Unrealistic green transition: the growth of global energy consumption and the limits of renewable energy

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 09. 23. 12:20

The Energy Institute’s 2023 Energy Statistical Yearbook paints a sobering picture of the global energy situation. Although renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power are growing at a rapid pace, the green transition exists only in our vision of the future. The new renewable energy capacities mostly only complement the existing fossil sources in order to satisfy the world’s constantly growing energy consumption.

Global energy consumption continues to grow

In 2023, the world’s energy consumption will increase by 2%, which is another historical record. In the period between 2010 and 2019, the average annual growth was only 1.5%, so expansion is taking place at an accelerating pace. Although electricity production from renewable energy sources also increased (by 13%), their share in the world’s energy supply rose only slightly, by only 0.4%, so that in 2023 they accounted for 14.6% of the global energy supply. Fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas still dominate, providing 82% of the world’s energy consumption.

Record consumption of fossil energy sources

Parallel to the increase in energy consumption, the use of fossil resources also set records. Oil consumption rose above 100 million barrels per day in 2023, while coal consumption also reached another peak. Global gas consumption also increased, especially in Asia, where China and India recorded a 7% expansion. In more industrialized countries, such as Europe, the use of fossil energy is decreasing, but this does not offset the global trend, which is still upward.

The role of nuclear energy and the limitations of renewable energy

The share of nuclear energy stagnates at 9% globally, but it nevertheless plays a significant role in energy production, especially in Asia. The shutdown of German nuclear power plants was offset by the increase in nuclear energy production in Japan and China, which shows that if Western climate policy had not been anti-nuclear, nuclear and renewable energies together could have provided half of global electricity production.

Despite the rapid growth of renewable energy sources, the world’s energy consumption is expanding at such a rate that renewable energy alone cannot keep up. Solar energy, for example, increased by 67% in one year, but even this had only a small effect compared to the overall picture. Global electricity generation increased by just 2.5%, while energy consumption rose by 2%, showing that renewable energy alone cannot handle consumption growth.