World vitality demand surged in 2024, primarily pushed by a big enhance in electrical energy consumption, as reported by the Worldwide Power Company (IEA). The demand for electrical energy rose by almost 1,100 terawatt-hours, a considerable 4.3% enhance that just about doubles the typical annual development of the previous decade.
This notable rise in vitality demand was attributed to a number of components, together with the electrification of transportation, record-high world temperatures growing cooling wants, heightened industrial exercise, and the rising vitality necessities of knowledge facilities and AI functions.
In response to the IEA’s newest World Power Overview, renewable vitality performed a pivotal position in assembly the rising vitality calls for. In 2024, roughly 700 gigawatts (GW) of recent renewable energy capability was added, marking the twenty second consecutive yr of record-setting development. Renewables, alongside nuclear vitality—which skilled its fifth-largest development previously thirty years—accounted for a formidable 80% of the worldwide electrical energy provide enhance. Collectively, they achieved a big milestone by protecting 40% of complete world electrical energy technology for the primary time.
Fatih Birol, govt director of the IEA, highlighted the numerous development: “Electrical energy use is rising quickly, pulling total vitality demand together with it to the extent that it is sufficient to reverse years of declining vitality consumption in superior economies.” Birol additionally famous the constructive growth: “The sturdy growth of photo voltaic, wind, nuclear energy, and electrical autos (EVs) is more and more breaking the connection between financial development and emissions.”
Amongst fossil fuels, pure fuel skilled the biggest enhance in demand, rising by 115 billion cubic meters (bcm), or 2.7%, primarily pushed by elevated electrical energy demand—outpacing the typical development of roughly 75 bcm per yr over the previous decade.
Moreover, EV gross sales rose by over 25% in 2024, representing one in each 5 automobiles bought globally. This surge notably affected oil demand, which grew modestly by 0.8%; for the primary time in historical past, oil consumption fell under 30% of complete vitality demand, a pointy decline from its peak of 46% fifty years in the past. Coal noticed a slight development of 1%, however this was a big slowdown in comparison with earlier years, primarily as a result of intense heatwaves in China and India accounting for over 90% of this rise.
Emissions knowledge offered an optimistic perspective: CO2 emissions in superior economies declined by 1.1% to 10.9 billion tonnes in 2024, a degree not seen in 50 years, at the same time as these economies have tripled in dimension. Whereas world CO2 emissions elevated by 0.8% to 37.8 billion tonnes, the speedy adoption of fresh vitality applied sciences since 2019 prevented the discharge of two.6 billion tonnes of CO2 yearly—equal to 7% of world emissions.
Summarizing these tendencies, Dr. Birol acknowledged: “From slowing world oil demand development and rising deployment of electrical automobiles to the quickly increasing position of electrical energy and the growing decoupling of emissions from financial development, most of the key tendencies the IEA has recognized forward of the curve are clearly mirrored within the 2024 knowledge.”
For extra insights, a brand new IEA report discusses the feasibility of tripling world renewable vitality by 2030.
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