Global energy transition has barely begun, despite area gains – Energy Institute

The global energy transition has barely begun, with coal-fired power generation and carbon emissions rising in 2023 while renewables' share of the power mix was basically static, the Energy Institute said June 20.

Global electricity generation increased 2.5% in 2023, with coal retaining its position as the dominant feedstock. Fossil fuels fired 60% of global power while renewables' share of the generation mix edged higher, from 29% to 30%, according to the Energy Institute's (EI) 2024 Statistical Review of World Energy.

"At a global level we are simply not moving fast enough, and you could argue the energy transition has not even started," EI CEO Nick Wayth said.

However, striking regional variations stand out. While electricity demand in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East rose about 5% in 2023, demand fell 2.4% in Europe and 1% in North America.

Global power demand of 29,925 TWh was up 2.5% year over year, a 25% faster growth rate than for total global primary energy consumption. That suggested the world's energy system "is increasingly electrifying," the EI said.

Renewables' share of the power mix, excluding hydropower, amounted to 23.8% in Europe and 17.9% in North America versus 0.9% in the Middle East and 1.2% in Africa.

Where green power contributions were modest, growth was strong. Renewable generation, excluding hydropower, was up 44% year over year in the Middle East to 41 TWh and 20% in Africa to 57 TWh. China and India also logged impressive renewable power growth in 2023, up 21.5% to 1,668 TWh for China and 14.2% to 233 TWh for India year over year.

Coal's share of the power mix was 81.9% in the Asia-Pacific versus 5.0% in Europe and 7.5% in North America. The major coal burners led the charge, with China's coal-fired output rising 6.3% to 5,754 TWh and India's rising 8.6% to 1,471 TWh. The two countries alone accounted for 69% of global coal-fired power production.

The share of nuclear generation remained flat globally at 9% with new builds in China and improved reactor availability in France and Japan offset by closures in Germany.

Grid-scale battery storage capacity increased 121% year over year to 56 GW, of which 27 GW is in China, 16 GW is in North America, and 7 GW is in Europe.

Global CO₂ emissions from energy rose 1.6% to about 35,130 million metric tons in 2023, with emissions in the Asia-Pacific up 4.7% to 18,854 million metric tons.