Wind and solar power provided 12% of global electricity production in 2022, reaching an all-time high, but still dwarfed by coal, which remains the world’s largest source of electricity, according to a report by the think tank on Ember energy. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the phasing out of Moscow’s gas pipelines and the subsequent rise in prices have led governments to rethink their energy policy to push for carbon-free energy.
Combined, “all clean electricity sources (renewable and nuclear, editor’s note) accounted for 39% of world electricity, a new record,” with the remainder covered by fossil fuels (gas, oil, coal), the authors stress. Of the report.
22% of European electricity comes from renewable sources
For its fourth annual “Global Electricity Review,” Ember drew on open data from the power sector in 78 countries representing 93% of global electricity demand. In 2022, wind and solar have done well, reaching “a record 12% of global electricity,” according to this report. It was 5% in 2015. More than 60 countries get more than 10% of their stream now. The European Union leads the dance, with 22% of electricity coming from renewable sources and 24% growth in solar power over the previous year.
This advance made it possible to limit the use of coal, which nevertheless increased by 1.1%, as the demand for electricity continued to grow. “Despite this progress, coal remained the world’s largest source of electricity, producing 36% of global electricity in 2022,” the report says.
2022 could be ‘the last year of fossil fuel growth’
The continued use of gas and coal to meet the demand for electricity has had the corollary of “increasing emissions (of greenhouse gases) to a new record”, of 12,000 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2022 (+1.3 %). The experts of the report consider, however, that the year 2022 could be the year of the “peak of emissions linked to the electricity sector and the last year of growth of fossil energy” in this sector.
By 2023, they anticipate “a small decline in fossil generation (-0.3%), with further declines in subsequent years as wind and solar deployment accelerate.”
Source: BFM TV
