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id	title	slug	type	status	content	archieml	archieml_update_statistics	published_at	updated_at	gdocSuccessorId	authors	excerpt	created_at_in_wordpress	updated_at_in_wordpress	featured_image	formattingOptions	markdown	wpApiSnapshot
34888	Energy Mix	energy-mix	page	publish	<!-- wp:html --> <!-- formatting-options subnavId:energy subnavCurrentId:energy-mix --> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Energy production – mainly the burning of fossil fuels – accounts for around three-quarters of global <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/greenhouse-gas-emissions">greenhouse gas emissions</a>. Not only is energy production the largest driver of climate change, the burning of fossil fuels and biomass also comes at a large cost to human health: at least five million deaths are <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/air-pollution">attributed to air pollution</a> each year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The world therefore needs to shift away from fossil fuels to an energy mix dominated by low-carbon sources of energy – renewable technologies and nuclear power.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What does our energy mix look like today? What countries have the 'cleanest' energy mix? And are we making progress in shifting towards a low-carbon energy system?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This article focuses on the breakdown of energy sources: how they vary across the world and how this is changing over time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the energy domain, there are many different units thrown around – joules, exajoules, million tonnes of oil equivalents, barrel equivalents, British thermal units, terawatt-hours, to name a few. This can be confusing, and make comparisons difficult. So at <em>Our World in Data </em>we try to maintain consistency by converting all energy data to watt-hours. We do this to compare energy data across different metrics and sources.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Global primary energy: how has the mix changed over centuries?</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:columns {"className":"is-style-sticky-left"} --> <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-energy-substitution?time=earliest..latest" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":5} --> <h5>Related chart:</h5> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:owid/prominent-link {"title":"Long-term energy transitions","linkUrl":"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/long-term-energy-transitions","className":"is-style-thin"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>How do our long-term energy transitions look when we consider two additional elements: the work of humans and animals?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/prominent-link --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Today when we think about energy mixes we think about a diverse range of sources – coal, oil, gas, nuclear, hydropower, solar, wind, biofuels. But If we look back a couple of centuries ago, our energy mixes where relatively homogeneous. And the transition from one source to another was incredibly slow.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the chart shown we see global primary energy consumption dating back to the year 1800. This earlier data is sourced from Vaclav Smil's work <em>Energy Transitions: Global and National Perspectives</em>.{ref}Vaclav Smil (2017). <a href="http://vaclavsmil.com/2016/12/14/energy-transitions-global-and-national-perspectives-second-expanded-and-updated-edition/">Energy Transitions: Global and National Perspectives</a>.{/ref} Data from 1965 onwards comes from the latest release of BP's<em> <a href="https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html">Statistical Review of World Energy</a></em>.{ref}Note that this data presents primary energy consumption via the ‘substitution method’. The ‘substitution method’ – in comparison to the ‘direct method’ – attempts to correct for the inefficiencies (energy wasted as heat during combustion) in fossil fuel and biomass conversion. It does this by correcting nuclear and modern renewable technologies to their ‘primary input equivalents’ if the same quantity of energy were to be produced from fossil fuels.{/ref}</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We see that until the mid-19th century, traditional biomass – the burning of solid fuels such as wood, crop waste, or charcoal – was the dominant source of energy used across the world. But with the Industrial Revolution came the rise of coal; followed by oil, gas; and by the turn of the 20th century, hydropower.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It wasn't until the 1960s that nuclear energy was added to the mix. What are often referred to as 'modern renewables' – solar and wind – were only added much later, in the 1980s.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What <em>Vaclav</em> <em>Smil</em> – and other researchers studying these long-term energy transitions across countries – highlights in his work is the slow rate at which energy transitions have occurred in the past. The speed and scale of the energy transition we need today in switching from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy is therefore a new challenge, very different from the past.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>Energy mix:</strong> what sources do we get our energy from?</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:columns {"className":"is-style-sticky-left"} --> <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/energy-consumption-by-source-and-region?stackMode=absolute" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":5} --> <h5>Related chart:</h5> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:owid/prominent-link {"title":"Primary energy consumption by source","linkUrl":"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-sub-energy-source","className":"is-style-thin"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Explore the changes in primary energy source by source as a line chart <em>[as opposed to a stacked area]</em>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/prominent-link --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Let's look at our energy mix today, and explore what sources we draw upon. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the interactive chart shown we see the primary energy mix broken down by fuel or generation source. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Globally we get the largest amount of our energy from oil, followed by coal, gas, then hydroelectric power. As we look at in more detail below – "How much of global energy comes from low-carbon sources?" – the global energy mix is still dominated by fossil fuels. They account for more than 80% of energy consumption.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:owid/help --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4><strong>How you can interact with this chart</strong></h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><li>On these charts you see the button <strong>Change Country </strong>in the bottom left corner – with this option you can switch the chart to any other country in the world.</li><li>By ticking the 'Relative' box in the bottom left corner you can switch to see each source's share of the total.</li></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Enter help content..."} --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/help --></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- wp:columns {"className":"is-style-side-by-side"} --> <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-side-by-side"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the charts here we see the breakdown of the energy mix by country. First with the higher-level breakdown by fossil fuels, nuclear and renewables. Then with the specific breakdown by source, including coal, gas, oil, nuclear, hydro, solar, wind and other renewables (which include bioenergy, wave and tidal).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is given in terms of per capita consumption. Using the toggle on the interactive charts you can also see the percentage breakdown for each source using the 'Relative' tickbox.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- wp:columns {"className":"is-style-side-by-side"} --> <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-side-by-side"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/per-capita-energy-source-stacked?country=OWID_WRL~CAN~BRA~CHN~IND~USA~GBR~AUS~FRA~SWE~ZAF~JPN" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/per-capita-energy-stacked?country=USA~GBR~OWID_WRL~CHN~IND~FRA~DEU~SWE~ZAF~JPN~BRA" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>How much of global energy comes from low-carbon sources?</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp-block-tombstone 36026 --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Around three-quarters of global greenhouse gas <a href="https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Emissions-by-sector.png">emissions come from</a> the burning of fossil fuels for energy.{ref}The remaining quarter comes from industrial processes (such as cement production), agriculture, land use change and waste.{/ref} To reduce global emissions we need to shift our energy systems away from fossil fuels to low-carbon sources of energy. We need to ‘decarbonize’.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>How big is this challenge? How much of our energy currently comes from low-carbon sources?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the chart here we see the breakdown of global primary energy consumption for 2019.{ref} This is based on primary energy data published annually in BP’s <a href="https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html">Statistical Review of World Energy</a>.{/ref} </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Before we look at the numbers, there are two points to note:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><li>Here we take primary energy based on the <em>‘substitution method’</em> for energy accounting. For those interested in energy accounting methods, at the end of this post we look at comparisons of direct versus substitution methods. The quick summary of it is that this accounting method tries to account for the energy lost from the inefficiencies in fossil fuel production and aims to provide the appropriate comparison of how much more low-carbon energy we would need to replace fossil fuels in the energy mix. It’s one of the preferred accounting method used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).{ref}Krey V., O. Masera, G. Blanford, T. Bruckner, R. Cooke, K. Fisher-Vanden, H. Haberl, E. Hertwich, E. Kriegler, D. Mueller, S. Paltsev, L. Price, S. Schlömer, D. Ürge-Vorsatz, D. van Vuuren, and T. Zwickel, 2014: <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-ii.pdf">Annex II: Metrics & Methodology</a>. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref}</li><li>These figures don’t include energy produced from traditional biomass. This is because most international energy agencies – such as BP, IEA or EIA – only track data on commercially-traded fuels. Traditional biomass – which are <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/indoor-air-pollution#indoor-air-pollution-results-from-poor-access-to-clean-cooking-fuels">solid fuels</a> such as wood, crop residues and charcoal – can be a key source of energy for people living at lower incomes, but it is challenging to quantify and timely data is not available. Based on <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-energy-substitution">crude estimates from earlier data</a> I would expect it to currently account for an additional 6% of global energy.</li></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>16% of global primary energy came from low-carbon sources in 2019</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We see that in 2019, almost 16% (15.7% to be precise) of global primary energy came from low-carbon sources. Low-carbon sources are the sum of nuclear energy and renewables – which includes hydropower, wind, solar, bioenergy, geothermal and wave and tidal.{ref}The emissions from these sources are not necessarily zero – the mining of materials, production, maintenance and decommissioning of these technologies may produce some carbon, but per unit of  energy this is  very small relative to fossil fuels.<br><br>Schlömer S., T. Bruckner, L. Fulton, E. Hertwich, A. McKinnon, D. Perczyk, J. Roy, R. Schaeffer, R. Sims, P. Smith, and R. Wiser, 2014: <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-iii.pdf">Annex III: Technology-specific cost and performance parameters. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change</a>. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref}</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>11.4% came from renewables; and 4.3% came from nuclear.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hydropower and nuclear account for most of our low-carbon energy: combined they account for 10.7%. Wind produces just 2.2%, and solar 1.1% – but both sources are  <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/percentage-change-energy-by-source">growing quickly</a>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite producing more and more energy from renewables each year, the global energy mix is still dominated by coal, oil, and gas. Not only does most of our energy – 84% of it – come from fossil fuels, we continue to burn more each year: total <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-fossil-fuel-consumption">production has increased</a> from 116,214 to 136,761 TWh in the last 10 years. <br>We’ve seen the breakdown of the energy mix today. But this does tell us about how it’s changing over time. Are we making progress in decarbonization over time? We look at this question in a related post <strong>here</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":35642,"sizeSlug":"large"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-by-source-800x372.png" alt="" class="wp-image-35642"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Which countries get the most energy from low-carbon sources?</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp-block-tombstone 36038 --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Globally, just 16% of primary energy (15.7% to be precise) came from low-carbon sources – nuclear and renewables – in 2019. We are a long way away from the goal to shift towards a low-carbon energy system.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But do some countries do much better than this? Do we have examples of countries who are already paving the way towards a fossil-free energy mix?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>Which countries are doing better in low-carbon energy production than the global average?</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the interactive map here we see the world split into two categories: countries which get <em>more</em> of their energy from low-carbon sources than the global average of 15.7%; and those that get <em>less</em>.{ref}This breakdown of primary energy is based on the ‘substitution method’ which corrects for the inefficiencies in energy production from fossil fuels, and is a better representation of low-carbon energy’s share of ‘useful energy’. For an in-depth discussion and comparison of different ways of accounting for energy production, see <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix#direct-vs-substituted-primary-energy-what-are-the-multiple-ways-of-energy-accounting"><strong>our explainer</strong></a>.{/ref} </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What immediately stands out is that there is a reasonably strong East-West divide: most Western economies get a larger share of energy from low-carbon sources, and those in East get less. Of course this boundary is not absolute: the Netherlands and Ireland, for example, are below the global average.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This divide may be in part, due to differences in income: many richer countries with a long history of fossil fuel-rich energy systems have already shifted away from them.{ref}In <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-low-carbon-energy-vs-gdp">this related chart</a> you can see how the share of primary energy from low-carbon sources relates to average income – GDP per capita. This relationship is by no means clear-cut: many rich countries get very little energy from low-carbon sources; and poorer countries get a high share. But overall we see that more rich countries tend to lie above the dotted global average line than countries at lower incomes.{/ref} </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For many poorer countries in our map, no data is shown. This is because the BP Statistical Review of World Energy does not cover all countries in the world – it relies on energy statistics from commercially-traded fuels. This means traditional biomass burning – a dominant source of energy at lower incomes are not included. Typically <a href="http://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions">energy-related emissions</a> from low income countries are small because <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access">access to energy</a> – both electricity and modern cooking fuels – is low.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-energy-vs-global"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>Which countries get the highest share of energy from low-carbon sources?</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We have a rough categorization of countries that are above and below the global average. But let’s take a closer look at the numbers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the interactive map here we see the share of primary energy that comes from low-carbon sources across countries.{ref}This breakdown of primary energy is based on the ‘substitution method’ which corrects for the inefficiencies in energy production from fossil fuels, and is a better representation of low-carbon energy’s share of ‘useful energy’. For an in-depth discussion and comparison of different ways of accounting for energy production, see <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix#direct-vs-substituted-primary-energy-what-are-the-multiple-ways-of-energy-accounting"><strong>our explainer</strong></a>.{/ref}</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-share-energy"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In 2019, Iceland got 79% of its energy from low-carbon sources. This was the highest in the world. Most of this came from hydropower (55%) but also other renewables – mainly geothermal energy (24%). You see this breakdown in the interactive chart below. Using the “change country” toggle you can switch to see the breakdown for other countries.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/energy-consumption-by-source-and-region?country=~ISL"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But Iceland wasn’t the only country to get most of its energy from low-carbon sources: Sweden (69%); Norway (66%) France (49%) and Switzerland (49%) all got a large amount from nuclear or renewables.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Finland, and Brazil also had a high share – more than 40%. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At the other end of the scale, some countries rely almost entirely on fossil fuels. Many of the world’s oil-producing countries – Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait – got less than 1% from low-carbon sources. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Amongst the largest emerging economies, South Africa produced only 5% from low-carbon sources; India got 9%; and China, 15%. Brazil, as we mentioned earlier, achieves a much higher share – 46% in 2019.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Globally, our progress in shifting towards a low-carbon economy has been slow. That may leave us pessimistic about a path forward. But some countries – often some of the world’s richest countries who have high <a href="http://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions">carbon footprints</a> – show us that significant progress on decarbonizing our energy systems is possible. They still have a long way to go but are moving in the right direction.