2023 saw a record expansion of renewable energy, and this year the development is expected to continue with investments worth trillions of dollars in green energy. Still, it is fossil energy that covers the majority of the world's increasing energy consumption, and CO2 emissions from energy production reached a record high last year.
This is clear in the International Energy Agency's new overview of the global energy situation, World Energy Outlook, which is published every year. The report points out a fundamental challenge with the transition.
Although the development and expansion of renewable energy has picked up speed, energy consumption is currently increasing more than green energy can replace fossil energy production such as coal power plants.
An illustrative example can be seen in China, where the roll-out of solar cells and wind turbines is booming, at the same time as the country is still building several new coal-fired power plants. Total global energy demand increased by two percent in 2023.
Two-thirds of it was covered by fossil energy sources, leading to the record for emissions of CO2 from energy production.
Expected peak for greenhouse gas emissions in 2030
However, it will probably not continue like this. The International Energy Agency expects that the world's emissions of greenhouse gases will peak before 2030. The need for energy from coal, gas and oil will decrease.
Because even if the expansion of renewable energy does not currently match energy demand, the two curves will meet in the coming years.
This is partly due to an accelerating expansion of solar and wind energy, at the same time as energy efficiency is improved, so that the need for new energy decreases.
/ritzau/
