Growth in global energy demand surged in 2024 to almost twice its recent average
"The [#IEA] report finds that global #EnergyDemand rose by 2.2% last year – lower than GDP growth of 3.2% but considerably faster than the average annual demand increase of 1.3% between 2013 and 2023. Emerging and developing economies accounted for over 80% of the increase in global #energy demand in 2024."
"Decoupling" is here, at least in rich countries:
"CO2 emissions in advanced economies fell by 1.1% to 10.9 billion tonnes in 2024 – a level last seen 50 years ago, even though the cumulative GDP of these countries is now three times as large. "
HALF of the increase in emissions last year was from people turning on their air conditioners in heatwaves.
Electricity use also rose because of EVs and energy-hungry data centers.
https://www.ft.com/content/4d4f2770-3c95-4390-b4fc-896c92505672
Gasoline use is down. Oil companies are looking to plastics to bail them out.
"Oil demand increased at a much slower pace than in previous years, falling below 30% of global energy consumption for the first time as more EVs hit the roads. Instead, the bulk of oil demand growth came from petrochemical feedstocks—the raw materials used to produce #plastics and some chemicals—which increased more than 12% over five years."
https://www.theenergymix.com/climate-change-contributes-to-surge-in-global-energy-demand-iea/
#IEA
Global energy demand surged in 2024, driven in part by extreme heat that pushed electricity use to new heights. And while clean energy sources made record gains, they weren’t enough to offset rising fossil fuel consumption, finds a new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Global energy demand surged in 2024, driven in part by extreme heat that pushed electricity use to new heights. And while clean energy sources made record gains, they weren’t enough to offset rising fossil fuel consumption, finds a new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
"Nearly 64% of the new renewable electricity capacity in 2024 was in China, according to Wednesday’s report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Overall, the world added 585 billion watts of new renewable electrical energy, a 15.1% jump from 2023, with 46% of the world’s electricity coming from solar, wind and other green non-nuclear energy sources."
https://apnews.com/article/climate-change-renewable-energy-solar-wind-electricity-6d570ec401b6762453ec3af0ce973694
#RenewableEnergy
An international agency reports that the installation of renewable energy worldwide hit a record high last year, with 92.5% of all new electricity brought online coming from the sun, wind or other clean sources. Wednesday’s report from the International Renewable Energy Agency says nearly two-thirds of the new renewable electricity generated in 2024 was in China. Overall, the world has added 585 billion watts of new renewable electrical energy. That's a 15.1% jump from 2023. But the report says the world still is not on track to reach its goal of tripling renewable energy by 2030.
92.5% of New Power Capacity Added Worldwide in 2024 Was from Renewables
Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News! How much is renewable energy dominating new power capacity worldwide? That’s how much! 92.5% of new power capacity added to the grid in 2024 came from renewable energy sources. This is not even a ... [continued]
" In 2024, 46.9% of the electricity generated in the EU came from renewables and 22.% of it came from solar energy (Eurostat, March 2025)."
https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/renewable-energy/solar-energy_en
"China’s cumulative solar capacity has surpassed one terawatt (1TW), after the addition of a 198 gigawatts (GW) of new PV capacity so far this year, including a “staggering” 93 GW in May alone.
The solar capacity installed in May worked out to around 230 million solar panels – “almost 100 solar panels every second.” "
The solar revolution belongs to China.
"China continues huge investments in wind and solar power, reportedly accounting for 74 percent of all projects now under construction worldwide."
This photo essay shows the scale of the solar farms:
https://www.theatlantic.com/photography/archive/2025/07/photos-china-solar-power-energy/683488/
As the Trump administration’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” eliminates many clean-energy incentives in the U.S., China continues huge investments in wind and solar power, reportedly accounting for 74 percent of all projects now under construction worldwide.
CelloMom On Cars
