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This report provides a detailed analysis of the power sectors of the world's seven largest electricity markets in 2025: China, the United States, the European Union, India, Russia, Japan, and Brazil. These regions collectively represent 72% of global electricity demand. The document examines trends in generation mix, demand growth, carbon intensity, and emissions, highlighting a global shift toward wind and solar, though the pace and drivers vary significantly by region.

The report 'Global Electricity Mid-Year Insights 2025' by Ember analyzes global electricity generation from January to June 2025. It finds that solar and wind growth exceeded global demand growth, leading to renewables overtaking coal's share in the global electricity mix for the first time on record and causing power sector CO2 emissions to plateau.

This report analyzes Thailand's draft revised power development plan (RPDP), which targets a 51% renewable energy share by 2037 to support economic growth in sectors like data centers and EVs. While the plan increases renewable capacity and phases out some fossil fuels, the report warns that continued reliance on imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) exposes the Thai economy to price volatility and geopolitical risks.

This report by Ember identifies Drax power station as the largest single source of carbon dioxide in the UK, noting that its emissions increased by 16% in 2024. The document analyzes the rankings of the UK's largest emitters, the impact of the 2024 coal power phase-out, and the role of public subsidies in sustaining biomass generation.

This report by Ember provides a 2024 analysis of the world's seven largest electricity consumers, who collectively account for 72% of global demand. It details the transition progress of China, the US, the EU, India, Russia, Japan, and Brazil, highlighting trends in clean energy adoption, coal decline, and carbon intensity.

The UK officially entered a coal-free power era on 1 October 2024 following the closure of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power plant. This milestone concludes a rapid decline in coal use since 2012, during which power sector emissions fell by 74% and renewable energy generation expanded significantly.

This briefing by Ember reports that in April 2024, fossil fuels generated less than a quarter of the European Union's electricity for the first time, reaching a record low of 23%. This decline was driven by record wind and solar output and a recovery in hydropower, leading to a 22% year-on-year drop in power sector emissions for that month.

In 2023, the world's top six electricity emitters showed diverging trends: China, India, and Russia saw emissions increases driven by demand and coal reliance, while the US, EU, and Japan recorded declines. China led global renewable growth but remains the largest emitter. The EU achieved its largest absolute emissions reduction since 2000, and the US continued its long-term decline in coal. However, most of these regions still need to accelerate clean energy deployment to align with IEA Net Zero targets.

In 2023, the share of renewables in the global electricity mix exceeded 30% for the first time, driven by record growth in wind and solar. However, a record fall in hydropower generation and rising electricity demand led to a marginal increase in fossil fuel generation, resulting in global power sector emissions reaching a new record high of 14,153 million tonnes of CO2.

The report 'The Big Picture' by Ember analyzes the global electricity transition in 2024, arguing that 2023 likely marked the peak of fossil fuel generation and power sector emissions. It highlights the dominant role of solar energy, the emerging drivers of electricity demand such as data centers and electrification, and provides case studies on the rapid transition strategies of China, Brazil, and the Netherlands.

This report by Ember analyzes global power sector emissions and electricity generation for the first half of 2023, noting that emissions plateaued due to a historic decline in hydropower output that offset gains from wind and solar growth.

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.

An analysis of 2022 EU Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS) data reveals that the ten largest emitters are all coal power plants, with a high concentration of emissions in Germany and Poland. While long-term trends show a decline in coal power emissions, 2022 saw a 6% increase compared to 2021 due to the energy crisis, nuclear outages, and droughts.

This report by Ember analyses 2022 emissions data from the EU’s Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS), focusing on the power sector. It identifies a small number of coal power plants and utilities that dominate emissions in Europe, noting a temporary 3% increase in power sector emissions in 2022 driven by the energy crisis, despite a long-term downward trend in coal use.

The report 'Weathering the winter' by Ember analyzes the EU power system's performance from October 2022 to March 2023. It finds that a combination of record renewable generation and significant reductions in electricity demand prevented a predicted return to coal and gas, resulting in the lowest winter power sector emissions on record.

This report by Ember provides a detailed analysis of global electricity generation, demand, and emissions for 2022, evaluating progress toward net-zero targets. It highlights a record growth in wind and solar power, offset by a continued reliance on fossil fuels and a historic decline in nuclear generation. The report notes that while emissions intensity is at its lowest level, absolute power sector emissions reached an all-time high in 2022.

A review of Indonesia's energy transition policy focusing on the challenges of meeting Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) targets amidst a legacy of coal-fired power expansion and state utility debt.

This report by Ember analyzes global electricity data from 75 countries to assess the energy transition in the first half of 2022 (H1-2022). It finds that renewable energy growth fully met the increase in global electricity demand during this period, preventing a rise in fossil fuel generation and associated CO2 emissions.

An analysis by Ember reveals that the first German national auction to accelerate the hard coal phase-out awarded €317 million in compensation to 11 plants, many of which were already economically unviable. The report argues that the German government is using public funds to close plants that would likely shut down due to market forces, while potentially accelerating the closure of newer, more efficient units over older ones.

The 2020 Global Electricity Review by Ember analyzes global electricity generation changes in 2019, highlighting a record 3% fall in global coal-fired generation and a corresponding 2% drop in power sector CO2 emissions. While the EU and US saw significant coal collapses, China's coal generation rose, making it responsible for over half of global coal generation for the first time. Wind and solar generation grew by 15%, though the report notes that this growth rate is slowing and may be insufficient to meet Paris Agreement goals without concerted global effort.