An Evaluation Index System of China’s Development Level of Ecological Civilization

Ecological civilization, a word with distinctively Chinese characteristics, will be the key strategy to address a series of problems in China’s economic transformation in the future. This study elaborated the concept and connotation of an ecological civilization from both narrow and broad perspectives, and established an evaluation index system with 26 specific indicators. These indicators were based on concepts to evaluate the development level of ecological civilization in mainland China and its 31 provinces (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan), autonomous regions, and municipalities from 2004 to 2016. The results reveal that China has achieved a transition in the development level of ecological civilization from low to intermediate as a whole, however, even rapid economic growth at the expense of the ecological environment cannot enable China to get rid of the fact that its social and economic development is lagging behind developed countries and regions. China and its various provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities should gradually reduce their own deficiencies in the process of ecological civilization construction, under the premise of maintaining their own advantages, so as to achieve sustainable development and accelerate the construction of an ecological civilization.