According to a report, despite the growing demand for electricity, humans may be about to reduce their use of fossil fuels.
According to recent statistics, the share of renewable energy in the global electricity mix exceeded 30% for the first time last year, owing to a sharp increase in wind and solar power.
Global fossil fuel generation may be about to decline, according to a report on the global power system, even as the demand for electricity as a whole keeps rising.
According to the report by the climate thinktank Ember, clean electricity has already contributed to a nearly two-thirds slowdown in the growth of fossil fuels over the last ten years. According to the study, the share of renewable energy in the world’s electricity increased from 19% in 2000 to over 30% last year.
According to Dave Jones, director of global insights at Ember, “the future of renewables has arrived.” “In particular, solar is accelerating faster than anyone could have predicted.”
According to Ember, solar power contributed more than twice as much new electricity generation as coal in 2023, making it the primary driver of electricity growth.
For the second year in a row, it surpassed wind power to become the largest source of new electricity, making it the fastest-growing electricity source for the 19th year in a row.
The first thorough analysis of global electricity data includes historical data for 215 countries in addition to 80 countries that account for 92% of the world’s electricity consumption.
According to Ember, a 2% drop in the world’s fossil fuel generation in the upcoming year is anticipated to be driven by the rise in clean electricity.
According to Jones, “the decline in power sector emissions is now inevitable.” Peak emissions in the power sector in 2023 probably marked a significant turning point in the history of energy. But how quickly the renewables revolution spreads will determine how quickly emissions decline.
Fossil fuels continue to be incredibly important to the global energy system for heating, heavy industry, and transportation fuels, even though their use in the world’s electrical system may be starting to decline.
According to a different study conducted by the Energy Institute last year, 82% of the primary energy produced worldwide comes from fossil fuels like coal, gas, and oil.
Under an agreement made at the UN’s Cop28 climate change conference in December, world leaders aim to increase renewables to 60% of global electricity by 2030.
This would almost halve power sector emissions by requiring countries to triple their current renewable electricity capacity within the next six years.
