From Waste‐Wise to Watt‐Smart: Can Material Productivity, Efficiency Gains, and Renewables Turn the Tide for the Planet?

ABSTRACT The central policy problem is how to cut greenhouse‐gas (GHG) emissions without derailing economic performance, given that emission drivers and mitigation levers can operate differently across time horizons. Most prior studies rely on time‐domain models that cannot reveal frequency‐specific co‐movements and causal timing, leaving the horizon at which each lever is most effective unresolved. This study examines whether environment‐related technologies, resource material productivity, financial development, renewable energy use, and oil efficiency reduce GHG emissions, using quarterly data from 1990Q1 to 2021Q1. Departing from time‐domain approaches, we apply a time–frequency framework—wavelet coherence and wavelet‐based Granger causality—to trace co‐movements and directional links from short to long horizons. The results indicate a persistent negative co‐movement between GHG emissions and the listed drivers, alongside feedback causality showing that improvements in these factors precede lower emissions across multiple frequencies and horizons. By revealing when (short, medium, long run) each lever is most effective, the study provides a sharper basis for sequencing policies that advance Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 7, 9, 12 and 13.