Exploring the coupling coordination of urban resilience and urban low-carbon in the Yellow River Basin

Against the backdrop of intensifying global climate change and increasingly prominent resource constraints, achieving synergies between resilience enhancement and low-carbon urban development has become a critical issue for advancing sustainable urban development. To address this challenge, this study constructs an evaluation framework for urban resilience (UR) and low-carbon development (LCD). It quantifies the resilience and low-carbon development levels of 60 cities in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) from 2006 to 2021. Using a coupling coordination degree model, the research reveals the interactive mechanisms between UR and LCD, further analyzing how their synergistic evolution promotes regional sustainable development. Results indicate that from 2006 to 2021, the UR in the Yellow River Basin rose from 0.13 to 0.24, with an average annual growth rate of 5.64%. Concurrently, the LCD increased from 0.06 to 0.13, with both metrics exhibiting an upward trajectory. During this period, the coupling coordination degree (CCD) between UR and LCD demonstrated a steady positive upward trend, increasing from 0.286 to 0.395. However, regional development imbalances remain prominent, solidifying into a distribution pattern of “downstream > midstream > upstream.”These findings indicate that synergistically enhancing UR and LCD represents a crucial pathway for the YRB to achieve its dual carbon goals and sustainable development. This study provides a theoretical framework and decision-making reference for formulating integrated governance strategies that synergistically advance climate mitigation and adaptation in the YRB and other similar regions globally.