{"id":11142,"date":"2025-04-11T16:11:14","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T16:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/11142\/"},"modified":"2025-04-11T16:11:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T16:11:14","slug":"power-sector-co2-hits-all-time-high-in-2024-despite-record-growth-for-clean-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/11142\/","title":{"rendered":"Power-sector CO2 hits \u2018all-time high\u2019 in 2024 despite record growth for clean energy\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Global power-sector emissions hit an \u201call-time high\u201d in 2024, despite solar and wind power continuing to grow at record speed, according to analysis<\/a> from thinktank Ember.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Emissions from the sector increased by 1.6% year-on-year, to reach a record high of 14.6bn tonnes of carbon dioxide (tCO2).\u00a0<\/p>\n

This increase was predominantly due to a 4% growth in electricity demand worldwide, leading coal generation to increase by 1.4% and gas by 1.6%.<\/p>\n

Embers\u2019 analysis finds that the increase in fossil-fuel generation was, in particular, due to hotter temperatures in 2024, which drove up electricity demand in key regions such as India.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Clean electricity generation grew by a record 927 terawatt hour (TWh), which would have been sufficient to cover 96% of electricity demand growth not caused by higher temperatures.<\/p>\n

Despite the increase in emissions in the short-term, this \u201cshould not be mistaken for failure of the energy transition\u201d, notes Ember, but a sign the world is nearing a \u201ctipping point\u201d wherein changes in weather and demand hold a particularly strong sway.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Clean-power growth\u00a0<\/p>\n

Low-carbon energy sources \u2013 renewables and nuclear \u2013 provided 40.9% of the world\u2019s electricity in 2024, according to Ember.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is the first time they have passed the 40% mark since the 1940s, when hydropower<\/a> contributed around that percentage and coal made up 55%.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Renewable power sources collectively added a record 858TWh of generation last year \u2013 a 49% increase on the previous record set in 2022 of 577TWh.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Solar dominated electricity generation growth for the third year in a row in 2024, adding 474TWh of generation, as shown on the chart below. This was up 29% on 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"SolarGeneration change in TWh between 2023 and 2024. Credit: Ember.<\/p>\n

This allowed solar, which hit a total global generation of 2,131TWh, to meet 40% of global electricity demand growth in 2024 alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Solar generation \u201cavoided\u201d an estimated 1,658MtCO2 in 2024 \u2013 equivalent to the power-sector emissions of the US, according to Ember.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The technology\u2019s significant growth in 2024 \u2013 with more solar capacity installed last year than annual capacity installations of all fuels combined in any year before 2023 \u2013 continues a trend seen over recent years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Across 99 countries, the electricity they produce from solar power has doubled in the past five years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2024, non-OECD<\/a> economies accounted for 58% of global solar generation, with China accounting for 39% alone. A decade ago the 38 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries \u2013 a group founded in 1961 to stimulate economic growth and global trade \u2013 made up 81% of global solar generation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This shift follows the cost of solar falling more than 90% between 2010 and 2023, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency<\/a> (IRENA). The low cost of the technology has been a key factor in deployment rising sharply worldwide.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It has also enabled new markets to emerge, with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan among the top importers of Chinese solar panels in 2024, according to a recent guest post on Carbon Brief<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a statement, Phil MacDonald<\/a>, Ember\u2019s managing director said:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cSolar power has become the engine of the global energy transition. Paired with battery storage, solar is set to be an unstoppable force. As the fastest-growing and largest source of new electricity, it is critical in meeting the world\u2019s ever-increasing demand for electricity.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Wind generation also grew in 2024, although at a more moderate pace than solar power. Globally, there was an additional 182TWh of wind generation last year, or an increase of 7.9%.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite continued capacity additions, some geographies saw their lowest increase in wind generation in four years due to reduced wind speeds, notes Ember.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hydro generation rebounded as drought conditions eased in 2023. This was particularly true in China, where generation increased 130TWh, it adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Coal generation grew to 10,602TWh and gas generation to 6,788TWh, an increase of 149TWh and 104TWh, respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, due to the increases in renewable generation \u2013 despite coal and gas generation increasing in absolute terms \u2013 their share of generation has fallen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Coal generation has dropped from 40.8% in 2007 to 34.4% in 2024, according to Ember. The share of gas generation has fallen for four consecutive years now since its peak in 2020 at 23.9%, with 22% of the world\u2019s electricity generation from gas in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The increase in fossil-fuel generation was virtually identical in 2024 as it was in 2023, despite electricity demand growing (245TWh vs 246TWh, respectively).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Increased demand in short-term\u00a0<\/p>\n

Emissions in the power sector grew by 223MtCO2, despite the increase in renewables due to fossil fuels being relied on to meet increased demand, according to Ember.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Electricity demand increased by 4% over 2024 to meet 30,856TWh globally \u2013 crossing the 30,000TWh point for the first time ever. This is up from a 2.6% increase seen in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fossil-fuel generation rose to meet the additional demand increase of 208TWh that was specifically driven by higher temperatures, according to Ember.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This dynamic was particularly pronounced in countries that experienced strong heatwaves.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For example, heatwaves in India led to the country experiencing its hottest day on record, with the western Rajasthan state\u2019s Churu city hitting 50.5C<\/a> on 28 May.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Coal-generation growth met 64% of India\u2019s electricity demand growth in 2024, according to Ember, including that created by air conditioning.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, this is still less than 91% of electricity demand growth in 2023, highlighting India\u2019s continued transition away from coal, despite short-term trends.<\/p>\n