<br>Poorer countries face a bigger challenge: they must grow their economies, giving their populations <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access">access to energy</a>, healthcare and <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/extreme-poverty">alleviating poverty</a> whilst avoiding the carbon-intensive pathways today’s rich countries have taken. To do this, they need clean energy to be cheap, undercutting fossil fuel alternatives. In this regard, the world’s richest countries also have a role to play: the scale-up of low-carbon energy should help to drive down costs. We have already seen this effect with the rapid <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/solar-pv-prices-vs-cumulative-capacity">decline in solar prices</a> in recent years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Is the world making progress in decarbonizing energy?</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp-block-tombstone 36046 --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Three-quarters of global greenhouse gas <a href="https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Emissions-by-sector.png">emissions come from</a> the burning of fossil fuels for energy.{ref}The remaining quarter comes from industrial processes (mainly cement production), agriculture, land use change and waste.{/ref} To tackle climate change, we need to transition away from fossil fuels and decarbonize our energy systems.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The world got <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t2COQwSVDWUke7LvowS-LbKXMpdONaVBODA7J06_tCc/edit?pli=1#heading=h.9xiuxmabyswp">15.7% of its energy</a> from low-carbon sources – either nuclear or renewables – in 2019.  How has this changed over time?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Does our track record give us reason to be optimistic that we can quickly decarbonize?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the chart we see the share of global energy that comes from low-carbon sources. We’ve certainly made progress since half a century ago: while the global consumption of energy <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-energy-cons?tab=chart&country=~OWID_WRL">increased 3.8-fold</a>, the share of low carbon sources has more than doubled. In the 1960s only 6% of our energy came from renewables or nuclear<em> [at this point in time it was mainly the former, as we’ll see later]</em>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But our rate of progress since the 1990s has been less impressive. By 1994 we were already getting 13.5% from low-carbon sources. Today – 25 years later – we’ve only increased this by two percentage points. It’s moving in the right direction, but far too slowly – probably much more slowly than many expect.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-share-energy?tab=chart&country=~OWID_WRL"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>Fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewables: how is the global energy mix  changing?</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the chart we see the share of global energy that comes from fossil fuels, renewables and nuclear. The sum of the top two is what we want to increase. I’ve also summarised this breakdown in the table – noting each source’s’ share at various points in time since the 1970s.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Part of this slow progress is due to the fact that much of the gains made in renewables has been offset by a decline in nuclear energy. Renewables have been growing while nuclear has been rolled back.{ref}This is even clearer when we <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/electricity-fossil-renewables-nuclear-line">focus in on</a> global <em>electricity</em> production: nuclear declined by almost as much as renewables gained.{/ref}</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Overall, this means that the combined share from low-carbon sources has increased by less than we might have expected. Having both renewables and nuclear pulling in the same direction would certainly have helped. But it wouldn’t be enough: the rate of progress would still have been slow.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/sub-energy-fossil-renewables-nuclear"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:table --> <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><thead><tr><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Year</th><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Fossil Fuels</th><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Low-carbon energy<br><em>(Renewables + Nuclear)</em></th><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Renewables</em></th><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Nuclear</em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">1970</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">94%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">6%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>5.6%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>0.4%</em></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">1980</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">91.6%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">8.4%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>6%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>2.4%</em></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">1990</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">88%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">12%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>6.4%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>5.6%</em></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">2000</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">87%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">13%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>7%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>6%</em></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">2010</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">87%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">13%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>7.8%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>5.2%</em></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">2019</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">84.3%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">15.7%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>11.4%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>4.3%</em></td></tr></tbody></table></figure> <!-- /wp:table --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>It’s the total amount of fossil fuels we burn that matters – and we continue to burn more each year</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But, actually, we’re still fooling ourselves a bit in looking at this progress through the lens of what <em>share</em> of our energy is low-carbon.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, the atmosphere does not care about shares, only absolutes. That is what ultimately determines the amount of CO<sub>2</sub> we emit, and the rate at which it accumulates in the atmosphere.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Global energy consumption is not stagnant, but growing. And in the past years it has been growing too quickly for renewables and nuclear to keep up.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the chart here we see primary energy consumption in absolute terms for each source. We continue to produce more energy from fossil fuels – particularly oil and gas – each year.{ref}This is also very clear when we look at the <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-primary-energy-fossil-vs-low-carbon">year-on-year <em>change</em></a> in energy consumption by source; this is calculated as the amount of energy produced this year relative to the last, so a positive number means that source is growing; a negative means it decreased. <em>[If you click  the ‘play’ button on the bottom timeline of the </em><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-primary-energy-fossil-vs-low-carbon"><em>year-on-year change</em></a><em> chart you can see how fossil fuel consumption continues to grow each year].</em>{/ref}</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Low-carbon energy is certainly growing across the world – undoubtedly a sign of progress.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Decarbonization is happening. But not nearly fast enough.To achieve the necessary progress that matters for the climate we need to see its growth not only meet our new energy demands each year, but start displacing existing fossil fuels in the energy mix at a much faster rate.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-sub-energy-source"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Energy consumption by source</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Fossil fuels:</strong> what share of energy comes from fossil fuels?</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:columns {"className":"is-style-sticky-left"} --> <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/fossil-fuels-share-energy" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":5} --> <h5>Related content:</h5> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:owid/prominent-link {"title":"Fossil fuels","linkUrl":"ourworldindata.org/fossil-fuels","className":"is-style-thin"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Explore our work on Fossil Fuels.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/prominent-link --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fossil fuels are the sum of coal, oil and gas. Combined, they are the largest source of global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>). We therefore want to shift our energy systems away from fossil fuels towards low-carbon sources of energy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas summed together) across the world.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:owid/help --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>Three tips on how to interact with this map</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><li>By clicking on any country on the map you see the change over time in this country.</li><li>By moving the time slider (below the map) you can see how the global situation has changed over time.</li><li>You can focus on a particular world region using the dropdown menu to the top-right of the map.</li></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- /wp:owid/help --></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Coal:</strong> what share of energy comes from coal?</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:columns {"className":"is-style-sticky-left"} --> <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/coal-energy-share" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coal has been a critical energy sources, and mainstay in global energy production for centuries.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But it's also the most <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/safest-sources-of-energy">polluting energy source</a>: both in terms of the amount of CO<sub>2</sub> it produces per unit of energy, but also the amount of local air pollution it creates. Moving away from coal energy is important for climate change as well as human health.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from coal across the world.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Oil:</strong> what share of energy comes from oil?</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:columns {"className":"is-style-sticky-left"} --> <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/oil-share-energy" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oil is the world's largest energy source today. It is the dominant source of energy for the transport sector in particular.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from oil across the world.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Gas:</strong> what share of energy comes from gas?</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:columns {"className":"is-style-sticky-left"} --> <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gas-share-energy" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Natural gas has, for decades, lagged behind coal and oil as an energy source. But today its consumption is growing rapidly – often as a replacement for coal in the energy mix. Gas is a major provider of <a href="http://ourworldindata.org/electricity-mix">electricity production</a>, and a key source of heat.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from gas across the world.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Nuclear:</strong> what share of energy comes from nuclear?</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:columns {"className":"is-style-sticky-left"} --> <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/nuclear-primary-energy" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:owid/prominent-link {"title":"Nuclear energy","linkUrl":"ourworldindata.org/nuclear-energy","className":"is-style-thin"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Explore our work on Nuclear Energy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/prominent-link --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nuclear energy – alongside hydropower – has been a key source of low-carbon energy for many countries across the world in recent decades. But there are large differences in the role of nuclear – some countries rely heavily on it for energy production; others produce no energy at all from it.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from nuclear across the world.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Renewables:</strong> how much of our energy comes from renewables?</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:columns {"className":"is-style-sticky-left"} --> <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/renewable-share-energy" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:owid/prominent-link {"title":"Renewable energy","linkUrl":"ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy","className":"is-style-thin"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Explore our work on Renewable Energy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/prominent-link --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Renewable energy is a collective term used to capture a number of different energy sources. 'Renewables' typically includes hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and wave and tidal energy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from renewables (the sum of all renewable energy technologies) across the world.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The share of energy we get from individual renewable technologies – solar, or wind, for example – are given in the sections below.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Hydropower:</strong> what share of energy comes from hydropower?</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:columns {"className":"is-style-sticky-left"} --> <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/hydro-share-energy" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":5} --> <h5>Related content</h5> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:owid/prominent-link {"title":"Hydropower generation","linkUrl":"ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy","className":"is-style-thin"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>How is hydropower generation changing in absolute terms? Explore in more detail in our work on Renewable Energy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/prominent-link --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hydroelectric power has been an influential low-carbon energy technology for many countries for more than half a century. Globally, it is still the largest source of renewable energy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from hydropower across the world.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Solar:</strong> what share of energy comes from solar?</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:columns {"className":"is-style-sticky-left"} --> <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/solar-share-energy" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":5} --> <h5>Related content</h5> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:owid/prominent-link {"title":"Solar power generation","linkUrl":"ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy","className":"is-style-thin"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>How quickly is solar production changing? Explore in more detail in our work on Renewable Energy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/prominent-link --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Solar energy is often referred to as a 'modern renewable' – a couple of decades ago it made only a tiny contribution to global energy supply. But in recent years it has </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from solar technologies across the world.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Wind:</strong> what share of energy comes from wind?</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:columns {"className":"is-style-sticky-left"} --> <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/wind-share-energy" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":5} --> <h5>Related content</h5> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:owid/prominent-link {"title":"Wind power generation","linkUrl":"ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy","className":"is-style-thin"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>How quickly is wind production changing? Explore in more detail in our work on Renewable Energy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/prominent-link --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from wind (both onshore and offshore) across the world.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:owid/help --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>Three tips on how to interact with this map</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><li>By clicking on any country on the map you see the change over time in this country.</li><li>By moving the time slider (below the map) you can see how the global situation has changed over time.</li><li>You can focus on a particular world region using the dropdown menu to the top-right of the map.</li></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- /wp:owid/help --></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>Year-to-year change:</strong> how is energy consumption by source changing?</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:columns {"className":"is-style-sticky-left"} --> <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-change-primary-energy-source" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- wp:columns {"className":"is-style-sticky-left"} --> <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-primary-energy-fossil-vs-low-carbon" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Direct vs. substituted primary energy: what are the multiple ways of energy accounting?</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp-block-tombstone 36089 --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Understanding the breakdown of our energy systems – how much energy we get from coal, oil or gas, how much from nuclear, solar or wind – is crucial. It allows us to compare energy mixes across the world; track whether we are making progress on decarbonizing our energy systems; and plan and manage demands for natural resources. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But what seems like a simple exercise – adding up the produced energy from all the different sources – is in fact not straightforward at all. These difficulties result in different approaches for ‘energy accounting’ and present a different picture of the energy mix.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below, we take a look at the two key methodologies applied to primary energy accounting: ‘direct’ primary energy and primary energy via the ‘substitution method’. These methods are discussed (or debated) often, but I couldn’t find particularly clear or simple explanations of how they differ and what this means for understanding our energy mix. The aim here is to fill that gap.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What’s important is to understand why there are two different methods and how they affect our perspective on the energy mix.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>Direct vs. substituted primary energy: what’s the difference?