The Energy Institute’s annual Statistical Review, released today with Kearney and KPMG, reveals a double-edged reality.
The world used more of everything: coal, oil, gas, hydro, nuclear and renewables. Even as clean energy raced ahead, fossil fuels refused to step aside.
Renewable power is scaling fast but global appetite is growing even faster.
Total energy demand rose 2%, topping 592 exajoules. Electricity demand grew twice as fast, climbing 4% — proof that electrification is gathering pace.
China led the charge on clean energy, responsible for more than half of new solar and wind additions.
Solar alone almost doubled in just two years. Yet even this wasn’t enough to slow fossil growth.
Oil, gas and coal all rose — pushing global emissions up 1% and setting a new record for the fourth straight year.
In the OECD, oil use stayed flat. In non-OECD nations, where demand is booming, oil rose 1%. China’s oil demand fell 1.7%, possibly peaking in 2023.
But India’s coal use soared 4%, now matching demand from the US, Europe, CIS and Latin America combined. Gas bounced back too — up 2.5% after a slump in 2023.
Andy Brown, President of the Energy Institute, put it plainly: “This year’s data reflects a complex picture of the global energy transition. Electrification is accelerating, particularly across developing economies where access to modern energy is expanding rapidly.
“However, the pace of renewable deployment continues to be outstripped by overall demand growth, 60% of which was met by fossil fuels.”
