An oil umpjack in Texas. CO2 emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels is by far the largest source of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions contributing around 87% of the total.
The international Energy Institute has warned that the increasingly severe impacts of climate change were felt across all continents as 2023 was the warmest year since records began, with global temperature increases averaging close to 1.5ºC.
According to the Statistical Review of World Energy report by the institute, in collaboration with KPMG and Kearney, the last year broke records in the climate barometer as the 2023 global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions exceeded 40 gigatons for the first time ever.
This was also the second consecutive record year for global primary energy consumption as it grew by 2%, reaching 620 EJ (exajoule), a growth rate 0.6% above its 10-year average and over 5% above its 2019 pre-Covid level.
“Whilst a new record in the consumption of fossil fuels in absolute terms was recorded, in 2023, it fell to 81.5% compared to almost 81.9% in 2022. With demand for natural gas, a relatively low carbon-intensive fossil fuel, remaining flat, the increased use of more carbon-intensive oil and coal meant that energy-related greenhouse gas emissions also reached a record high, exceeding 40 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per megajoule of energy for the very first time,” read the report.
“CO2 emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels is by far the largest source of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, contributing around 87% of the total.”
Carbon dioxide emissions from flaring increased by 7% along with emissions from methane and industrial processes that also increased by over 5%.
“For the first time ever, energy-related emissions exceeded the 40 GtCO2e (gigatons of CO2 equivalent) level, with emissions from the direct use of energy breaching 35 GtCO2e for the first time ever,” it said.
It noted that the consumption of gasoline, diesel and kerosene for aviation use were trending back to or beyond their 2019 levels, but within the data sets there were some national and regional differences.
While global gasoline consumption of 25 million barrels per day (mbpd) was just above its 2019 pre-Covid level, kerosene, although growing strongly, about 17.5% in 2023, has yet to return to its 2019 peak.
The report noted that while 2.6 billion people rely on heavily polluting biomass fuels such as charcoal, coal, and animal waste for heating and cooking, the average greenhouse gas emissions per person in Africa, South Asia, and Southern & Central America averaged 2 MtCO2e (two metric tons of carbon emissions) relative to a global average of 6.7 MtCO2e. North America, the CIS, and the Middle East collectively averaged 11.5 MtCO2e, almost twice the global average.
In Africa, South Asia, and Southern & Central America, the average amount of energy consumed per person stood at 30 gigajoules (GJ).
This was in contrast to North America, the CIS, and the Middle East, where energy consumption per capita averaged 180 GJ. In North America, the ratio was over twice the global average of 110 GJ.
Global coal consumption breached 164 EJ for the first time ever. An increase of 1.6% over 2022 was seven times higher than the previous 10-year average growth rate. In 2023, global coal production reached its highest ever level (179 EJ), beating the previous high set the year before.
Global electricity generation increased by 2.5% in 2023 to reach a record level of 29 925 TWh (terrawatt hours)
Recording a growth rate that was 25% faster than total global primary energy consumption suggests that the world’s energy system is increasingly electrifying. Coal retained its position as the dominant fuel for power generation with fossil fuels overall forming 60% of global electricity generation.
Renewables’ share of total power generation rose from 29% to 30%.
The report noted that while both Africa and South Asia have very low levels of energy demand relative to the size of their population, Europe and Southern & Central America are the only regions to be below both the global average for CO2 Intensity and Energy Consumption per GDP.
Collectively, Africa and South Asia were responsible for less than 10% of the world’s energy demand in 2023, a prevalence of developing economies, large populations, low rate of access to energy today, potentially positions them for significant energy demand growth in the future.
BUSINESS REPORT