Global Electricity Mid-Year Insights 2023

The Global Electricity Mid-Year Insights 2023 report by Ember analyses global electricity generation from January to June 2023. It finds that global power sector emissions plateaued, increasing by only 0.2%, as significant growth in wind and solar was offset by a historic decline in hydropower generation caused by droughts.

• Global power sector emissions remained nearly flat in the first half of 2023, with a slight increase of 0.2% (12 million tonnes of CO2) compared to the same period in 2022. This plateau is historically significant as power sector emissions typically rise structurally, falling only during major economic shocks.
• Hydropower generation experienced a historic decline of 8.5% (-177 TWh) in the first half of 2023 due to droughts, with China accounting for approximately three-quarters of this global fall. This deficit forced an increase in fossil fuel generation; without this hydro decline, global power sector emissions would have fallen by 2.9% (-119 million tonnes of CO2).
• Wind and solar were the only electricity sources to significantly increase both their generation and their share of the global power mix, reaching 14.3% in H1-2023 compared to 12.8% in H1-2022. However, their growth rates slowed: wind grew by 10% (down from 16% in H1-2022) and solar grew by 16% (down from 26% in H1-2022).
• China continues to dominate the clean energy transition, accounting for 91% of global wind power growth and 43% of global solar generation growth in the first half of 2023. In China, wind and solar generation doubled in three years, increasing from 369 TWh in H1-2020 to 738 TWh in H1-2023.
• Global electricity demand grew by only 0.4% in the first half of 2023, significantly lower than the 2012-2022 annual average of 2.6%. This was driven by demand falls in high-income economies: Japan (-5.6%), the EU (-4.6%), the US (-3.4%), and South Korea (-1.4%).
• The European Union saw a dramatic 17% fall in power sector emissions (-59 million tonnes of CO2) in H1-2023. This was driven by a 4.6% fall in electricity demand and a significant reduction in fossil fuel generation, with coal generation falling by 23% (-49 TWh).
• In the United States, power sector emissions fell by 8.6% (-64 million tonnes of CO2) in H1-2023. This decline was primarily attributed to a 27% fall in coal generation (-112 TWh) resulting from a switch to gas and a 3.4% decrease in electricity demand.
• India's power sector emissions growth slowed to 3.7% (+19 million tonnes of CO2) in H1-2023, compared to 9.7% in H1-2022. While solar generation grew by 26%, fossil generation still rose by 3.7% (+23 TWh) to compensate for low hydro output and other factors.

APA

Wiatros-Motyka, M., Fulghum, N., Broadbent, H., Jones, D., Bruce-Lockhart, C., MacDonald, P., & Ewen, M. (2023). Global Electricity Mid-Year Insights 2023. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2023/10/EN_Global-Electricity-Mid-Year-Insights-2023_02102023.pdf

Chicago

Wiatros-Motyka, Małgorzata, Nicolas Fulghum, Hannah Broadbent, Dave Jones, Chelsea Bruce-Lockhart, Phil MacDonald, and Matt Ewen. Global Electricity Mid-Year Insights 2023. Ember, 2023. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2023/10/EN_Global-Electricity-Mid-Year-Insights-2023_02102023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Wiatros-Motyka |first1=Małgorzata |last2=Fulghum |first2=Nicolas |last3=Broadbent |first3=Hannah |last4=Jones |first4=Dave |last5=Bruce-Lockhart |first5=Chelsea |last6=MacDonald |first6=Phil |last7=Ewen |first7=Matt |title=Global Electricity Mid-Year Insights 2023 |publisher=Ember |date=September 2023 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2023/10/EN_Global-Electricity-Mid-Year-Insights-2023_02102023.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wiatrosmotyka2023global, author = {Wiatros-Motyka, Małgorzata and Fulghum, Nicolas and Broadbent, Hannah and Jones, Dave and Bruce-Lockhart, Chelsea and MacDonald, Phil and Ewen, Matt}, title = {{Global Electricity Mid-Year Insights 2023}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2023}, month = sep, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2023/10/EN_Global-Electricity-Mid-Year-Insights-2023_02102023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }