Major Countries and Regions

In 2023, the world's top six electricity sector emitters—China, the US, India, the EU, Russia, and Japan—accounted for approximately 72% of global emissions from this sector. China remains the largest emitter, though it leads the world in wind and solar growth. The US and EU have seen long-term emissions declines driven by the replacement of coal with gas and renewables. India's emissions continue to rise as demand growth outpaces clean energy additions. Russia's electricity mix remains largely unchanged over two decades, while Japan is seeing a recovery in nuclear generation and a significant increase in solar share, despite very low wind deployment.

• China was the world's largest power sector emitter in 2023, producing 5,491 million tonnes of CO2 (MtCO2). While it added more than half of the world's new wind and solar generation in 2023, its power sector emissions still rose by 5.9% (+307 MtCO2) due to high demand growth and a 5.9% increase in coal generation.
• The United States recorded a 5.1% drop in power sector emissions in 2023, primarily due to a 19% steep fall in coal generation and a decrease in overall power demand. However, US gas growth (+115 TWh) was so significant that it prevented a global fall in gas generation for the year.
• India is the third-largest power sector emitter globally, with emissions rising by 7.2% (+94 MtCO2) in 2023. Despite solar generation being 17 times higher in 2023 than in 2015, coal generation increased by 7.3% (+100 TWh) to meet rapidly growing electricity demand.
• The European Union saw its largest absolute reduction in power sector emissions since 2000 in 2023, with a 19% decrease. Wind power became the EU's second-largest electricity source at 17.5%, overtaking gas for the first time.
• Russia's power sector emissions increased by 2% in 2023, marking the third consecutive year of growth. Its electricity mix has remained nearly unchanged over the last two decades, with wind and solar remaining marginal at just 0.5% of the mix.
• Japan's power sector emissions fell by 7.3% in 2023, the largest percentage reduction in the past decade. This was driven by a 1.9% decrease in power demand and a 50% increase in nuclear generation as reactors restarted under the 'Green Transformation' (GX) policy.

APA

Ember (2024). Major Countries and Regions. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/major-countries-and-regions/

Chicago

Ember. Major Countries and Regions. 2024. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/major-countries-and-regions/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Major Countries and Regions |date=8 May 2024 |url=https://ember-energy.org/chapter/major-countries-and-regions/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2024major, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Major Countries and Regions}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2024}, month = may, url = {https://ember-energy.org/chapter/major-countries-and-regions/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }