The number is record. In 2023, for the first time, 30% of the world’s electricity will be produced from renewable sources, thanks to the expansion of wind and solar energy. The milestone is even more significant in the European Union, where 44% of electricity was generated from renewable sources.
This is the conclusion of the fifth edition of the Global Electricity Review report, prepared by Ember and published today, Wednesday, May 8. Although the most striking thing about the study is the researchers’ forecast, who trust that a “new era” of decrease in fossil energy generation is about to begin.
In the last two decades, renewable energies have gone from representing 19% of global electricity production (2000) to the current figure of 30% and, as the report concludes, has been the growth of wind and solar energy those that have driven the record.
“The future of renewable energy has arrived,” said Dave Jones, director of Ember’s Global Insights program, in a statement, adding: “And solar energy, in particular, is accelerating faster than anyone thought possible. “.
Also in the last two decades, solar and wind energy have grown significantly, going from 0.2% in 2000 to 12.4% last year. This expansion has been even faster in the European Union, which accounted for 17% of global growth in solar and wind energy generation in 2023.
Of these two energy sources, solar has established itself as the main provider of electricity growth worldwide and, for the second consecutive year, surpassed wind energy in the production of new electricity. Researchers have further noted that solar generated more than twice as much new electricity as coal in 2023, while maintaining its position as the world’s fastest-growing source of electricity for the 19th consecutive year.
In terms of geographic distribution, China led in solar and wind generation, representing 51% and 60% respectively of new global generation. Greece ranked second in solar electricity generation, followed by Hungary and the Netherlands. And in the specific case of Spain, the country was the eighth country with the highest electricity generation with solar energy and the seventh with wind energy.
As a result of these changes, the group argues that the CO2 intensity of global energy generation reached a new historical low in 2023, being 12% lower than its peak in 2007. In addition, they maintain that the expansion of wind energy and Solar energy would have been enough to cause a decrease in the sector’s emissions during 2023, if not for the reduction in hydroelectric power generation caused by the drought.
The report indicates that, under normal conditions, a 1.1% decrease in fossil energy generation and, therefore, in emissions would have been achieved. However, due to the drought-induced shortfall in hydropower, coal-fired electricity generation was increased to compensate, resulting in a 1% increase in global energy sector emissions.
To affirm this, they rely on the fact that almost all of the increase in coal generation last year (95%) occurred in four countries that were severely affected by droughts: China, India, Vietnam and Mexico.
However, despite the decline in hydropower, the report maintains that the rapid growth of solar and wind energy mentioned above – as well as the projected future growth for both renewable energy sources – “have brought the world to a point “crucial turning point where fossil energy generation begins to decline globally.”
Ember argues that clean electricity has helped slow the growth of fossil fuels by almost two-thirds in the last ten years, and that the data collected gives them “confidence” that a new era of decreasing carbon emissions is about to begin. electric sector.
Specifically, they project a 2% reduction in global fossil energy generation in 2024, which will lead to further reductions in subsequent years.
The researchers add that, as a result, half of the world’s economies are at least five years beyond their fossil energy peak. In the specific case of the European Union, emissions from the electricity sector would have peaked in 2007 and would have decreased by 46% since then.
In this sense, the decrease in coal production that the European Union has made in the last ten years is considered important; which has been the second largest, behind the United States.
“The decrease in emissions from the energy sector is now inevitable. The year 2023 was probably the turning point, marking the peak of emissions in this sector and representing an important milestone in the history of energy,” explains Jones, adding: “But the pace of emissions decline depends on what as quickly as the renewable energy revolution continues.”
At COP28, world leaders agreed to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030, meaning that by that year, 60% of the world’s electricity should come from renewable sources. This would reduce emissions from the electricity sector by almost half and would be aligned with the 1.5°C climate goal.
However, the report warns that to achieve these international climate change objectives, the energy sector should be the first to decarbonize; and that the decrease in emissions will be conditioned by the speed with which the expansion of clean energy continues.
To drive growth in renewables, the report highlights the importance of high-level policy ambition, incentive mechanisms and flexibility solutions, which are driving rapid growth in solar and wind energy in territories such as China, Brazil and the United States. Netherlands.
“We already know the key drivers helping countries unlock the full potential of solar and wind energy and there is an unprecedented opportunity for countries that choose to be at the forefront of the clean energy future,” explains Jones.
“The expansion of clean electricity not only helps decarbonize the energy sector, but also provides the boost needed to electrify the entire economy; and that is the real game changer for the climate,” closes the expert.
