The consumption of climate-damaging fossil fuels has reached a new high worldwide. As a result, greenhouse gas emissions have continued to rise for the time being, says a recent report by the think tank Energy InstituteAccording to the report, energy-related emissions grew by two percent in 2023 compared to the previous year.
For the first time, the combustion of oil, coal and natural gas caused emissions of more than 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂), and the gas is responsible for the majority of global warming. More new wind and solar capacity has been created worldwide than ever before. However, the growth of renewables is not yet enough to satisfy the world’s ever-growing hunger for energy – let alone to significantly reduce fossil fuels and thus slow down climate change.
The authors of the Statistical Review of World Energy paint a mixed picture. “In advanced economies, there are signs that demand for fossil fuels has peaked,” Energy Institute Executive Director Nick Wayth is quoted as saying in a statement. Oil consumption in Europe fell by around one percent. European countries also needed around seven percent less natural gas and 16 percent less coal than in the previous year.
Climate-damaging fuels still cover four fifths of global energy needs
But these declines “stand in contrast to the economies in the global south,” says Wayth. There, economic development continues to drive the growth of fossil fuels. The production and consumption of coal, a particularly climate-damaging energy source, have reached new records. Chinese power plants alone now burn 56 percent of the coal needed worldwide. And for the first time, India is burning as much coal as North America and Europe combined. In Asia, demand for oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) is also growing rapidly.
From a climate protection perspective, however, it is encouraging that renewable energies are growing strongly practically everywhere. In total, 462 gigawatts of wind and solar power plants were added in 2023 – surpassing the record set in 2022 by 67 percent. In Europe, 56 gigawatts of photovoltaic plants were added, and South America and the Arab world are also increasingly relying on solar power. In addition, more wind turbines have been connected to the grid worldwide than ever before. In China, more wind power is now generated than in Europe and the USA combined.
But the decisive figure is probably a different one: It is currently 81.5. This is the percentage of fossil fuels in the global demand for electricity and heat. In order to stop climate change, fossil fuels would have to fall to practically zero in order to achieve climate neutrality. At the moment, however, the share of fossil fuels is only shrinking by 0.4 percent per year. If it continues at this rate, it would take more than 200 years for the world to be climate neutral.