Comparing the spatial differences in the energy intensity of the Group of Twenty (G20) countries and identifying the factors that influence these differences can help the G20 countries formulate targeted policies to achieve energy conservation goals. This study analyzes the spatial differences in the G20 countries’ energy intensity at the aggregate and sectoral levels based on an input–output framework and reveals its driving factors by employing multiplicative structural decomposition analysis, obtaining the sectoral energy intensity, input structure, and final demand structure effects. The results show that: (1) the gap in aggregate energy intensity among the G20 countries tended to converge from 2000 to 2014 with the reducing energy intensity in Russia, India, China, and South Korea having great potential to reduce global energy consumption and improve global energy efficiency; (2) in 2014, the main driving forces for above-average energy intensity was the sectoral energy intensity effect in India, South Korea, and Canada, the input structure effect in Russia and China, and the final demand structure effect in Indonesia; (3) using the average of the G20 countries as a reference, the energy reduction potential of China, Russia, India, South Korea, Indonesia, and Canada is 62.75, 31.94, 21.24, 7.67, 1.47, and 0.81 exajoules (EJ), respectively. The embodied energy consumption decline in these countries was equivalent to 21.78% of the G20’s total energy consumption in 2014; and (4) the most important factor of the high embodied energy intensity of key sectors in India and South Korea is the sectoral energy intensity effect, while for Russia and China, it is the input structure effect.
Analysis on the progressive motivation of carbon emissions growth in China using structural decomposition analysis and structural path decomposition methods