</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>‘Primary energy’  refers to energy in its raw form, before it has been converted by humans into other forms of energy like electricity, heat or transport fuels. Think of this as inputs into an energy system: coal, oil or gas before we burn them; or solar or wind energy before we convert them to electricity.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When we are asking how much energy is consumed or what the breakdown of the sources of energy is we are asking about primary energy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here we look at two ways in which ‘primary energy’ is calculated: the ‘direct’ and the ‘substituted’ method. The simplest way to think of the difference between these methods is that ‘direct’ primary energy <em>does not</em> take account of the energy lost in the conversion of fossil fuels to usable energy. The substitution method <em>does</em> attempt to correct for this loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>An example of the difference between ‘direct’ and ‘substituted’ energy</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:columns --> <div class="wp-block-columns"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>To understand why this distinction is important we need to first consider the process of energy production.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When we burn fuel in a thermal power plant most of the energy we put into the process is lost – primarily in the form of heat. Most fossil fuel plants run with an efficiency of around 33% to 40%.{ref}This can vary from plant-to-plant, and by fuel type. We look in more detail at the assumed efficiencies of power plants later.{/ref} The remaining 60% to 67% of energy is wasted as heat. This means for every unit of energy that we can use, another two are wasted.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When we measure electricity generation from renewables or nuclear power, we’re measuring the direct <em>output</em>, with no losses or waste to consider.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Let’s take an example – shown in the graphic here. Imagine we have a country that needs 100 terawatt-hours (TWh) of energy. We have three different energy mixes: only fossil fuels; only renewable or nuclear energy; and a mix of both. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol><li>If we only rely on <strong>fossil fuels</strong> we need 263 TWh of energy input. This is because only around 38% of these inputs are converted into ‘useful’ energy.{ref}We can calculate this by dividing our 100 TWh demand by 0.38.{/ref} 163 TWh is energy lost as heat.</li><li><strong>If we only rely on either renewable or nuclear energy</strong> these losses do not occur – the quantity of electricity generated is the same quantity we can use. So we only need 100 TWh.</li><li><strong><strong>If we rely on renewables/nuclear and fossil fuels</strong> it depends on the mix: </strong>let’s say we produce 50 TWh from renewables or nuclear sources. We need another 50 TWh from fossil fuels. But to produce the additional 50 TWh from fossil fuels, we actually need 132 TWh, because we lose 82 TWh as heat <em>[50 TWh / 0.38 = 132 TWh]</em>. Combined, we need 182 TWh of energy input <em>[50 TWh from renewables/nuclear + 50 TWh ‘useful’ fossil fuel energy + 82 TWh wasted]</em>.</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:image {"id":36081,"sizeSlug":"large"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Three-scenarios-to-supply-100TWh-of-energy-800x500.png" alt="" class="wp-image-36081"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- wp:columns --> <div class="wp-block-columns"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Based on this example we can understand the difference between direct primary energy and the substitution method. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Let’s take the third scenario – a mixture of fossil fuels and low-carbon energy – and see how the low-carbon share differs between the two methods. This is shown in the figure.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>From the direct method we get 50 TWh / 182 TWh = 27%. From the substitution  method we get 50 TWh / 100 TWh = 50%.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I find it helpful to think of the distinction as:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><li>Low-carbon’s share in <strong>direct primary energy</strong> = % of <strong>total primary energy</strong> consumption (including all of the inefficiencies of fossil fuel production)</li></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><li>Low carbon’s share in <strong>substituted primary energy = </strong>% of <strong>useful energy </strong>(once we subtract all of the wasted energy in the burning of fossil fuels)</li></ul> <!-- /wp:list --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:image {"id":36082,"sizeSlug":"large"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/How-are-energy-mixes-calculated-800x490.png" alt="" class="wp-image-36082"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>What effect does our choice of accounting method have on the breakdown of the global energy mix?</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:columns --> <div class="wp-block-columns"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A question many want the answer to is, how much of our energy comes from low-carbon sources? How close are we to getting rid of fossil fuels?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we now know, it depends on whether we’re using the direct or substitution method. In the chart here we show the breakdown of the global primary energy mix in 2019 to compare the two methods.{ref}This is based on data from the <em>BP Statistical Review of World Energy</em>; it considers only commercially-traded fuels, so traditional biomass is not included.{/ref}</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we should expect from the example we worked through, when we calculate the share of energy from low-carbon sources via the substitution method we get a higher figure: 16% vs. only 7% from the direct method. When we strip away the differences in efficiencies between the sources, both renewables and nuclear make a larger contribution. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the interactive charts you can also compare each source’s share of energy based on the two methods. Using the “change country” button in the bottom-left of each chart, you can also see this for different countries.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Most sources tend to prefer and report on the substitution method (or a similar approach – the ‘physical content’ method – which we don’t discuss here but which gives similar results) rather than the direct method. The substitution method is also the preferred approach of the <em>Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)</em>, for example.{ref}Krey V., O. Masera, G. Blanford, T. Bruckner, R. Cooke, K. Fisher-Vanden, H. Haberl, E. Hertwich, E. Kriegler, D. Mueller, S. Paltsev, L. Price, S. Schlömer, D. Ürge-Vorsatz, D. van Vuuren, and T. Zwickel, 2014: <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-ii.pdf">Annex II: Metrics & Methodology</a>. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref}</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:image {"id":35641,"sizeSlug":"large"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-breakdown-–-sub-vs.-direct-800x426.png" alt="" class="wp-image-35641"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- wp:columns {"className":"is-style-side-by-side"} --> <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-side-by-side"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-primary-energy-consumption-by-source" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-energy-source-sub" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>How do we convert from direct to substituted primary energy?</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:columns --> <div class="wp-block-columns"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At Our World in Data we get most of our energy data from BP; each year it publishes its <em>Statistical Review of World Energy </em>report. It applies the substitution method to its primary energy data <em>[you can read its methodology </em><a href="https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/using-the-review/methodology.html#accordion_primary-energy-methodology"><strong><em>here</em></strong></a><em>]</em>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>How does it convert from direct primary energy – that we can measure – into the substitution breakdown? </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the schematic explanation above, we looked at calculating the share of energy from low-carbon energy sources by comparing it with the amount of useful energy (subtracting the wasted energy) from fossil fuels.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But we can also do the opposite of this to get the same result. In fact, this inverse approach is what is most commonly applied by BP and others who use the ‘substitution method’. So, instead of assuming fossil fuels have the same efficiency as renewables/nuclear, we do the opposite: we assume renewables/nuclear are as inefficient as fossil fuels. We calculate the equivalent amount of fossil fuels that would be required to produce the amount of electricity we get from non-fossil based sources.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>So, let’s say we produce 100 TWh of electricity from wind. And we assume the efficiency of a fossil fuel plant is 38%. We would convert this wind electricity into ‘input-equivalent’ primary energy by dividing by this efficiency <em>[100 / 0.38 = 263 TWh]</em>. This would be the amount of primary energy that would be required from fossil fuels to produce the same amount of electricity as wind.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We should note that this conversion is used as an approximation – a standard ‘efficiency’ factor is applied across-the-board. But we know that some power plants have a slightly lower or higher efficiency and it can change over time. In fact, BP changed its methodology in its 2020 assessment to reflect this change over time. Previously it assumed a 38% efficiency factor consistently. But it now applies a ‘time-dependent’ model to build in improvements over time. Changes in this conversion factor are summarised in the table below.<br>The substitution method gives us a more accurate understanding of how low-carbon energy is competing with fossil fuels. For this reason: when we look at the breakdowns of energy mix on <em>Our World in Data</em> we have tried wherever possible to use primary energy measured by the substitution method.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:heading {"level":6} --> <h6>Conversion factors applied in converting renewable and nuclear electricity outputs to primary energy{ref}BP Statistical Review of World Energy, <em><a href="https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/using-the-review/definitions-and-explanatory-notes.html">Definitions and Exploratory Notes</a></em> (2020){/ref}</h6> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:image {"id":36086,"sizeSlug":"large"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/BP-Primary-Energy-Conversion-Factors-551x550.png" alt="" class="wp-image-36086"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Explore more of our work on Energy</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp-block-tombstone 41045 --> <!-- wp:owid/grid --> <!-- wp:owid/card {"linkUrl":"https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/energy","mediaId":39373,"mediaUrl":"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/data_explorer-featured.png","mediaAlt":"COVID-19 data explorer"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Explore all the metrics – energy production, electricity consumption, and breakdown of fossil fuels, renewable and nuclear energy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/card --> <!-- wp:owid/card {"linkUrl":"https://ourworldindata.org/energy#country-profiles","mediaId":39372,"mediaUrl":"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/country_profiles-featured.png","mediaAlt":"COVID-19 country profiles"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Get an overview of energy for any country on a single page.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/card --> <!-- wp:owid/card {"linkUrl":"https://github.com/owid/energy-data","mediaId":39375,"mediaUrl":"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/download_dataset-featured.png","mediaAlt":"download complete COVID-19 dataset"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Download our complete dataset of energy metrics on GitHub. It's open-access and free for anyone to use.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/card --> <!-- wp:owid/card {"title":"","linkUrl":"https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access","mediaId":41041,"mediaUrl":"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-access.png","mediaAlt":""} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>See how access to electricity and clean cooking fuels vary across the world.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/card --> <!-- wp:owid/card {"linkUrl":"https://ourworldindata.org/energy-production-consumption","mediaId":41039,"mediaUrl":"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-production.png","mediaAlt":""} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Explore long-term changes in energy production and consumption across the world.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/card --> <!-- wp:owid/card {"linkUrl":"https://owid.cloud/energy-mix","mediaId":41040,"mediaUrl":"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-mix.png","mediaAlt":""} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>How much of our energy comes from fossil fuels, renewables and nuclear energy? See the breakdown of the energy mix.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/card --> <!-- wp:owid/card {"linkUrl":"https://owid.cloud/electricity-mix","mediaId":41042,"mediaUrl":"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Electricity-Mix.png","mediaAlt":""} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Explore the breakdown of the electricity mix and how this is changing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/card --> <!-- wp:owid/card {"linkUrl":"https://owid.cloud/fossil-fuels","mediaId":41037,"mediaUrl":"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Fossil-Fuels.png","mediaAlt":""} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>See the long-term changes in coal, oil and gas production and consumption.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/card --> <!-- wp:owid/card {"linkUrl":"https://owid.cloud/renewable-energy","mediaId":41035,"mediaUrl":"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Renewable-Energy.png","mediaAlt":""} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>How quickly are countries scaling up the production of renewable technologies? Explore the data.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/card --> <!-- wp:owid/card {"linkUrl":"https://owid.cloud/nuclear-energy","mediaId":41036,"mediaUrl":"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Nuclear-Energy.png","mediaAlt":""} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Explore the long-term changes in nuclear energy production across the world.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/card --> <!-- wp:owid/card {"linkUrl":"ourworldindata.org/transport","mediaId":45158,"mediaUrl":"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/09/transport-thumbnail.png","mediaAlt":""} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Explore trends in transport technologies and emissions across the world.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/card --> <!-- /wp:owid/grid -->	{ "id": "wp-34888", "slug": "energy-mix", "content": { "toc": [], "body": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Energy production \u2013 mainly the burning of fossil fuels \u2013 accounts for around three-quarters of global ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/greenhouse-gas-emissions", "children": [ { "text": "greenhouse gas emissions", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": ". Not only is energy production the largest driver of climate change, the burning of fossil fuels and biomass also comes at a large cost to human health: at least five million deaths are ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/air-pollution", "children": [ { "text": "attributed to air pollution", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": " each year.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "The world therefore needs to shift away from fossil fuels to an energy mix dominated by low-carbon sources of energy \u2013 renewable technologies and nuclear power.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "What does our energy mix look like today? What countries have the 'cleanest' energy mix? And are we making progress in shifting towards a low-carbon energy system?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "This article focuses on the breakdown of energy sources: how they vary across the world and how this is changing over time.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "In the energy domain, there are many different units thrown around \u2013 joules, exajoules, million tonnes of oil equivalents, barrel equivalents, British thermal units, terawatt-hours, to name a few. This can be confusing, and make comparisons difficult. So at ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "Our World in Data ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": "we try to maintain consistency by converting all energy data to watt-hours. We do this to compare energy data across different metrics and sources.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "Global primary energy: how has the mix changed over centuries?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 2, "parseErrors": [] }, { "left": [ { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-energy-substitution?time=earliest..latest", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "Related chart:", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 5, "parseErrors": [] }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/long-term-energy-transitions", "type": "prominent-link", "title": "Long-term energy transitions", "description": "How do our long-term energy transitions look when we consider two additional elements: the work of humans and animals?", "parseErrors": [] } ], "type": "sticky-right", "right": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Today when we think about energy mixes we think about a diverse range of sources \u2013 coal, oil, gas, nuclear, hydropower, solar, wind, biofuels. But If we look back a couple of centuries ago, our energy mixes where relatively homogeneous. And the transition from one source to another was incredibly slow.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "In the chart shown we see global primary energy consumption dating back to the year 1800. This earlier data is sourced from Vaclav Smil's work ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "Energy Transitions: Global and National Perspectives", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": ".{ref}Vaclav Smil (2017). ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "http://vaclavsmil.com/2016/12/14/energy-transitions-global-and-national-perspectives-second-expanded-and-updated-edition/", "children": [ { "text": "Energy Transitions: Global and National Perspectives", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": ".{/ref} Data from 1965 onwards comes from the latest release of BP's", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": " ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html", "children": [ { "text": "Statistical Review of World Energy", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": ".{ref}Note that this data presents primary energy consumption via the \u2018substitution method\u2019. The \u2018substitution method\u2019 \u2013 in comparison to the \u2018direct method\u2019 \u2013 attempts to correct for the inefficiencies (energy wasted as heat during combustion) in fossil fuel and biomass conversion. It does this by correcting nuclear and modern renewable technologies to their \u2018primary input equivalents\u2019 if the same quantity of energy were to be produced from fossil fuels.{/ref}", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "We see that until the mid-19th century, traditional biomass \u2013 the burning of solid fuels such as wood, crop waste, or charcoal \u2013 was the dominant source of energy used across the world. But with the Industrial Revolution came the rise of coal; followed by oil, gas; and by the turn of the 20th century, hydropower.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "It wasn't until the 1960s that nuclear energy was added to the mix. What are often referred to as 'modern renewables' \u2013 solar and wind \u2013 were only added much later, in the 1980s.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "What ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "Vaclav", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "children": [ { "text": "Smil", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": " \u2013 and other researchers studying these long-term energy transitions across countries \u2013 highlights in his work is the slow rate at which energy transitions have occurred in the past. The speed and scale of the energy transition we need today in switching from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy is therefore a new challenge, very different from the past.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "children": [ { "text": "Energy mix:", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" }, { "text": " what sources do we get our energy from?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 2, "parseErrors": [] }, { "left": [ { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/energy-consumption-by-source-and-region?stackMode=absolute", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "Related chart:", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 5, "parseErrors": [] }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-sub-energy-source", "type": "prominent-link", "title": "Primary energy consumption by source", "description": "Explore the changes in primary energy source by source as a line chart [as opposed to a stacked area].", "parseErrors": [] } ], "type": "sticky-right", "right": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Let's look at our energy mix today, and explore what sources we draw upon. ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "In the interactive chart shown we see the primary energy mix broken down by fuel or generation source. ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Globally we get the largest amount of our energy from oil, followed by coal, gas, then hydroelectric power. As we look at in more detail below \u2013 \"How much of global energy comes from low-carbon sources?\" \u2013 the global energy mix is still dominated by fossil fuels. They account for more than 80% of energy consumption.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "children": [ { "text": "How you can interact with this chart", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 4, "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "list", "items": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "On these charts you see the button ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "Change Country ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" }, { "text": "in the bottom left corner \u2013 with this option you can switch the chart to any other country in the world.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "By ticking the 'Relative' box in the bottom left corner you can switch to see each source's share of the total.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "In the charts here we see the breakdown of the energy mix by country. First with the higher-level breakdown by fossil fuels, nuclear and renewables. Then with the specific breakdown by source, including coal, gas, oil, nuclear, hydro, solar, wind and other renewables (which include bioenergy, wave and tidal).", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "This is given in terms of per capita consumption. Using the toggle on the interactive charts you can also see the percentage breakdown for each source using the 'Relative' tickbox.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "left": [ { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/per-capita-energy-source-stacked?country=OWID_WRL~CAN~BRA~CHN~IND~USA~GBR~AUS~FRA~SWE~ZAF~JPN", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] } ], "type": "sticky-right", "right": [ { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/per-capita-energy-stacked?country=USA~GBR~OWID_WRL~CHN~IND~FRA~DEU~SWE~ZAF~JPN~BRA", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "How much of global energy comes from low-carbon sources?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 2, "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Around three-quarters of global greenhouse gas ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Emissions-by-sector.png", "children": [ { "text": "emissions come from", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": " the burning of fossil fuels for energy.{ref}The remaining quarter comes from industrial processes (such as cement production), agriculture, land use change and waste.{/ref} To reduce global emissions we need to shift our energy systems away from fossil fuels to low-carbon sources of energy. We need to \u2018decarbonize\u2019.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "How big is this challenge? How much of our energy currently comes from low-carbon sources?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "In the chart here we see the breakdown of global primary energy consumption for 2019.{ref} This is based on primary energy data published annually in BP\u2019s ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html", "children": [ { "text": "Statistical Review of World Energy", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": ".{/ref}\u00a0", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Before we look at the numbers, there are two points to note:", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "list", "items": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Here we take primary energy based on the ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "\u2018substitution method\u2019", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": " for energy accounting. For those interested in energy accounting methods, at the end of this post we look at comparisons of direct versus substitution methods. The quick summary of it is that this accounting method tries to account for the energy lost from the inefficiencies in fossil fuel production and aims to provide the appropriate comparison of how much more low-carbon energy we would need to replace fossil fuels in the energy mix. It\u2019s one of the preferred accounting method used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).{ref}Krey V., O. Masera, G. Blanford, T. Bruckner, R. Cooke, K. Fisher-Vanden, H. Haberl, E. Hertwich, E. Kriegler, D. Mueller, S. Paltsev, L. Price, S. Schl\u00f6mer, D. \u00dcrge-Vorsatz, D. van Vuuren, and T. Zwickel, 2014: ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-ii.pdf", "children": [ { "text": "Annex II: Metrics & Methodology", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": ". In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schl\u00f6mer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref}", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "These figures don\u2019t include energy produced from traditional biomass. This is because most international energy agencies \u2013 such as BP, IEA or EIA \u2013 only track data on commercially-traded fuels. Traditional biomass \u2013 which are ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/indoor-air-pollution#indoor-air-pollution-results-from-poor-access-to-clean-cooking-fuels", "children": [ { "text": "solid fuels", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": " such as wood, crop residues and charcoal \u2013 can be a key source of energy for people living at lower incomes, but it is challenging to quantify and timely data is not available. Based on ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-energy-substitution", "children": [ { "text": "crude estimates from earlier data", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": " I would expect it to currently account for an additional 6% of global energy.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "16% of global primary energy came from low-carbon sources in 2019", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 4, "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "We see that in 2019, almost 16% (15.7% to be precise) of global primary energy came from low-carbon sources. Low-carbon sources are the sum of nuclear energy and renewables \u2013 which includes hydropower, wind, solar, bioenergy, geothermal and wave and tidal.{ref}The emissions from these sources are not necessarily zero \u2013 the mining of materials, production, maintenance and decommissioning of these technologies may produce some carbon, but per unit of\u00a0 energy this is\u00a0 very small relative to fossil fuels.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "spanType": "span-newline" }, { "spanType": "span-newline" }, { "text": "Schl\u00f6mer S., T. Bruckner, L. Fulton, E. Hertwich, A. McKinnon, D. Perczyk, J. Roy, R. Schaeffer, R. Sims, P. Smith, and R. Wiser, 2014: ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-iii.pdf", "children": [ { "text": "Annex III: Technology-specific cost and performance parameters. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": ". Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schl\u00f6mer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref}", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "11.4% came from renewables; and 4.3% came from nuclear.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Hydropower and nuclear account for most of our low-carbon energy: combined they account for 10.7%. Wind produces just 2.2%, and solar 1.1% \u2013 but both sources are\u00a0 ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/percentage-change-energy-by-source", "children": [ { "text": "growing quickly", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": ".", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Despite producing more and more energy from renewables each year, the global energy mix is still dominated by coal, oil, and gas. Not only does most of our energy \u2013 84% of it \u2013 come from fossil fuels, we continue to burn more each year: total ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-fossil-fuel-consumption", "children": [ { "text": "production has increased", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": " from 116,214 to 136,761 TWh in the last 10 years.\u00a0", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "spanType": "span-newline" }, { "text": "We\u2019ve seen the breakdown of the energy mix today. But this does tell us about how it\u2019s changing over time. Are we making progress in decarbonization over time? We look at this question in a related post ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "here", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" }, { "text": ".", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "alt": "", "size": "wide", "type": "image", "filename": "Global-primary-energy-by-source.png", "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "Which countries get the most energy from low-carbon sources?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 2, "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Globally, just 16% of primary energy (15.7% to be precise) came from low-carbon sources \u2013 nuclear and renewables \u2013 in 2019. We are a long way away from the goal to shift towards a low-carbon energy system.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "But do some countries do much better than this? Do we have examples of countries who are already paving the way towards a fossil-free energy mix?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "Which countries are doing better in low-carbon energy production than the global average?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 4, "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "In the interactive map here we see the world split into two categories: countries which get ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "more", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": " of their energy from low-carbon sources than the global average of 15.7%; and those that get ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "less", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": ".{ref}This breakdown of primary energy is based on the \u2018substitution method\u2019 which corrects for the inefficiencies in energy production from fossil fuels, and is a better representation of low-carbon energy\u2019s share of \u2018useful energy\u2019. For an in-depth discussion and comparison of different ways of accounting for energy production, see ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix#direct-vs-substituted-primary-energy-what-are-the-multiple-ways-of-energy-accounting", "children": [ { "children": [ { "text": "our explainer", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": ".{/ref}\u00a0", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "What immediately stands out is that there is a reasonably strong East-West divide: most Western economies get a larger share of energy from low-carbon sources, and those in East get less. Of course this boundary is not absolute: the Netherlands and Ireland, for example, are below the global average.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "This divide may be in part, due to differences in income: many richer countries with a long history of fossil fuel-rich energy systems have already shifted away from them.{ref}In ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-low-carbon-energy-vs-gdp", "children": [ { "text": "this related chart", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": " you can see how the share of primary energy from low-carbon sources relates to average income \u2013 GDP per capita. This relationship is by no means clear-cut: many rich countries get very little energy from low-carbon sources; and poorer countries get a high share. But overall we see that more rich countries tend to lie above the dotted global average line than countries at lower incomes.{/ref}\u00a0", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "For many poorer countries in our map, no data is shown. This is because the BP Statistical Review of World Energy does not cover all countries in the world \u2013 it relies on energy statistics from commercially-traded fuels. This means traditional biomass burning \u2013 a dominant source of energy at lower incomes are not included. Typically ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "http://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions", "children": [ { "text": "energy-related emissions", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": " from low income countries are small because ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access", "children": [ { "text": "access to energy", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": " \u2013 both electricity and modern cooking fuels \u2013 is low.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-energy-vs-global", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "Which countries get the highest share of energy from low-carbon sources?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 4, "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "We have a rough categorization of countries that are above and below the global average. But let\u2019s take a closer look at the numbers.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "In the interactive map here we see the share of primary energy that comes from low-carbon sources across countries.{ref}This breakdown of primary energy is based on the \u2018substitution method\u2019 which corrects for the inefficiencies in energy production from fossil fuels, and is a better representation of low-carbon energy\u2019s share of \u2018useful energy\u2019. For an in-depth discussion and comparison of different ways of accounting for energy production, see ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix#direct-vs-substituted-primary-energy-what-are-the-multiple-ways-of-energy-accounting", "children": [ { "children": [ { "text": "our explainer", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": ".{/ref}", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-share-energy", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "In 2019, Iceland got 79% of its energy from low-carbon sources. This was the highest in the world. Most of this came from hydropower (55%) but also other renewables \u2013 mainly geothermal energy (24%). You see this breakdown in the interactive chart below. Using the \u201cchange country\u201d toggle you can switch to see the breakdown for other countries.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/energy-consumption-by-source-and-region?country=~ISL", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "But Iceland wasn\u2019t the only country to get most of its energy from low-carbon sources: Sweden (69%); Norway (66%) France (49%) and Switzerland (49%) all got a large amount from nuclear or renewables.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Finland, and Brazil also had a high share \u2013 more than 40%.\u00a0", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "At the other end of the scale, some countries rely almost entirely on fossil fuels. Many of the world\u2019s oil-producing countries \u2013 Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait \u2013 got less than 1% from low-carbon sources.\u00a0", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Amongst the largest emerging economies, South Africa produced only 5% from low-carbon sources; India got 9%; and China, 15%. Brazil, as we mentioned earlier, achieves a much higher share \u2013 46% in 2019.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Globally, our progress in shifting towards a low-carbon economy has been slow. That may leave us pessimistic about a path forward. But some countries \u2013 often some of the world\u2019s richest countries who have high ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "http://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions", "children": [ { "text": "carbon footprints", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": " \u2013 show us that significant progress on decarbonizing our energy systems is possible. They still have a long way to go but are moving in the right direction.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "spanType": "span-newline" }, { "text": "Poorer countries face a bigger challenge: they must grow their economies, giving their populations ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access", "children": [ { "text": "access to energy", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": ", healthcare and ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/extreme-poverty", "children": [ { "text": "alleviating poverty", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": " whilst avoiding the carbon-intensive pathways today\u2019s rich countries have taken. To do this, they need clean energy to be cheap, undercutting fossil fuel alternatives. In this regard, the world\u2019s richest countries also have a role to play: the scale-up of low-carbon energy should help to drive down costs. We have already seen this effect with the rapid ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/solar-pv-prices-vs-cumulative-capacity", "children": [ { "text": "decline in solar prices", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": " in recent years.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "Is the world making progress in decarbonizing energy?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 2, "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Three-quarters of global greenhouse gas ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Emissions-by-sector.png", "children": [ { "text": "emissions come from", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": " the burning of fossil fuels for energy.{ref}The remaining quarter comes from industrial processes (mainly cement production), agriculture, land use change and waste.{/ref} To tackle climate change, we need to transition away from fossil fuels and decarbonize our energy systems.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "The world got ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t2COQwSVDWUke7LvowS-LbKXMpdONaVBODA7J06_tCc/edit?pli=1#heading=h.9xiuxmabyswp", "children": [ { "text": "15.7% of its energy", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": " from low-carbon sources \u2013 either nuclear or renewables \u2013 in 2019.\u00a0 How has this changed over time?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Does our track record give us reason to be optimistic that we can quickly decarbonize?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "In the chart we see the share of global energy that comes from low-carbon sources. We\u2019ve certainly made progress since half a century ago: while the global consumption of energy ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-energy-cons?tab=chart&country=~OWID_WRL", "children": [ { "text": "increased 3.8-fold", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": ", the share of low carbon sources has more than doubled. In the 1960s only 6% of our energy came from renewables or nuclear", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": " [at this point in time it was mainly the former, as we\u2019ll see later]", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": ".", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "But our rate of progress since the 1990s has been less impressive. By 1994 we were already getting 13.5% from low-carbon sources. Today \u2013 25 years later \u2013 we\u2019ve only increased this by two percentage points. It\u2019s moving in the right direction, but far too slowly \u2013 probably much more slowly than many expect.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-share-energy?tab=chart&country=~OWID_WRL", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "Fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewables: how is the global energy mix\u00a0 changing?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 4, "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "In the chart we see the share of global energy that comes from fossil fuels, renewables and nuclear. The sum of the top two is what we want to increase. I\u2019ve also summarised this breakdown in the table \u2013 noting each source\u2019s\u2019 share at various points in time since the 1970s.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Part of this slow progress is due to the fact that much of the gains made in renewables has been offset by a decline in nuclear energy. Renewables have been growing while nuclear has been rolled back.{ref}This is even clearer when we ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/electricity-fossil-renewables-nuclear-line", "children": [ { "text": "focus in on", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": " global ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "electricity", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": " production: nuclear declined by almost as much as renewables gained.{/ref}", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Overall, this means that the combined share from low-carbon sources has increased by less than we might have expected. Having both renewables and nuclear pulling in the same direction would certainly have helped. But it wouldn\u2019t be enough: the rate of progress would still have been slow.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/sub-energy-fossil-renewables-nuclear", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "html", "value": "<div class=\"raw-html-table__container\"><table><thead><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Year</th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Fossil Fuels</th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Low-carbon energy<br><em>(Renewables + Nuclear)</em></th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>Renewables</em></th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>Nuclear</em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">1970</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">94%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">6%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>5.6%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>0.4%</em></td></tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">1980</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">91.6%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">8.4%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>6%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>2.4%</em></td></tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">1990</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">88%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">12%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>6.4%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>5.6%</em></td></tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2000</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">87%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">13%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>7%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>6%</em></td></tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2010</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">87%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">13%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>7.8%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>5.2%</em></td></tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2019</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">84.3%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">15.7%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>11.4%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>4.3%</em></td></tr></tbody></table></div>", "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "It\u2019s the total amount of fossil fuels we burn that matters \u2013 and we continue to burn more each year", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 4, "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "But, actually, we\u2019re still fooling ourselves a bit in looking at this progress through the lens of what ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "share", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": " of our energy is low-carbon.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, the atmosphere does not care about shares, only absolutes. That is what ultimately determines the amount of CO", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "2", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-subscript" }, { "text": " we emit, and the rate at which it accumulates in the atmosphere.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Global energy consumption is not stagnant, but growing. And in the past years it has been growing too quickly for renewables and nuclear to keep up.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "In the chart here we see primary energy consumption in absolute terms for each source. We continue to produce more energy from fossil fuels \u2013 particularly oil and gas \u2013 each year.{ref}This is also very clear when we look at the ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-primary-energy-fossil-vs-low-carbon", "children": [ { "text": "year-on-year ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "change", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": " in energy consumption by source; this is calculated as the amount of energy produced this year relative to the last, so a positive number means that source is growing; a negative means it decreased. ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "[If you click\u00a0 the \u2018play\u2019 button on the bottom timeline of the ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-primary-energy-fossil-vs-low-carbon", "children": [ { "children": [ { "text": "year-on-year change", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "children": [ { "text": " chart you can see how fossil fuel consumption continues to grow each year].", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": "{/ref}", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Low-carbon energy is certainly growing across the world \u2013 undoubtedly a sign of progress.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Decarbonization is happening. But not nearly fast enough.To achieve the necessary progress that matters for the climate we need to see its growth not only meet our new energy demands each year, but start displacing existing fossil fuels in the energy mix at a much faster rate.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-sub-energy-source", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "Energy consumption by source", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 2, "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "children": [ { "text": "Fossil fuels:", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" }, { "text": " what share of energy comes from fossil fuels?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 3, "parseErrors": [] }, { "left": [ { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/fossil-fuels-share-energy", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "Related content:", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 5, "parseErrors": [] }, { "url": "ourworldindata.org/fossil-fuels", "type": "prominent-link", "title": "Fossil fuels", "description": "Explore our work on Fossil Fuels.", "parseErrors": [] } ], "type": "sticky-right", "right": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Fossil fuels are the sum of coal, oil and gas. Combined, they are the largest source of global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "2", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-subscript" }, { "text": "). We therefore want to shift our energy systems away from fossil fuels towards low-carbon sources of energy.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas summed together) across the world.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "Three tips on how to interact with this map", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 4, "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "list", "items": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "By clicking on any country on the map you see the change over time in this country.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "By moving the time slider (below the map) you can see how the global situation has changed over time.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "You can focus on a particular world region using the dropdown menu to the top-right of the map.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "children": [ { "text": "Coal:", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" }, { "text": " what share of energy comes from coal?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 3, "parseErrors": [] }, { "left": [ { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/coal-energy-share", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] } ], "type": "sticky-right", "right": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Coal has been a critical energy sources, and mainstay in global energy production for centuries.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "But it's also the most ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/safest-sources-of-energy", "children": [ { "text": "polluting energy source", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": ": both in terms of the amount of CO", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "2", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-subscript" }, { "text": " it produces per unit of energy, but also the amount of local air pollution it creates. Moving away from coal energy is important for climate change as well as human health.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from coal across the world.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "children": [ { "text": "Oil:", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" }, { "text": " what share of energy comes from oil?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 3, "parseErrors": [] }, { "left": [ { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/oil-share-energy", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] } ], "type": "sticky-right", "right": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Oil is the world's largest energy source today. It is the dominant source of energy for the transport sector in particular.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from oil across the world.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "children": [ { "text": "Gas:", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" }, { "text": " what share of energy comes from gas?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 3, "parseErrors": [] }, { "left": [ { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gas-share-energy", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] } ], "type": "sticky-right", "right": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Natural gas has, for decades, lagged behind coal and oil as an energy source. But today its consumption is growing rapidly \u2013 often as a replacement for coal in the energy mix. Gas is a major provider of ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "http://ourworldindata.org/electricity-mix", "children": [ { "text": "electricity production", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": ", and a key source of heat.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from gas across the world.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "children": [ { "text": "Nuclear:", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" }, { "text": " what share of energy comes from nuclear?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 3, "parseErrors": [] }, { "left": [ { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/nuclear-primary-energy", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] }, { "url": "ourworldindata.org/nuclear-energy", "type": "prominent-link", "title": "Nuclear energy", "description": "Explore our work on Nuclear Energy.", "parseErrors": [] } ], "type": "sticky-right", "right": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Nuclear energy \u2013 alongside hydropower \u2013 has been a key source of low-carbon energy for many countries across the world in recent decades. But there are large differences in the role of nuclear \u2013 some countries rely heavily on it for energy production; others produce no energy at all from it.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from nuclear across the world.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "children": [ { "text": "Renewables:", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" }, { "text": " how much of our energy comes from renewables?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 3, "parseErrors": [] }, { "left": [ { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/renewable-share-energy", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] }, { "url": "ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy", "type": "prominent-link", "title": "Renewable energy", "description": "Explore our work on Renewable Energy.", "parseErrors": [] } ], "type": "sticky-right", "right": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Renewable energy is a collective term used to capture a number of different energy sources. 'Renewables' typically includes hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and wave and tidal energy.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from renewables (the sum of all renewable energy technologies) across the world.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "The share of energy we get from individual renewable technologies \u2013 solar, or wind, for example \u2013 are given in the sections below.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "children": [ { "text": "Hydropower:", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" }, { "text": " what share of energy comes from hydropower?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 3, "parseErrors": [] }, { "left": [ { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/hydro-share-energy", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "Related content", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 5, "parseErrors": [] }, { "url": "ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy", "type": "prominent-link", "title": "Hydropower generation", "description": "How is hydropower generation changing in absolute terms? Explore in more detail in our work on Renewable Energy.", "parseErrors": [] } ], "type": "sticky-right", "right": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Hydroelectric power has been an influential low-carbon energy technology for many countries for more than half a century. Globally, it is still the largest source of renewable energy.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from hydropower across the world.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "children": [ { "text": "Solar:", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" }, { "text": " what share of energy comes from solar?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 3, "parseErrors": [] }, { "left": [ { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/solar-share-energy", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "Related content", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 5, "parseErrors": [] }, { "url": "ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy", "type": "prominent-link", "title": "Solar power generation", "description": "How quickly is solar production changing? Explore in more detail in our work on Renewable Energy.", "parseErrors": [] } ], "type": "sticky-right", "right": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Solar energy is often referred to as a 'modern renewable' \u2013 a couple of decades ago it made only a tiny contribution to global energy supply. But in recent years it has ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from solar technologies across the world.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "children": [ { "text": "Wind:", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" }, { "text": " what share of energy comes from wind?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 3, "parseErrors": [] }, { "left": [ { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/wind-share-energy", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "Related content", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 5, "parseErrors": [] }, { "url": "ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy", "type": "prominent-link", "title": "Wind power generation", "description": "How quickly is wind production changing? Explore in more detail in our work on Renewable Energy.", "parseErrors": [] } ], "type": "sticky-right", "right": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from wind (both onshore and offshore) across the world.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "Three tips on how to interact with this map", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 4, "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "list", "items": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "By clicking on any country on the map you see the change over time in this country.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "By moving the time slider (below the map) you can see how the global situation has changed over time.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "You can focus on a particular world region using the dropdown menu to the top-right of the map.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "children": [ { "text": "Year-to-year change:", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" }, { "text": " how is energy consumption by source changing?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 2, "parseErrors": [] }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-change-primary-energy-source", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] }, { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-primary-energy-fossil-vs-low-carbon", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "Direct vs. substituted primary energy: what are the multiple ways of energy accounting?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 2, "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Understanding the breakdown of our energy systems \u2013 how much energy we get from coal, oil or gas, how much from nuclear, solar or wind \u2013 is crucial. It allows us to compare energy mixes across the world; track whether we are making progress on decarbonizing our energy systems; and plan and manage demands for natural resources.