Summary
The Ember 2022 Global Electricity Review analyzes global power trends for 2021, highlighting a record-breaking year where wind and solar power reached a historic share of global electricity, yet were offset by record-high coal generation and carbon emissions driven by a surge in global electricity demand.
Key insights
- Wind and solar power reached a record share of global electricity in 2021, accounting for 10.3% of the total, up from 9.3% in 2020 and 4.6% in 2015. Solar generation grew by 23% and wind by 14%. Fifty countries now derive more than 10% of their electricity from these two sources, with Denmark, Luxembourg, and Uruguay exceeding 40%.
- Global electricity demand experienced its largest absolute increase in 2021, growing by 1,414 TWh (a 5.4% increase), the fastest growth rate since 2010. This growth was primarily driven by economic expansion in Asia, with China's demand in 2021 being 13% to 14% higher than in 2019.
- Coal generation hit a new historical high in 2021, increasing by 9.0% to 10,042 TWh, which is 2% higher than the previous record set in 2018. Coal's share of global electricity rose to 36% (or 36.5%). China's share of global coal power increased from 50% in 2019 to 54% in 2021.
- Carbon emissions from the power sector reached a record high in 2021, increasing by 7% (approximately 778 million tonnes) to exceed 12 billion tonnes, which is 3% higher than the 2018 record. This represents the largest absolute annual increase on record. Global power carbon intensity rose from 437 gCO2/kWh in 2020 to 442 gCO2/kWh in 2021.
- Other clean energy sources showed stagnation in 2021. Hydropower decreased by 2% due to dry weather, particularly in China. Nuclear power grew by 4% and bioenergy by 6%. Emerging technologies such as hydrogen-based fuels and carbon capture did not provide meaningful generation levels.
Cite the original document
- APA
- Ember (2022). 2022 年 全球电力评论. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2022/03/CN_Report-GER22-PDF-11-MB.pdf
- Chicago
- Ember. 2022 年 全球电力评论. 2022. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2022/03/CN_Report-GER22-PDF-11-MB.pdf.
- Wikipedia
- {{cite report |author=Ember |title=2022 年 全球电力评论 |date=30 March 2022 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2022/03/CN_Report-GER22-PDF-11-MB.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}
- BibTeX
- @techreport{ember20222022, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{2022 年 全球电力评论}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2022}, month = mar, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2022/03/CN_Report-GER22-PDF-11-MB.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }
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