In an alarming revelation, a report on global energy has indicated that the worldwide consumption of fossil fuels escalated unprecedentedly last year. For the first time, emissions skyrocketed above 40 gigatonnes of CO2, according to the report published by the Energy Institute. Despite a significant growth in the usage of renewable energy in 2023, an uptick in the use of fossil fuels was observed too, the annual global energy report found.
Juliet Davenport, the head of the Energy Institute, commented that the report exposed yet another year of increased energy demands, including an all-time high consumption of fossil fuels. The use of fossil fuels surged by 1.5% to 505 exajoules.
This revelation poses a significant challenge to climate scientists’ expectations that 2023 would be the year when annual emissions would peak before the global fossil fuel industry starts to decline irreversibly.
The reportelaborated that while emissions from the energy industry may have hit a peak in advanced economies. Developing economies are experiencing a rise in their dependence on coal, gas, and oil. In 2023, fossil fuels accounted for 81.5% of the world’s primary energy, a slight decrease from 82% in the previous year.
Wind and solar power experienced a surge of 13% las year, creating a peak of 4,748 terawatt hours in 2023. However, this wasn’t sufficient to keep pace with the rising global demand for primary energy, which increased by 2% in 2023 to an all-time high of 620 exajoules, consequently leading to a greater use of fossil fuels.
In 2024 the demand for gas remained constant, while the consumption of coal and oil increased by 1.6% and 2%, respectively. For the first time, the global oil demand hit 100 million barrels a day.
Simon Virley, senior lead at KPMG for energy and natural resources in the UK, has observed that despite renewable energy sources hitting an all-time high this year, the percentage of energy derived from fossil fuels has stayed roughly the same, at a little above 80%, for another consecutive year due to rising global energy requirement.
Nick Wayth, the top official at the Energy Institute, opines that the slow pace of energy transition camouflages the varied narratives unfolding across diverse geographical locations. He notes that while the demand for fossil fuels appear to be plateauing in advanced economies, the need for economic development and better living standards in the global south continues to spur the growth of fossil fuels.
The report reveals an 8% surge in fossil fuel usage in India over the previous year, aligning with their overall energy consumption that stands at 89%. The stats indicate that India’s usage of coal surpassed that of Europe and North America combined for the first time.
In Europe, on the other hand, the use of fossil fuels dipped to less than 70% of main energy usage, the lowest level since the advent of the Industrial Revolution. This decrease was stimulated by a diminished demand and an uptick in the adoption of renewable energy. The demand for gas, specifically, has been sliding since Russia fully invaded Ukraine in 2022, culminating in a decline in gas imports into Europe through pipelines. The report indicates that gas usage dropped by 7% in 2023, following a 13% decrease from the year before.