\u00a0", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "But what seems like a simple exercise \u2013 adding up the produced energy from all the different sources \u2013 is in fact not straightforward at all. These difficulties result in different approaches for \u2018energy accounting\u2019 and present a different picture of the energy mix.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Below, we take a look at the two key methodologies applied to primary energy accounting: \u2018direct\u2019 primary energy and primary energy via the \u2018substitution method\u2019. These methods are discussed (or debated) often, but I couldn\u2019t find particularly clear or simple explanations of how they differ and what this means for understanding our energy mix. The aim here is to fill that gap.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "What\u2019s important is to understand why there are two different methods and how they affect our perspective on the energy mix.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "Direct vs. substituted primary energy: what\u2019s the difference?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 4, "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "\u2018Primary energy\u2019\u00a0 refers to energy in its raw form, before it has been converted by humans into other forms of energy like electricity, heat or transport fuels. Think of this as inputs into an energy system: coal, oil or gas before we burn them; or solar or wind energy before we convert them to electricity.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "When we are asking how much energy is consumed or what the breakdown of the sources of energy is we are asking about primary energy.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Here we look at two ways in which \u2018primary energy\u2019 is calculated: the \u2018direct\u2019 and the \u2018substituted\u2019 method. The simplest way to think of the difference between these methods is that \u2018direct\u2019 primary energy ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "does not", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": " take account of the energy lost in the conversion of fossil fuels to usable energy. The substitution method ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "does", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": " attempt to correct for this loss.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "An example of the difference between \u2018direct\u2019 and \u2018substituted\u2019 energy", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 4, "parseErrors": [] }, { "left": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "To understand why this distinction is important we need to first consider the process of energy production.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "When we burn fuel in a thermal power plant most of the energy we put into the process is lost \u2013 primarily in the form of heat. Most fossil fuel plants run with an efficiency of around 33% to 40%.{ref}This can vary from plant-to-plant, and by fuel type. We look in more detail at the assumed efficiencies of power plants later.{/ref} The remaining 60% to 67% of energy is wasted as heat. This means for every unit of energy that we can use, another two are wasted.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "When we measure electricity\u00a0 generation from renewables or nuclear power, we\u2019re measuring the direct\u00a0 ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "output", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": ", with no losses or waste to consider.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Let\u2019s take an example \u2013 shown in the graphic here. Imagine we have a country that needs 100 terawatt-hours (TWh) of energy. We have three different energy mixes: only fossil fuels; only renewable or nuclear energy; and a mix of both.\u00a0", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "numbered-list", "items": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "If we only rely on ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "fossil fuels", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" }, { "text": " we need 263 TWh of energy input. This is because only around 38% of these inputs are converted into \u2018useful\u2019 energy.{ref}We can calculate this by dividing our 100 TWh demand by 0.38.{/ref} 163 TWh is energy lost as heat.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "children": [ { "text": "If we only rely on either renewable or nuclear energy", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" }, { "text": " these losses do not occur \u2013 the quantity of electricity generated is the same quantity we can use. So we only need 100 TWh.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "children": [ { "children": [ { "text": "If we rely on renewables/nuclear and fossil fuels", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" }, { "text": " it depends on the mix: ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" }, { "text": "let\u2019s say we produce 50 TWh from renewables or nuclear sources. We need another 50 TWh from fossil fuels. But to produce the additional 50 TWh from fossil fuels, we actually need 132 TWh, because we lose 82 TWh as heat ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "[50 TWh / 0.38 = 132 TWh]", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": ". Combined, we need 182 TWh of energy input ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "[50 TWh from renewables/nuclear + 50 TWh \u2018useful\u2019 fossil fuel energy + 82 TWh wasted]", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": ".", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "type": "sticky-right", "right": [ { "alt": "", "size": "wide", "type": "image", "filename": "Three-scenarios-to-supply-100TWh-of-energy.png", "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "left": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Based on this example we can understand the difference between direct primary energy and the substitution method.\u00a0", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Let\u2019s take the third scenario \u2013 a mixture of fossil fuels and low-carbon energy \u2013 and see how the low-carbon share differs between the two methods. This is shown in the figure.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "From the direct method we get 50 TWh / 182 TWh = 27%. From the substitution\u00a0 method we get 50 TWh / 100 TWh = 50%.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "I find it helpful to think of the distinction as:", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "list", "items": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Low-carbon\u2019s share in ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "direct primary energy", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" }, { "text": " = % of ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "total primary energy", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" }, { "text": " consumption (including all of the inefficiencies of fossil fuel production)", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "list", "items": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Low carbon\u2019s share in ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "substituted primary energy = ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" }, { "text": "% of ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "useful energy ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" }, { "text": "(once we subtract all of the wasted energy in the burning of fossil fuels)", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "type": "sticky-right", "right": [ { "alt": "", "size": "wide", "type": "image", "filename": "How-are-energy-mixes-calculated.png", "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "What effect does our choice of accounting method have on the breakdown of the global energy mix?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 4, "parseErrors": [] }, { "left": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "A question many want the answer to is, how much of our energy comes from low-carbon sources? How close are we to getting rid of fossil fuels?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "As we now know, it depends on whether we\u2019re using the direct or substitution method. In the chart here we show the breakdown of the global primary energy mix in 2019 to compare the two methods.{ref}This is based on data from the ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "BP Statistical Review of World Energy", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": "; it considers only commercially-traded fuels, so traditional biomass is not included.{/ref}", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "As we should expect from the example we worked through, when we calculate the share of energy from low-carbon sources via the substitution method we get a higher figure: 16% vs. only 7% from the direct method. When we strip away the differences in efficiencies between the sources, both renewables and nuclear make a larger contribution.\u00a0", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "In the interactive charts you can also compare each source\u2019s share of energy based on the two methods. Using the \u201cchange country\u201d button in the bottom-left of each chart, you can also see this for different countries.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Most sources tend to prefer and report on the substitution method (or a similar approach \u2013 the \u2018physical content\u2019 method \u2013 which we don\u2019t discuss here but which gives similar results) rather than the direct method. The substitution method is also the preferred approach of the ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": ", for example.{ref}Krey V., O. Masera, G. Blanford, T. Bruckner, R. Cooke, K. Fisher-Vanden, H. Haberl, E. Hertwich, E. Kriegler, D. Mueller, S. Paltsev, L. Price, S. Schl\u00f6mer, D. \u00dcrge-Vorsatz, D. van Vuuren, and T. Zwickel, 2014: ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "url": "https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-ii.pdf", "children": [ { "text": "Annex II: Metrics & Methodology", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "text": ". In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schl\u00f6mer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref}", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "type": "sticky-right", "right": [ { "alt": "", "size": "wide", "type": "image", "filename": "Global-primary-energy-breakdown-\u2013-sub-vs.-direct.png", "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "left": [ { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-primary-energy-consumption-by-source", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] } ], "type": "sticky-right", "right": [ { "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-energy-source-sub", "type": "chart", "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "How do we convert from direct to substituted primary energy?", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 4, "parseErrors": [] }, { "left": [ { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "At Our World in Data we get most of our energy data from BP; each year it publishes its ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "Statistical Review of World Energy ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": "report. It applies the substitution method to its primary energy data ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "[you can read its methodology ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "url": "https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/using-the-review/methodology.html#accordion_primary-energy-methodology", "children": [ { "children": [ { "children": [ { "text": "here", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" } ], "spanType": "span-bold" } ], "spanType": "span-link" }, { "children": [ { "text": "]", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": ".", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "How does it convert from direct primary energy \u2013 that we can measure \u2013 into the substitution breakdown?\u00a0", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "In the schematic explanation above, we looked at calculating the share of energy from low-carbon energy sources by comparing it with the amount of useful energy (subtracting the wasted energy) from fossil fuels.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "But we can also do the opposite of this to get the same result. In fact, this inverse approach is what is most commonly applied by BP and others who use the \u2018substitution method\u2019. So, instead of assuming fossil fuels have the same efficiency as renewables/nuclear, we do the opposite: we assume renewables/nuclear are as inefficient as fossil fuels. We calculate the equivalent amount of fossil fuels that would be required to produce the amount of electricity we get from non-fossil based sources.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "So, let\u2019s say we produce 100 TWh of electricity from wind. And we assume the efficiency of a fossil fuel plant is 38%. We would convert this wind electricity into \u2018input-equivalent\u2019 primary energy by dividing by this efficiency ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "[100 / 0.38 = 263 TWh]", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": ". This would be the amount of primary energy that would be required from fossil fuels to produce the same amount of electricity as wind.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "We should note that this conversion is used as an approximation \u2013 a standard \u2018efficiency\u2019 factor is applied across-the-board. But we know that some power plants have a slightly lower or higher efficiency and it can change over time. In fact, BP changed its methodology in its 2020 assessment to reflect this change over time. Previously it assumed a 38% efficiency factor consistently. But it now applies a \u2018time-dependent\u2019 model to build in improvements over time. Changes in this conversion factor are summarised in the table below.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "spanType": "span-newline" }, { "text": "The substitution method gives us a more accurate understanding of how low-carbon energy is competing with fossil fuels. For this reason: when we look at the breakdowns of energy mix on ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "text": "Our World in Data", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": " we have tried wherever possible to use primary energy measured by the substitution method.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "type": "sticky-right", "right": [ { "text": [ { "text": "Conversion factors applied in converting renewable and nuclear electricity outputs to primary energy{ref}BP Statistical Review of World Energy, ", "spanType": "span-simple-text" }, { "children": [ { "url": "https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/using-the-review/definitions-and-explanatory-notes.html", "children": [ { "text": "Definitions and Exploratory Notes", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "spanType": "span-link" } ], "spanType": "span-italic" }, { "text": " (2020){/ref}", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 6, "parseErrors": [] }, { "alt": "", "size": "wide", "type": "image", "filename": "BP-Primary-Energy-Conversion-Factors.png", "parseErrors": [] } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "text": [ { "text": "Explore more of our work on Energy", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "type": "heading", "level": 2, "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Explore all the metrics \u2013 energy production, electricity consumption, and breakdown of fossil fuels, renewable and nuclear energy.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Get an overview of energy for any country on a single page.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Download our complete dataset of energy metrics on GitHub. It's open-access and free for anyone to use.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "See how access to electricity and clean cooking fuels vary across the world.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Explore long-term changes in energy production and consumption across the world.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "How much of our energy comes from fossil fuels, renewables and nuclear energy? See the breakdown of the energy mix.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Explore the breakdown of the electricity mix and how this is changing.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "See the long-term changes in coal, oil and gas production and consumption.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "How quickly are countries scaling up the production of renewable technologies? Explore the data.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Explore the long-term changes in nuclear energy production across the world.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] }, { "type": "text", "value": [ { "text": "Explore trends in transport technologies and emissions across the world.", "spanType": "span-simple-text" } ], "parseErrors": [] } ], "type": "article", "title": "Energy Mix", "authors": [ "Hannah Ritchie" ], "dateline": "July 10, 2020", "sidebar-toc": false, "featured-image": "Energy-mix.png" }, "createdAt": "2020-07-10T09:23:03.000Z", "published": false, "updatedAt": "2023-08-23T09:28:20.000Z", "revisionId": null, "publishedAt": "2020-07-10T08:23:03.000Z", "relatedCharts": [], "publicationContext": "listed" }	{ "errors": [ { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag list" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag owid/help" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag list" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag image" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag table" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag list" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag owid/help" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag list" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag owid/help" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag list" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag image" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag list" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag list" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag image" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag image" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag image" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag owid/card" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag owid/card" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag owid/card" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag owid/card" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag owid/card" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag owid/card" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag owid/card" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag owid/card" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag owid/card" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag owid/card" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag owid/card" }, { "name": "unexpected wp component tag", "details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag owid/grid" } ], "numBlocks": 116, "numErrors": 28, "wpTagCounts": { "html": 24, "list": 7, "image": 5, "table": 1, "column": 40, "columns": 20, "heading": 37, "owid/card": 11, "owid/grid": 1, "owid/help": 3, "paragraph": 117, "owid/prominent-link": 8 }, "htmlTagCounts": { "p": 117, "h2": 9, "h3": 9, "h4": 12, "h5": 6, "h6": 1, "ol": 1, "ul": 6, "div": 60, "table": 1, "figure": 6, "iframe": 23 } }	2020-07-10 08:23:03	2024-02-16 14:22:40	18gw4JicXUOgnz0E7FqORPo9Glg1PL4_WWhdgcWtTXTY	[ "Hannah Ritchie" ]		2020-07-10 09:23:03	2023-08-23 09:28:20	https://ourworldindata.