Electricity from clean sources reaches 30% of the global total

Billions of people use different types of energy every day and 2023 was a record year for renewable energy sources – those that don’t emit planet-warming pollutants like carbon dioxide and methane – according to a report published Wednesday by Ember, a London-based think tank.

For the first time, 30% of electricity produced worldwide came from clean energy sources, as the number of solar and wind farms continued to grow rapidly.

Of the types of clean energy generated last year, hydroelectric plants produced the most. It’s the same as most years. However, droughts in India, China, North America and Mexico have caused hydropower to hit its lowest level in the last five years. Research shows Climate change is making droughts develop faster and more severe.

People used more electricity than ever last year, about 2% more, an increase almost equal to what Canada uses in a year. Part of this new demand was to heat pumpswhich are an efficient way to heat and cool buildings, and to Electric vehicles. It was also used for electrolyzers, special machines used to obtain hydrogen out of the water to obtain energy. These are all technologies that provide solutions to climate change.

Another increase in demand has been for electricity to power new data centers and for air conditioning as places around the world become hotter.

Solar energy accounted for the majority of new clean energy last year. More than twice as much solar energy was added to coal energy. It was the 19th consecutive year that solar energy was the fastest growing source of electricity generation. A surge in solar installations occurred towards the end of the year and the report predicts that 2024 will see an even bigger jump.

China added more renewable energy than any other country last year – 51% of new solar energy and 60% of new wind energy globally. China, the European Union, the United States and Brazil together represented 81% of new solar generation in 2023.

However, China was also responsible for 55% of the world’s coal production and 60% of China’s electricity production came from coal. O International Energy Agency says coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel.

Scientists say emissions from burning fuels like coal must drastically decrease to protect Earth’s climate, but there has been an increase in electricity produced from burning fossil fuels. China, India, Vietnam and Mexico accounted for almost all of the increase.

The report states that some countries burned coal to compensate for the loss of hydroelectric power they suffered when drought caused their reservoirs to dry up. This is an example of a vicious cycle – when climate change leads to the use of more substances that cause climate change.

Despite all the growth in clean energy, fossil fuels still accounted for the majority of global electricity generated last year, causing a 1% increase in global emissions from the energy sector. Scientists say that even if we reduced all greenhouse gas emissions today, the planet would continue to warm for years due to the amount of pollutants already added to the atmosphere.

Analysts expect the world to use even more electricity in 2024. But renewable energy generation is predicted to grow even faster. This could mean a 2% drop (333 terawatt hours) in energy generated from fossil fuels.

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