Construction and application of green and low-carbon evaluation indicators for coal mining areas

Coal mining areas serve as pivotal bases for coal production, holding significant importance for local economies and energy supply. In the development of China’s energy and environmental protection, the planning of mining areas plays a crucial role. With the changing global energy landscape and China’s strategic goals of peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality, the planning of coal mining areas transcends the mere extraction of resources, emphasizing the protection and restoration of the ecological environment, as well as the sustainable development of the mining economy. Therefore, it is imperative to integrate the content of “dual-carbon” planning into the overall planning of mining areas to guide the sustainable development of the coal industry and support the national “dual-carbon” strategic objectives. To implement “dual-carbon” planning for mining areas, a detailed assessment of the current carbon emissions status of the mining areas is required to provide a scientific basis for “dual-carbon” planning. This study, from the perspective of coal mining areas, proposes a “three-step method” to construct evaluation indicators, namely, the initial selection of indicators through comprehensive analysis, supplementation of indicators via social network analysis, and verification of indicators using the model method. The indicator system comprises seven primary indicators and thirty-six secondary indicators, incorporating the fuzzy variable membership degree function to establish a model for the quantitative calculation of secondary evaluation indicators and employing a hierarchical fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method to assess the green and low-carbon status of mining areas. Taking the Ningxia Jijiajing mining area as a case study, this study applies the evaluation system for empirical analysis. The results indicate that the Jijiajing mining area is currently at a lower level of green and low-carbon development but also shows great potential for improvement. In light of the evaluation results, this study suggests that the mining area should focus on the rational utilization of land resources, strengthen land reclamation, and reinforce ecological reconstruction and protection measures, providing a viable path for the green and low-carbon transformation of the mining area.