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Energy-mix.png	{ "subnavId": "energy", "subnavCurrentId": "energy-mix" }	Energy production – mainly the burning of fossil fuels – accounts for around three-quarters of global [greenhouse gas emissions](https://ourworldindata.org/greenhouse-gas-emissions). Not only is energy production the largest driver of climate change, the burning of fossil fuels and biomass also comes at a large cost to human health: at least five million deaths are [attributed to air pollution](https://ourworldindata.org/air-pollution) each year. The world therefore needs to shift away from fossil fuels to an energy mix dominated by low-carbon sources of energy – renewable technologies and nuclear power. What does our energy mix look like today? What countries have the 'cleanest' energy mix? And are we making progress in shifting towards a low-carbon energy system? This article focuses on the breakdown of energy sources: how they vary across the world and how this is changing over time. In the energy domain, there are many different units thrown around – joules, exajoules, million tonnes of oil equivalents, barrel equivalents, British thermal units, terawatt-hours, to name a few. This can be confusing, and make comparisons difficult. So at _Our World in Data _we try to maintain consistency by converting all energy data to watt-hours. We do this to compare energy data across different metrics and sources. ## Global primary energy: how has the mix changed over centuries? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-energy-substitution?time=earliest..latest"/> ##### Related chart: ### Long-term energy transitions How do our long-term energy transitions look when we consider two additional elements: the work of humans and animals? https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/long-term-energy-transitions Today when we think about energy mixes we think about a diverse range of sources – coal, oil, gas, nuclear, hydropower, solar, wind, biofuels. But If we look back a couple of centuries ago, our energy mixes where relatively homogeneous. And the transition from one source to another was incredibly slow. In the chart shown we see global primary energy consumption dating back to the year 1800. This earlier data is sourced from Vaclav Smil's work _Energy Transitions: Global and National Perspectives_.{ref}Vaclav Smil (2017). [Energy Transitions: Global and National Perspectives](http://vaclavsmil.com/2016/12/14/energy-transitions-global-and-national-perspectives-second-expanded-and-updated-edition/).{/ref} Data from 1965 onwards comes from the latest release of BP's_ [Statistical Review of World Energy](https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html)_.{ref}Note that this data presents primary energy consumption via the ‘substitution method’. The ‘substitution method’ – in comparison to the ‘direct method’ – attempts to correct for the inefficiencies (energy wasted as heat during combustion) in fossil fuel and biomass conversion. It does this by correcting nuclear and modern renewable technologies to their ‘primary input equivalents’ if the same quantity of energy were to be produced from fossil fuels.{/ref} We see that until the mid-19th century, traditional biomass – the burning of solid fuels such as wood, crop waste, or charcoal – was the dominant source of energy used across the world. But with the Industrial Revolution came the rise of coal; followed by oil, gas; and by the turn of the 20th century, hydropower. It wasn't until the 1960s that nuclear energy was added to the mix. What are often referred to as 'modern renewables' – solar and wind – were only added much later, in the 1980s. What _Vaclav__Smil_ – and other researchers studying these long-term energy transitions across countries – highlights in his work is the slow rate at which energy transitions have occurred in the past. The speed and scale of the energy transition we need today in switching from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy is therefore a new challenge, very different from the past. ## Energy mix: what sources do we get our energy from? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/energy-consumption-by-source-and-region?stackMode=absolute"/> ##### Related chart: ### Primary energy consumption by source Explore the changes in primary energy source by source as a line chart [as opposed to a stacked area]. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-sub-energy-source Let's look at our energy mix today, and explore what sources we draw upon. In the interactive chart shown we see the primary energy mix broken down by fuel or generation source. Globally we get the largest amount of our energy from oil, followed by coal, gas, then hydroelectric power. As we look at in more detail below – "How much of global energy comes from low-carbon sources?" – the global energy mix is still dominated by fossil fuels. They account for more than 80% of energy consumption. #### How you can interact with this chart * On these charts you see the button Change Country in the bottom left corner – with this option you can switch the chart to any other country in the world. * By ticking the 'Relative' box in the bottom left corner you can switch to see each source's share of the total. In the charts here we see the breakdown of the energy mix by country. First with the higher-level breakdown by fossil fuels, nuclear and renewables. Then with the specific breakdown by source, including coal, gas, oil, nuclear, hydro, solar, wind and other renewables (which include bioenergy, wave and tidal). This is given in terms of per capita consumption. Using the toggle on the interactive charts you can also see the percentage breakdown for each source using the 'Relative' tickbox. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/per-capita-energy-source-stacked?country=OWID_WRL~CAN~BRA~CHN~IND~USA~GBR~AUS~FRA~SWE~ZAF~JPN"/> <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/per-capita-energy-stacked?country=USA~GBR~OWID_WRL~CHN~IND~FRA~DEU~SWE~ZAF~JPN~BRA"/> ## How much of global energy comes from low-carbon sources? Around three-quarters of global greenhouse gas [emissions come from](https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Emissions-by-sector.png) the burning of fossil fuels for energy.{ref}The remaining quarter comes from industrial processes (such as cement production), agriculture, land use change and waste.{/ref} To reduce global emissions we need to shift our energy systems away from fossil fuels to low-carbon sources of energy. We need to ‘decarbonize’. How big is this challenge? How much of our energy currently comes from low-carbon sources? In the chart here we see the breakdown of global primary energy consumption for 2019.{ref} This is based on primary energy data published annually in BP’s [Statistical Review of World Energy](https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html).{/ref} Before we look at the numbers, there are two points to note: * Here we take primary energy based on the _‘substitution method’_ for energy accounting. For those interested in energy accounting methods, at the end of this post we look at comparisons of direct versus substitution methods. The quick summary of it is that this accounting method tries to account for the energy lost from the inefficiencies in fossil fuel production and aims to provide the appropriate comparison of how much more low-carbon energy we would need to replace fossil fuels in the energy mix. It’s one of the preferred accounting method used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).{ref}Krey V., O. Masera, G. Blanford, T. Bruckner, R. Cooke, K. Fisher-Vanden, H. Haberl, E. Hertwich, E. Kriegler, D. Mueller, S. Paltsev, L. Price, S. Schlömer, D. Ürge-Vorsatz, D. van Vuuren, and T. Zwickel, 2014: [Annex II: Metrics & Methodology](https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-ii.pdf). In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref} * These figures don’t include energy produced from traditional biomass. This is because most international energy agencies – such as BP, IEA or EIA – only track data on commercially-traded fuels. Traditional biomass – which are [solid fuels](https://ourworldindata.org/indoor-air-pollution#indoor-air-pollution-results-from-poor-access-to-clean-cooking-fuels) such as wood, crop residues and charcoal – can be a key source of energy for people living at lower incomes, but it is challenging to quantify and timely data is not available. Based on [crude estimates from earlier data](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-energy-substitution) I would expect it to currently account for an additional 6% of global energy. #### 16% of global primary energy came from low-carbon sources in 2019 We see that in 2019, almost 16% (15.7% to be precise) of global primary energy came from low-carbon sources. Low-carbon sources are the sum of nuclear energy and renewables – which includes hydropower, wind, solar, bioenergy, geothermal and wave and tidal.{ref}The emissions from these sources are not necessarily zero – the mining of materials, production, maintenance and decommissioning of these technologies may produce some carbon, but per unit of energy this is very small relative to fossil fuels. Schlömer S., T. Bruckner, L. Fulton, E. Hertwich, A. McKinnon, D. Perczyk, J. Roy, R. Schaeffer, R. Sims, P. Smith, and R. Wiser, 2014: [Annex III: Technology-specific cost and performance parameters. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change](https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-iii.pdf). Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref} 11.4% came from renewables; and 4.3% came from nuclear. Hydropower and nuclear account for most of our low-carbon energy: combined they account for 10.7%. Wind produces just 2.2%, and solar 1.1% – but both sources are [growing quickly](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/percentage-change-energy-by-source). Despite producing more and more energy from renewables each year, the global energy mix is still dominated by coal, oil, and gas. Not only does most of our energy – 84% of it – come from fossil fuels, we continue to burn more each year: total [production has increased](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-fossil-fuel-consumption) from 116,214 to 136,761 TWh in the last 10 years. We’ve seen the breakdown of the energy mix today. But this does tell us about how it’s changing over time. Are we making progress in decarbonization over time? We look at this question in a related post here. <Image filename="Global-primary-energy-by-source.png" alt=""/> ## Which countries get the most energy from low-carbon sources? Globally, just 16% of primary energy (15.7% to be precise) came from low-carbon sources – nuclear and renewables – in 2019. We are a long way away from the goal to shift towards a low-carbon energy system. But do some countries do much better than this? Do we have examples of countries who are already paving the way towards a fossil-free energy mix? #### Which countries are doing better in low-carbon energy production than the global average? In the interactive map here we see the world split into two categories: countries which get _more_ of their energy from low-carbon sources than the global average of 15.7%; and those that get _less_.{ref}This breakdown of primary energy is based on the ‘substitution method’ which corrects for the inefficiencies in energy production from fossil fuels, and is a better representation of low-carbon energy’s share of ‘useful energy’. For an in-depth discussion and comparison of different ways of accounting for energy production, see [our explainer](https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix#direct-vs-substituted-primary-energy-what-are-the-multiple-ways-of-energy-accounting).{/ref} What immediately stands out is that there is a reasonably strong East-West divide: most Western economies get a larger share of energy from low-carbon sources, and those in East get less. Of course this boundary is not absolute: the Netherlands and Ireland, for example, are below the global average. This divide may be in part, due to differences in income: many richer countries with a long history of fossil fuel-rich energy systems have already shifted away from them.{ref}In [this related chart](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-low-carbon-energy-vs-gdp) you can see how the share of primary energy from low-carbon sources relates to average income – GDP per capita. This relationship is by no means clear-cut: many rich countries get very little energy from low-carbon sources; and poorer countries get a high share. But overall we see that more rich countries tend to lie above the dotted global average line than countries at lower incomes.{/ref} For many poorer countries in our map, no data is shown. This is because the BP Statistical Review of World Energy does not cover all countries in the world – it relies on energy statistics from commercially-traded fuels. This means traditional biomass burning – a dominant source of energy at lower incomes are not included. Typically [energy-related emissions](http://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions) from low income countries are small because [access to energy](https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access) – both electricity and modern cooking fuels – is low. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-energy-vs-global"/> #### Which countries get the highest share of energy from low-carbon sources? We have a rough categorization of countries that are above and below the global average. But let’s take a closer look at the numbers. In the interactive map here we see the share of primary energy that comes from low-carbon sources across countries.{ref}This breakdown of primary energy is based on the ‘substitution method’ which corrects for the inefficiencies in energy production from fossil fuels, and is a better representation of low-carbon energy’s share of ‘useful energy’. For an in-depth discussion and comparison of different ways of accounting for energy production, see [our explainer](https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix#direct-vs-substituted-primary-energy-what-are-the-multiple-ways-of-energy-accounting).{/ref} <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-share-energy"/> In 2019, Iceland got 79% of its energy from low-carbon sources. This was the highest in the world. Most of this came from hydropower (55%) but also other renewables – mainly geothermal energy (24%). You see this breakdown in the interactive chart below. Using the “change country” toggle you can switch to see the breakdown for other countries. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/energy-consumption-by-source-and-region?country=~ISL"/> But Iceland wasn’t the only country to get most of its energy from low-carbon sources: Sweden (69%); Norway (66%) France (49%) and Switzerland (49%) all got a large amount from nuclear or renewables. Finland, and Brazil also had a high share – more than 40%. At the other end of the scale, some countries rely almost entirely on fossil fuels. Many of the world’s oil-producing countries – Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait – got less than 1% from low-carbon sources. Amongst the largest emerging economies, South Africa produced only 5% from low-carbon sources; India got 9%; and China, 15%. Brazil, as we mentioned earlier, achieves a much higher share – 46% in 2019. Globally, our progress in shifting towards a low-carbon economy has been slow. That may leave us pessimistic about a path forward. But some countries – often some of the world’s richest countries who have high [carbon footprints](http://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions) – show us that significant progress on decarbonizing our energy systems is possible. They still have a long way to go but are moving in the right direction. Poorer countries face a bigger challenge: they must grow their economies, giving their populations [access to energy](https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access), healthcare and [alleviating poverty](https://ourworldindata.org/extreme-poverty) whilst avoiding the carbon-intensive pathways today’s rich countries have taken. To do this, they need clean energy to be cheap, undercutting fossil fuel alternatives. In this regard, the world’s richest countries also have a role to play: the scale-up of low-carbon energy should help to drive down costs. We have already seen this effect with the rapid [decline in solar prices](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/solar-pv-prices-vs-cumulative-capacity) in recent years. ## Is the world making progress in decarbonizing energy? Three-quarters of global greenhouse gas [emissions come from](https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Emissions-by-sector.png) the burning of fossil fuels for energy.{ref}The remaining quarter comes from industrial processes (mainly cement production), agriculture, land use change and waste.{/ref} To tackle climate change, we need to transition away from fossil fuels and decarbonize our energy systems. The world got [15.7% of its energy](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t2COQwSVDWUke7LvowS-LbKXMpdONaVBODA7J06_tCc/edit?pli=1#heading=h.9xiuxmabyswp) from low-carbon sources – either nuclear or renewables – in 2019. How has this changed over time? Does our track record give us reason to be optimistic that we can quickly decarbonize? In the chart we see the share of global energy that comes from low-carbon sources. We’ve certainly made progress since half a century ago: while the global consumption of energy [increased 3.8-fold](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-energy-cons?tab=chart&country=~OWID_WRL), the share of low carbon sources has more than doubled. In the 1960s only 6% of our energy came from renewables or nuclear_ [at this point in time it was mainly the former, as we’ll see later]_. But our rate of progress since the 1990s has been less impressive. By 1994 we were already getting 13.5% from low-carbon sources. Today – 25 years later – we’ve only increased this by two percentage points. It’s moving in the right direction, but far too slowly – probably much more slowly than many expect. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-share-energy?tab=chart&country=~OWID_WRL"/> #### Fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewables: how is the global energy mix changing? In the chart we see the share of global energy that comes from fossil fuels, renewables and nuclear. The sum of the top two is what we want to increase. I’ve also summarised this breakdown in the table – noting each source’s’ share at various points in time since the 1970s. Part of this slow progress is due to the fact that much of the gains made in renewables has been offset by a decline in nuclear energy. Renewables have been growing while nuclear has been rolled back.{ref}This is even clearer when we [focus in on](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/electricity-fossil-renewables-nuclear-line) global _electricity_ production: nuclear declined by almost as much as renewables gained.{/ref} Overall, this means that the combined share from low-carbon sources has increased by less than we might have expected. Having both renewables and nuclear pulling in the same direction would certainly have helped. But it wouldn’t be enough: the rate of progress would still have been slow. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/sub-energy-fossil-renewables-nuclear"/> <div class="raw-html-table__container"><table><thead><tr><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Year</th><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Fossil Fuels</th><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Low-carbon energy<br><em>(Renewables + Nuclear)</em></th><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Renewables</em></th><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Nuclear</em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">1970</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">94%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">6%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>5.6%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>0.4%</em></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">1980</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">91.6%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">8.4%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>6%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>2.4%</em></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">1990</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">88%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">12%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>6.4%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>5.6%</em></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">2000</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">87%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">13%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>7%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>6%</em></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">2010</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">87%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">13%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>7.8%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>5.2%</em></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">2019</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">84.3%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">15.7%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>11.4%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>4.3%</em></td></tr></tbody></table></div> #### It’s the total amount of fossil fuels we burn that matters – and we continue to burn more each year But, actually, we’re still fooling ourselves a bit in looking at this progress through the lens of what _share_ of our energy is low-carbon. When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, the atmosphere does not care about shares, only absolutes. That is what ultimately determines the amount of CO2 we emit, and the rate at which it accumulates in the atmosphere. Global energy consumption is not stagnant, but growing. And in the past years it has been growing too quickly for renewables and nuclear to keep up. In the chart here we see primary energy consumption in absolute terms for each source. We continue to produce more energy from fossil fuels – particularly oil and gas – each year.