Dynamic evaluation, regional disparity, and spatial correlation of industrial ecologicalization level in China

China is the largest energy consumer and CO₂ emitter in the world. Industrial ecologicalization (IE) as an effective way to reduce carbon emission and achieve green growth is vital for China to strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. Thus, it is necessary and urgent to evaluate the industrial ecologicalization level (IEL) in China. Based on the connotation and characteristics of IE and PSR model, this paper first establishes a comprehensive evaluation index system of the IEL and then uses the global entropy method (OEM) and spatial data analysis (ESDA) to analyze the dynamic evaluation, regional disparity, and spatial correlation of IEL in China. The results show that: (1) The innovation support and the structure optimization are the main stimulus in improving the IEL in China, whose weights of indexes have reached 0.263 and 0.268. (2) The overall IEL has improved steadily in China but differs significantly among provinces during the research period. (3) The regional disparity of IEL presents the Eastern region is leading, whereas the Middle and Western regions are lagging from a geographical perspective; the Northern Coast and Eastern Coast have ranked the top two compared with other six economic regions. (4) The five provinces, namely Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang, constitute the main agglomeration areas of IEL in China based on the spatial correlation features. The findings of this paper cannot only provide a theoretical basis and practice reference for IEL evaluation but also benefit more focused policy-making of the sustainable development in China.