A new report has found for the first time that 30% of the electricity produced worldwide comes from renewable energy sources, primarily solar and wind.
British climate change think tank Ember has released its Global Electrical Review 2024, which analyzes electricity data from 215 countries and examines data from the world's highest carbon emitters.
It found that renewable energy will generate a record 30% of the world's electricity in 2023. According to the analysis, solar power will increase by 23% and wind power by 10% in 2023, while fossil power will increase by only 0.8%.
“The future of renewable energy is here, and solar power in particular is accelerating faster than anyone thought possible,” said Dave Jones, Director of Global Insights at Ember.
This surge in renewable energy has led to a slowdown in carbon emissions. In fact, another report released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in March 2024 found that global energy-related carbon emissions will reach a record level in 2023, but the increase will increase by 2022. It was revealed that it was lower than
Energy-related emissions would have been significantly lower in 2023 if not for the decline in hydropower production due to extreme drought in China, the United States and several other countries, the Ember report said. . This production shortfall was mainly filled by coal, which contributed more than 40% of the world's CO increase.2 Emissions in 2023.
In 2023, solar power will lead the way in electricity generation, surpassing wind power and becoming the largest new source of electricity for the second year in a row. In fact, in 2023, solar power added more than twice as much new electricity as coal. China added as much solar power capacity in his 2023 as the whole world added in his 2022.
The Ember report predicts that fossil electricity generation will decline slightly in 2024, leading to even larger declines in subsequent years. This makes 2023 likely to be the year when power sector emissions peak.
The analysis shows that demand growth in 2024 is expected to be higher than in 2023 (+968 TWh), but that clean power generation growth is projected to be even higher (+1300 TWh), with global fossil Power generation will decrease by 2% (- 333TWh).
“The decline in power sector emissions is now inevitable. 2023 was probably the tipping point, the peak power sector emissions, and a major turning point in energy history. However, the pace of emissions decline is It depends on how quickly the renewable energy revolution continues,” Jones said.
The pace of emissions reductions will depend on how quickly new clean power technologies come into use and reduce fossil fuel production.
At the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) held in Dubai in December 2023, the G7, a group of developed countries consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, decided to limit global temperature rise to 1.5℃. . The UK and US need to phase out coal by 2030 and fully decarbonize electricity by 2035.
In April 2024, G7 energy and climate ministers will meet in Turin and an agreement is being agreed to phase out the use of uncaptured coal-fired power generation “in the early 2030s”.
Also, in April 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new initiative to reduce pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants to “protect public health, advance environmental justice, and combat the climate crisis.” announced that it had finalized a set of rules.
The Ember report urges countries to focus not only on reducing fossil fuel generation, but also on expanding renewable energy generation and preparing the way to a clean, electrified economy.
“An unprecedented opportunity exists for countries that choose to be at the forefront of a clean energy future. Expanding clean electricity will not only help decarbonize the power sector, but will also help the economy as a whole. It also increases the supply needed for electrification, which is a real game-changer for the climate,” Jones concluded.
