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Förster Resonance Energy Transfer Mapping: A New Methodology to Elucidate Global Structural Features
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Exploring sectoral energy structures for decarbonization: an analysis of leading global emitting countries
Faten S Alamri1, Azhar Ali Janjua2, Muhammad Aslam3
1Department of Mathematical Sciences, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh, 11671, Saudi Arabia.
Scientific Reports
|February 5, 2026
Summary
Economic growth and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are analyzed for sustainability. The waste sector showed significant GHG abatement, while transport needs low-carbon solutions, highlighting the need for targeted policies.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Economics
- Climate Change Studies
Background:
- Understanding the link between economic growth and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is crucial for global sustainability efforts.
- Decoupling economic growth from GHG emissions is a key challenge for climate change mitigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct a comparative sectoral analysis of GHG emissions for the world's ten largest emitting countries from 2000 to 2023.
- To evaluate the extent of decoupling between economic growth and GHG emissions across various sectors.
- To provide sectoral rankings and emission intensity insights for national sustainability progress.
Main Methods:
- Index Decomposition Analysis (IDA) applied to sectoral data.
- Comparative analysis across eight key economic sectors (agriculture, building, fuel exploitation, industrial combustion, power industry, processes, transport, waste).
- Data analysis covering the period 2000-2023 for the top ten GHG emitting nations.
Main Results:
- Significant GHG emission abatement observed in agriculture (6.44 MtCO2) and building sectors (6.34 MtCO2) due to sustainable practices.
- The waste sector achieved the largest abatement (16.31 MtCO2), primarily led by the USA.
- The transport sector showed slight intensity (0.36 MtCO2), indicating a need for urgent low-carbon solutions; fuel exploitation and industrial combustion also showed mixed results.
Conclusions:
- Tailored, sector-specific policies, technology adoption, and behavioral changes are essential for sustained decarbonization.
- Comparative sectoral insights are vital for aligning national energy structures with global climate mitigation goals.
- The study underscores the varied emission trajectories across sectors and countries, necessitating differentiated approaches to climate action.
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