On a global basis, if 2024 had the same temperatures as 2023, fossil generation would have increased by just 0.2%, Ember notes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As it was, renewables met three-quarters of demand increases, with coal and gas meeting the majority of the rest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alongside heatwaves, emerging sectors such as data centres and electric vehicles (EVs), had a modest impact on increased electricity demand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Demand from data centres and cryptocurrency mining increased by 20% in 2024, adding 0.4% to global electricity demand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

EV electricity demand increased by 38% in 2024, adding 0.2% to global electricity demand.<\/p>\n

Despite increasing electricity demand, the growth of fossil fuels is still expected to be nearing the end.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to Ember, assuming typical capacity factors, solar generation is expected to grow at an average rate of 21% per year between 2024 and 2030. Similarly, wind is expected to grow 13% per year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Together with modest hydro and nuclear power growth, clean generation is expected to increase by an average of 9% per year to the end of the decade, adding 8,399TWh of annual generation by 2030.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This increase would be sufficient to keep pace with an increase in demand of 4.1% per year to 2030, exceeding the International Energy Agency<\/a>\u2019s (IEA) \u201cstated policies scenario<\/a>\u201d\u00a0 scenario forecast of 3.3%, as shown in the chart below.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"CleanForecast annual electricity generation from clean technologies, and annual demand growth from 2024 to 2030. Credit: Ember using data from IEA, BNEF and GWEC. <\/p>\n

As such, over the next few years, while \u201cchanges in fossil generation in the short-term may be noisy, the direction and ultimate destination are unmistakable\u201d, notes the Ember report, adding: \u201cThe global energy transition is no longer a question of if, but how fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of the changes are expected to be partially determined by weather condition fluctuations from year to year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Temperature effects impacted generation as well as demand. For example, if global weather conditions in 2024 had been in line with the five-year average, wind generation would have been 2TWh higher and hydro would have been 86TWh higher.\u00a0<\/p>\n

China and India\u00a0<\/p>\n

The world\u2019s largest emerging economies are \u201con a path of clean electricity expansion that is set to reverse their power-sector fossil growth trends, tipping the global balance on fossil generation\u201d, according to Ember.\u00a0<\/p>\n

China\u2019s clean electricity additions met 81% of demand growth in 2024, due to record wind and solar capacity installations. This is the highest share since 2015 when the country saw its demand fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Its 623TWh increase in electricity demand was largely met by wind and solar, which collectively added 356TWh and a rebound in hydro generation which added 130TWh.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fossil-fuel generation increased by 116TWh in 2024, a third of that seen in 2023, as shown in the chart below.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"CleanThe annual change in electricity generation in TWh from clean and fossil growth, alongside demand. Credit: Ember. <\/p>\n

According to Ember, without the impact of hotter weather, clean generation would have met 97% of China\u2019s rise in electricity demand in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The country\u2019s renewables surge kept CO2 emissions below those for 2023 over the last 10 months of 2024, according to analysis<\/a> for Carbon Brief.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ember\u2019s report suggests that India is likely to surpass China to become the country with the largest fossil-fuel generation growth in the coming years. Its fossil-fuel generation increase was the second-largest of any country in 2024 at 67TWh.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, the cost of solar has fallen by 90% globally between 2010 and 2023. This has led to capacity increasing by 24 gigawatts of alternating current (GWac) in 2024 in India.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Currently, there are 143 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar capacity under construction in the country, made up of 82GW of solar, 25GW of wind and 36GW of hybrid capacity.<\/p>\n

Utility-scale projects already under construction as of January 2025 will nearly double India\u2019s wind and solar capacity, notes Ember.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, wind and solar together generated 17% of the US\u2019s electricity in 2024. The share of coal in the electricity mix fell below 15% \u2013 an all-time low \u2013 but gas generation rose, with the US accounting for more than half of the global gas generation increase in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Solar overtook coal generation in the EU for the first time in 2024 with the block seeing the largest fall in coal generation globally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Global power-sector emissions hit an \u201call-time high\u201d in 2024, despite solar and wind power continuing to grow at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11143,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3843],"tags":[5356,3854,1312,7630,5398,35,728,7159,5435,5442,1242,70,5374,16,15,7631],"class_list":{"0":"post-11142","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-clean-energy","9":"tag-coal","10":"tag-electricity","11":"tag-ember","12":"tag-emissions","13":"tag-energy","14":"tag-environment","15":"tag-fossil-fuels","16":"tag-gas","17":"tag-renewable-energy","18":"tag-renewables","19":"tag-science","20":"tag-solar-energy","21":"tag-uk","22":"tag-united-kingdom","23":"tag-wind-energy"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114320210890313783","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11142\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}