Exploring sectoral energy structures for decarbonization: an analysis of leading global emitting countries

In pursuit of sustainability, it is necessary to comprehend the evolving relationship between economic growth and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study conducts Index Decomposition Analysis (IDA) for comparative sectoral analysis of the world's ten largest GHG emitting countries across their eight sectors; agriculture, building, fuel exploitation, industrial combustion, power industry, processes, transport and waste, using latest available data from 2000 to 2023. This study disaggregates sectoral emissions to evaluate the extent to which economic growth has been decoupled from GHG emissions, thereby offering insight into national sectoral emission trajectories and sustainability progress. This study offers sectoral ranking of countries based on average GHG emission abatement during 2000-2023 and offers the sectoral GHG emission intensity in these countries relative in year 2000. The agriculture and building sectors demonstrated significant decoupling, abatement of GHG emissions by an average of 6.44 MtCO₂ and 6.34 MtCO₂, respectively, through sustainable practices. The fuel exploitation sector achieved modest abatement of 2.24 MtCO₂, though emissions intensified in China and Indonesia. In the industrial combustion sector, GHG emissions abatement were recorded by 0.74 MtCO₂ but intensified in several emerging economies. The transport sector recorded a slight intensity of 0.36 MtCO₂, highlighting the urgent need for low carbon mobility solutions. The waste sector achieved the most substantial GHG emissions abatement of 16.31 MtCO₂, led by USA, despite intensified in four other nations. The findings emphasized the critical need for tailored, sector specific policy interventions, technology adoption, and behavioral changes to achieve sustained decarbonization. The study contributes to the global discourse on climate mitigation by offering comparative sectors specific insights to align national energy structures with global decarbonizing practices.