Global Electricity Review

In 2023, renewables reached a record 30% of global electricity generation, driven by solar and wind. Despite this, global power sector emissions rose by 1% to a record 14,153 million tonnes of CO2, as severe droughts caused a five-year low in hydropower, forcing a reliance on coal in countries like China and India. Solar was the fastest-growing source for the 19th consecutive year, while OECD countries continued to see falling emissions. Ember forecasts that 2023 marked the peak of power sector emissions, with a decline expected in 2024 as clean generation growth is projected to outpace electricity demand.

• Renewables provided 30% of global electricity for the first time in 2023, with solar and wind together reaching a record 13.4% (3,935 TWh) of the global mix.
• Global power sector emissions reached a record high of 14,153 million tonnes of CO2 in 2023, a 1% increase over 2022, primarily because a record fall in hydropower generation was met by an increase in coal.
• Solar energy was the fastest-growing electricity source for the 19th year in a row, adding 307 TWh (+23%) in 2023 and surpassing wind as the largest source of new electricity for the second consecutive year.
• Global electricity demand rose by 2.2% (+627 TWh) to a record 29,471 TWh in 2023, with China's growth (+6.9%) nearly equaling the total global increase.
• Nearly half (45%) of the 2023 electricity demand rise was driven by five technologies: electric vehicles (EVs), heat pumps, electrolysers, air conditioning, and data centres.
• Ember forecasts that 2023 was the peak of power sector emissions, predicting a 2% fall in global fossil generation (-333 TWh) in 2024 as clean generation growth (+1300 TWh) is expected to exceed demand growth (+968 TWh).
• OECD countries' power sector emissions peaked in 2007 and have fallen by 28% since then, with the EU seeing a 19% decrease in emissions in 2023 alone.
• China is the dominant force in the energy transition, accounting for 51% of additional global solar generation and 60% of new global wind generation in 2023.
• The United States' growth in gas generation (+115 TWh) prevented a global fall in gas generation in 2023, offsetting declines in the EU, UK, and Japan.
• Hydropower generation fell to a five-year low of 4,210 TWh in 2023, with 95% of the resulting coal generation rise occurring in China, India, Viet Nam, and Mexico due to severe droughts.

APA

Wiatros-Motyka, M., Fulghum, N., Jones, D., Altieri, K., Black, R., Broadbent, H., Bruce-Lockhart, C., Ewen, M., MacDonald, P., & Rangelova, K. (2024). Global Electricity Review. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/05/Report-Global-Electricity-Review-2024.pdf

Chicago

Wiatros-Motyka, Małgorzata, Nicolas Fulghum, Dave Jones, Katye Altieri, Richard Black, Hannah Broadbent, Chelsea Bruce-Lockhart, et al. Global Electricity Review. Ember, 2024. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/05/Report-Global-Electricity-Review-2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{wiatrosmotyka2024global, author = {Wiatros-Motyka, Małgorzata and Fulghum, Nicolas and Jones, Dave and Altieri, Katye and Black, Richard and Broadbent, Hannah and Bruce-Lockhart, Chelsea and Ewen, Matt and MacDonald, Phil and Rangelova, Kostantsa}, title = {{Global Electricity Review}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2024}, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/05/Report-Global-Electricity-Review-2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }