastal regions exhibit a consistent pattern of steady enhancement, maintaining the characteristics observed in the past. However, in the coming period, Hainan, Guangxi, and Liaoning will still be in the stage of dysfunctional development, indicating that new directions are needed in the development path. From the general point of view of spatial pattern distribution, it still presents the convex spatial pattern characteristics of “high in the middle and low at both ends”.

5.2. Countermeasures and Policy Implications

5.2.1. Promote Regional Coordinated Development and Build a Long-Term Interactive Mechanism

The level of technological and scientific advancement and environmentally friendly development in coastal areas is experiencing significant growth. To expedite the execution of the strategy to enhance the country’s strength through quality, we must seize development opportunities and uphold the comprehensive trend of advances in science and technology and ecological environment optimization. Additionally, we should actively establish a long-term interactive mechanism to coordinate the development of both aspects. This will promote the regularity of coordinated development and sustain the economic vitality of coastal regions. In order to enhance economic vitality, it is imperative to foster and enhance the growth of environmentally friendly initiatives within the market system. This entails establishing a positive feedback loop of market competition, developing a platform for showcasing innovative green products, and creating a conducive ecological environment. Additionally, it is crucial to facilitate comprehensive, efficient, and expeditious information exchange within the region. While the development of provinces and regions in coastal areas is currently in a stage of well-coordinated development, there is still potential for future progress in terms of the overall development level and trend. According to the notion of competitive advantage, regions and cities with less developed goals achieve a favorable position of “coordinated development from the strong to the weak” [34]. We must fully release the development dividends and radiation effects of advantageous coastal regions, promote the overall coordinated development of the country with regional advantages, further enhance competitiveness in the international market, and attract international investment and tourism. By promoting regional coordination, ecological transformation of industrial structures, and ecological development environments, other countries can also learn from this model, integrate sustainable development into their national development strategies, and promote global green development and ecological civilization. At the same time, to promote coordinated development among regions, this policy proposal shows other countries the critical role of regional coordination in promoting economic development and enhancing regional competitiveness. By learning this cooperation mode, we can strengthen cooperation and exchanges between regions and jointly cope with future global challenges.

5.2.2. Achieve Green Development of Science and Technology and Ecological Transformation of Industrial Structure

We will enhance our investment in scientific and technology innovation, prioritize environmental protection, and actively facilitate the ecological transformation of our industrial structure. The coastal areas should develop a coordinated and rational system for assessing technological innovation and ecological environment, taking into account the specific characteristics of regional development. This system should prioritize the technological advancement of traditional enterprises and the optimization of the urban ecological environment. Additionally, differentiated strategies should be implemented. The emphasis of innovative scientific and technological development should be appropriately shifted towards the specific attributes of coastal scientific and technological enterprises. This should be conducted by prioritizing science and technology as the foundation and innovation as the primary focus of research, in order to achieve progress in scientific and technological innovation development. Simultaneously, it is crucial to prioritize the preservation of the natural environment and promote ecological innovation in relevant businesses, fostering a path towards environmentally friendly and sustainable development. We must use pollution control and innovation subsidies to solve the practical problems of negative externalities or high governance costs that enterprises may encounter in the development process, slow down the economic costs raised by environmental protection, and provide economic impetus to provide a new source of vitality for scientific and technological innovation, to drive enterprises to further transformation and upgrading. The crucial function of government policy direction and market mechanisms is fostering scientific and technological advancement and promoting ecological environmental protection. The international community can learn from this model of combining policy and market, and through the formulation of reasonable policies and market mechanisms, we can effectively guide enterprises and all sectors of society to actively participate in scientific and technological innovation and ecological and environmental protection and form a joint force for the whole society to promote sustainable development.

5.2.3. Create an Ecological Development Environment and Use the Economy to Support Scientific and Technological Innovation

The aim is to establish a uniform approach to scientific and technological breakthroughs and growth in firms and collaboratively build an environment that promotes ecological development. The government should further strengthen the construction of regional ecological civilization, increase investment in governance, and reduce environmental pollution caused by enterprises in production processes with laws and regulations as constraints and systems as guarantees to lay a good ecological foundation for regional scientific and technological innovation and development. Simultaneously, enterprises should actively recruit scientific and technological innovators, enhance their investment in innovations in science and technology, foster the integration of economic and technological advances, stimulate the dynamism of innovation within enterprises, and consequently enhance their industrial technological and scientific creativity capabilities. The green economy is a crucial aspect of global economic development. Enhancing the establishment and growth of a sustainable economy can facilitate the transition towards an environmentally friendly global economy.