Global Trends Trends in global electricity

In 2021, wind and solar generated over 10% of global electricity for the first time, but record-high electricity demand led to a record rise in coal power and the largest absolute increase in power sector CO2 emissions ever recorded.

• Wind and solar power reached a milestone in 2021, generating 10.3% of global electricity, an increase from 9.3% in 2020 and more than double the 4.6% share held in 2015.
• Fifty countries had more than 10% of their electricity from wind and solar in 2021, including all five of the world's largest economies: the United States, China, Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
• Viet Nam experienced exceptional solar growth in 2021, increasing generation by 337% (+17 TWh) and becoming the world's 10th largest solar generator, which allowed it to be the only Asian country to exceed its demand rise with new wind and solar.
• Global electricity demand grew by 5.4% in 2021, an absolute increase of 1,414 TWh, the fastest growth since 2010.
• Coal power generation set a new global record in 2021, rising 9.0% to 10,042 TWh (36.5% of global electricity), as clean energy deployment failed to keep pace with demand growth.
• China and India both set new coal power records in 2021; China's coal generation rose by 466 TWh (9.5%) and India's rose by 125 TWh (11%).
• Power sector CO2 emissions rose by 7% (778 million tonnes) in 2021, the largest absolute rise ever, bringing total emissions to a new record of over 12 billion tonnes.
• Growth in other clean electricity sources stalled in 2021, with hydro falling 2% and nuclear increasing 4%.

APA

Ember (2022). Global Trends Trends in global electricity. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/global-trends-ger2022/

Chicago

Ember. Global Trends Trends in global electricity. 2022. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/global-trends-ger2022/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Global Trends Trends in global electricity |date=30 March 2022 |url=https://ember-energy.org/chapter/global-trends-ger2022/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2022global, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Global Trends Trends in global electricity}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2022}, month = mar, url = {https://ember-energy.org/chapter/global-trends-ger2022/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }