Global Energy Sector Emissions Hit Record High in 2024 Despite Renewables Push

Global carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector reached a record high for the fourth year in 2024, reported Reuters, citing the Energy Institute’s annual Statistical Review of World Energy released on June 26.  This rise is attributed to fossil fuel use that kept rising despite record expansion in renewable energy.

The report shows how challenging it is to move the world away from fossil fuels, especially now, with the war in Ukraine changing oil and gas trade from Russia and  the conflict in West Asia raising concerns about security of energy supplies.

According to reports, 2024 was the hottest year on record, with global temperatures exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial era for the first time.

What the Data Show

Reuters also stated that the world is witnessing a 2% annual rise in total energy supply in 2024, with all sources of energy such as oil, gas, coal, nuclear, hydro and renewable energy registering increases, which last occurred in 2006.

This resulted in about a 1% rise in carbon emissions in 2024 and exceeding the record level set the previous year at 40.8 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Of all the global fossil fuels, natural gas saw the biggest increase in generation, growing 2.5%. Meanwhile, coal grew by 1.2% to remain the largest source of generation globally, while oil growth was under 1%, stated Reuters.

Wind and solar energy expanded by 16% in 2024, nine times faster than total energy demand, the report showed.

According to a 2024 report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), while renewables are expected to grow to 2.7 times their 2022 level by 2030, this still falls short of the tripling target, unless governments intensify action.

Record Emissions Despite Transition

Energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions rose by 0.8% in 2024 to reach an all-time high of 37.8 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, according to IEA.

IEA further stated that this growth was limited due to the increasing deployment of clean energy technologies, including solar PV, wind, nuclear, electric vehicles and heat pumps. These technologies have prevented an estimated 2.6 billion tonnes of CO2 annually, equivalent to 7% of global emissions.