According to a report by the Ember Energy Studies Centre, renewable energy generation, such as wind and solar, reached 12% of the total in 2022, recording a new record. Nevertheless, electricity generation from coal combustion and fossil fuels are still the main electricity-generating resource around the world, remaining behind renewable energy generation.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and Moscow’s decision to close gas pipelines led to rising prices and forced governments to rethink their energy policy and accelerate the transition to clean energy sources. According to the report by the Ember Energy Studies Centre, renewable sources (wind and solar) were able to make up 12% of global energy production in 2022, while “clean” forms of energy, including nuclear energy, reached 39%, a new record. The remaining 61% of electricity production comes from the combustion of fossil fuels (gas, oil, coal).
Ember released its fourth annual report on global electricity production, based on open-source data from 78 countries that cover 93% of global demand. According to her, in 2022 the production of electricity from wind turbines and photovoltaic frames amounted to 12%, reaching a “record” and rising from 5% in 2015 and 10% in 2021. This covered 80% of the increase in electricity demand, while the remaining 88% of production comes from fossil fuels such as gas, oil and coal.
More than 60 countries now provide more than 10% of electricity production from renewable energy sources. The European Union leads in this field, with 22% of its production coming from renewable sources, with a 24% increase in photovoltaic frame production compared to the previous year.
The use of renewable energy has helped reduce the burning of coal for electricity generation. Nevertheless, production from fossil fuels grew slightly (+1.1%) as demand continues to rise.
Although there are improvements, coal remains the main source of electricity generation globally, with 36% of the electricity produced by this way by 2022. This led to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, with CO2 emissions reaching 12 billion tons in 2022, up 1.3 percent. If all of the electricity produced was produced from fossil fuels, the increase would be about 20% in 2022. The consumption of gas and coal to meet demand has caused these emissions to increase.
According to Ember experts, electricity generation from fossil fuels may have reached its peak of growth in 2022, and a slight decrease is expected in 2023 (-0.3%) and greater decreases in the future as the growth of wind and solar energy grows. The report’s author, M. M. Viatros-Motica, believes that a new era for energy production and climate is beginning.