{ref}This is also very clear when we look at the [year-on-year _change_](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-primary-energy-fossil-vs-low-carbon) in energy consumption by source; this is calculated as the amount of energy produced this year relative to the last, so a positive number means that source is growing; a negative means it decreased. _[If you click the ‘play’ button on the bottom timeline of the _[_year-on-year change_](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-primary-energy-fossil-vs-low-carbon)_ chart you can see how fossil fuel consumption continues to grow each year]._{/ref} Low-carbon energy is certainly growing across the world – undoubtedly a sign of progress. Decarbonization is happening. But not nearly fast enough.To achieve the necessary progress that matters for the climate we need to see its growth not only meet our new energy demands each year, but start displacing existing fossil fuels in the energy mix at a much faster rate. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-sub-energy-source"/> ## Energy consumption by source ### Fossil fuels: what share of energy comes from fossil fuels? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/fossil-fuels-share-energy"/> ##### Related content: ### Fossil fuels Explore our work on Fossil Fuels. ourworldindata.org/fossil-fuels Fossil fuels are the sum of coal, oil and gas. Combined, they are the largest source of global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). We therefore want to shift our energy systems away from fossil fuels towards low-carbon sources of energy. This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas summed together) across the world. #### Three tips on how to interact with this map * By clicking on any country on the map you see the change over time in this country. * By moving the time slider (below the map) you can see how the global situation has changed over time. * You can focus on a particular world region using the dropdown menu to the top-right of the map. ### Coal: what share of energy comes from coal? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/coal-energy-share"/> Coal has been a critical energy sources, and mainstay in global energy production for centuries. But it's also the most [polluting energy source](https://ourworldindata.org/safest-sources-of-energy): both in terms of the amount of CO2 it produces per unit of energy, but also the amount of local air pollution it creates. Moving away from coal energy is important for climate change as well as human health. This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from coal across the world. ### Oil: what share of energy comes from oil? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/oil-share-energy"/> Oil is the world's largest energy source today. It is the dominant source of energy for the transport sector in particular. This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from oil across the world. ### Gas: what share of energy comes from gas? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gas-share-energy"/> Natural gas has, for decades, lagged behind coal and oil as an energy source. But today its consumption is growing rapidly – often as a replacement for coal in the energy mix. Gas is a major provider of [electricity production](http://ourworldindata.org/electricity-mix), and a key source of heat. This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from gas across the world. ### Nuclear: what share of energy comes from nuclear? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/nuclear-primary-energy"/> ### Nuclear energy Explore our work on Nuclear Energy. ourworldindata.org/nuclear-energy Nuclear energy – alongside hydropower – has been a key source of low-carbon energy for many countries across the world in recent decades. But there are large differences in the role of nuclear – some countries rely heavily on it for energy production; others produce no energy at all from it. This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from nuclear across the world. ### Renewables: how much of our energy comes from renewables? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/renewable-share-energy"/> ### Renewable energy Explore our work on Renewable Energy. ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy Renewable energy is a collective term used to capture a number of different energy sources. 'Renewables' typically includes hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and wave and tidal energy. This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from renewables (the sum of all renewable energy technologies) across the world. The share of energy we get from individual renewable technologies – solar, or wind, for example – are given in the sections below. ### Hydropower: what share of energy comes from hydropower? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/hydro-share-energy"/> ##### Related content ### Hydropower generation How is hydropower generation changing in absolute terms? Explore in more detail in our work on Renewable Energy. ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy Hydroelectric power has been an influential low-carbon energy technology for many countries for more than half a century. Globally, it is still the largest source of renewable energy. This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from hydropower across the world. ### Solar: what share of energy comes from solar? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/solar-share-energy"/> ##### Related content ### Solar power generation How quickly is solar production changing? Explore in more detail in our work on Renewable Energy. ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy Solar energy is often referred to as a 'modern renewable' – a couple of decades ago it made only a tiny contribution to global energy supply. But in recent years it has This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from solar technologies across the world. ### Wind: what share of energy comes from wind? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/wind-share-energy"/> ##### Related content ### Wind power generation How quickly is wind production changing? Explore in more detail in our work on Renewable Energy. ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from wind (both onshore and offshore) across the world. #### Three tips on how to interact with this map * By clicking on any country on the map you see the change over time in this country. * By moving the time slider (below the map) you can see how the global situation has changed over time. * You can focus on a particular world region using the dropdown menu to the top-right of the map. ## Year-to-year change: how is energy consumption by source changing? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-change-primary-energy-source"/> <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-primary-energy-fossil-vs-low-carbon"/> ## Direct vs. substituted primary energy: what are the multiple ways of energy accounting? Understanding the breakdown of our energy systems – how much energy we get from coal, oil or gas, how much from nuclear, solar or wind – is crucial. It allows us to compare energy mixes across the world; track whether we are making progress on decarbonizing our energy systems; and plan and manage demands for natural resources. But what seems like a simple exercise – adding up the produced energy from all the different sources – is in fact not straightforward at all. These difficulties result in different approaches for ‘energy accounting’ and present a different picture of the energy mix. Below, we take a look at the two key methodologies applied to primary energy accounting: ‘direct’ primary energy and primary energy via the ‘substitution method’. These methods are discussed (or debated) often, but I couldn’t find particularly clear or simple explanations of how they differ and what this means for understanding our energy mix. The aim here is to fill that gap. What’s important is to understand why there are two different methods and how they affect our perspective on the energy mix. #### Direct vs. substituted primary energy: what’s the difference? ‘Primary energy’ refers to energy in its raw form, before it has been converted by humans into other forms of energy like electricity, heat or transport fuels. Think of this as inputs into an energy system: coal, oil or gas before we burn them; or solar or wind energy before we convert them to electricity. When we are asking how much energy is consumed or what the breakdown of the sources of energy is we are asking about primary energy. Here we look at two ways in which ‘primary energy’ is calculated: the ‘direct’ and the ‘substituted’ method. The simplest way to think of the difference between these methods is that ‘direct’ primary energy _does not_ take account of the energy lost in the conversion of fossil fuels to usable energy. The substitution method _does_ attempt to correct for this loss. #### An example of the difference between ‘direct’ and ‘substituted’ energy To understand why this distinction is important we need to first consider the process of energy production. When we burn fuel in a thermal power plant most of the energy we put into the process is lost – primarily in the form of heat. Most fossil fuel plants run with an efficiency of around 33% to 40%.{ref}This can vary from plant-to-plant, and by fuel type. We look in more detail at the assumed efficiencies of power plants later.{/ref} The remaining 60% to 67% of energy is wasted as heat. This means for every unit of energy that we can use, another two are wasted. When we measure electricity generation from renewables or nuclear power, we’re measuring the direct _output_, with no losses or waste to consider. Let’s take an example – shown in the graphic here. Imagine we have a country that needs 100 terawatt-hours (TWh) of energy. We have three different energy mixes: only fossil fuels; only renewable or nuclear energy; and a mix of both. 0. If we only rely on fossil fuels we need 263 TWh of energy input. This is because only around 38% of these inputs are converted into ‘useful’ energy.{ref}We can calculate this by dividing our 100 TWh demand by 0.38.{/ref} 163 TWh is energy lost as heat. 1. If we only rely on either renewable or nuclear energy these losses do not occur – the quantity of electricity generated is the same quantity we can use. So we only need 100 TWh. 2. **If we rely on renewables/nuclear and fossil fuels it depends on the mix: *let’s say we produce 50 TWh from renewables or nuclear sources. We need another 50 TWh from fossil fuels. But to produce the additional 50 TWh from fossil fuels, we actually need 132 TWh, because we lose 82 TWh as heat _[50 TWh / 0.38 = 132 TWh]_. Combined, we need 182 TWh of energy input _[50 TWh from renewables/nuclear + 50 TWh ‘useful’ fossil fuel energy + 82 TWh wasted]_. <Image filename="Three-scenarios-to-supply-100TWh-of-energy.png" alt=""/> Based on this example we can understand the difference between direct primary energy and the substitution method. Let’s take the third scenario – a mixture of fossil fuels and low-carbon energy – and see how the low-carbon share differs between the two methods. This is shown in the figure. From the direct method we get 50 TWh / 182 TWh = 27%. From the substitution method we get 50 TWh / 100 TWh = 50%. I find it helpful to think of the distinction as: Low-carbon’s share in direct primary energy = % of total primary energy consumption (including all of the inefficiencies of fossil fuel production) * Low carbon’s share in substituted primary energy = % of useful energy (once we subtract all of the wasted energy in the burning of fossil fuels) <Image filename="How-are-energy-mixes-calculated.png" alt=""/> #### What effect does our choice of accounting method have on the breakdown of the global energy mix? A question many want the answer to is, how much of our energy comes from low-carbon sources? How close are we to getting rid of fossil fuels? As we now know, it depends on whether we’re using the direct or substitution method. In the chart here we show the breakdown of the global primary energy mix in 2019 to compare the two methods.{ref}This is based on data from the _BP Statistical Review of World Energy_; it considers only commercially-traded fuels, so traditional biomass is not included.{/ref} As we should expect from the example we worked through, when we calculate the share of energy from low-carbon sources via the substitution method we get a higher figure: 16% vs. only 7% from the direct method. When we strip away the differences in efficiencies between the sources, both renewables and nuclear make a larger contribution. In the interactive charts you can also compare each source’s share of energy based on the two methods. Using the “change country” button in the bottom-left of each chart, you can also see this for different countries. Most sources tend to prefer and report on the substitution method (or a similar approach – the ‘physical content’ method – which we don’t discuss here but which gives similar results) rather than the direct method. The substitution method is also the preferred approach of the _Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)_, for example.{ref}Krey V., O. Masera, G. Blanford, T. Bruckner, R. Cooke, K. Fisher-Vanden, H. Haberl, E. Hertwich, E. Kriegler, D. Mueller, S. Paltsev, L. Price, S. Schlömer, D. Ürge-Vorsatz, D. van Vuuren, and T. Zwickel, 2014: [Annex II: Metrics & Methodology](https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-ii.pdf). In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref} <Image filename="Global-primary-energy-breakdown-–-sub-vs.-direct.png" alt=""/> <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-primary-energy-consumption-by-source"/> <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-energy-source-sub"/> #### How do we convert from direct to substituted primary energy? At Our World in Data we get most of our energy data from BP; each year it publishes its _Statistical Review of World Energy _report. It applies the substitution method to its primary energy data _[you can read its methodology _[_here_](https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/using-the-review/methodology.html#accordion_primary-energy-methodology)_]_. How does it convert from direct primary energy – that we can measure – into the substitution breakdown? In the schematic explanation above, we looked at calculating the share of energy from low-carbon energy sources by comparing it with the amount of useful energy (subtracting the wasted energy) from fossil fuels. But we can also do the opposite of this to get the same result. In fact, this inverse approach is what is most commonly applied by BP and others who use the ‘substitution method’. So, instead of assuming fossil fuels have the same efficiency as renewables/nuclear, we do the opposite: we assume renewables/nuclear are as inefficient as fossil fuels. We calculate the equivalent amount of fossil fuels that would be required to produce the amount of electricity we get from non-fossil based sources. So, let’s say we produce 100 TWh of electricity from wind. And we assume the efficiency of a fossil fuel plant is 38%. We would convert this wind electricity into ‘input-equivalent’ primary energy by dividing by this efficiency _[100 / 0.38 = 263 TWh]_. This would be the amount of primary energy that would be required from fossil fuels to produce the same amount of electricity as wind. We should note that this conversion is used as an approximation – a standard ‘efficiency’ factor is applied across-the-board. But we know that some power plants have a slightly lower or higher efficiency and it can change over time. In fact, BP changed its methodology in its 2020 assessment to reflect this change over time. Previously it assumed a 38% efficiency factor consistently. But it now applies a ‘time-dependent’ model to build in improvements over time. Changes in this conversion factor are summarised in the table below. The substitution method gives us a more accurate understanding of how low-carbon energy is competing with fossil fuels. For this reason: when we look at the breakdowns of energy mix on _Our World in Data_ we have tried wherever possible to use primary energy measured by the substitution method. ###### Conversion factors applied in converting renewable and nuclear electricity outputs to primary energy{ref}BP Statistical Review of World Energy, _[Definitions and Exploratory Notes](https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/using-the-review/definitions-and-explanatory-notes.html)_ (2020){/ref} <Image filename="BP-Primary-Energy-Conversion-Factors.png" alt=""/> ## Explore more of our work on Energy Explore all the metrics – energy production, electricity consumption, and breakdown of fossil fuels, renewable and nuclear energy. Get an overview of energy for any country on a single page. Download our complete dataset of energy metrics on GitHub. It's open-access and free for anyone to use. See how access to electricity and clean cooking fuels vary across the world. Explore long-term changes in energy production and consumption across the world. How much of our energy comes from fossil fuels, renewables and nuclear energy? See the breakdown of the energy mix. Explore the breakdown of the electricity mix and how this is changing. See the long-term changes in coal, oil and gas production and consumption. How quickly are countries scaling up the production of renewable technologies? Explore the data. Explore the long-term changes in nuclear energy production across the world. Explore trends in transport technologies and emissions across the world.	{ "id": 34888, "date": "2020-07-10T09:23:03", "guid": { "rendered": "https://owid.cloud/?page_id=34888" }, "link": "https://owid.cloud/energy-mix", "meta": { "owid_publication_context_meta_field": [], "owid_key_performance_indicators_meta_field": [] }, "slug": "energy-mix", "tags": [], "type": "page", "title": { "rendered": "Energy Mix" }, "_links": { "self": [ { "href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/pages/34888" } ], "about": [ { "href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/types/page" } ], "author": [ { "href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/users/17", "embeddable": true } ], "curies": [ { "href": "https://api.w.org/{rel}", "name": "wp", "templated": true } ], "replies": [ { "href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/comments?post=34888", "embeddable": true } ], "wp:term": [ { "href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/categories?post=34888", "taxonomy": "category", "embeddable": true }, { "href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/tags?post=34888", "taxonomy": "post_tag", "embeddable": true } ], "collection": [ { "href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/pages" } ], "wp:attachment": [ { "href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/media?parent=34888" } ], "version-history": [ { "href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/pages/34888/revisions", "count": 24 } ], "wp:featuredmedia": [ { "href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/media/41040", "embeddable": true } ], "predecessor-version": [ { "id": 58026, "href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/pages/34888/revisions/58026" } ] }, "author": 17, "parent": 0, "status": "publish", "content": { "rendered": "\n<!-- formatting-options subnavId:energy subnavCurrentId:energy-mix -->\n\n\n\n<p>Energy production \u2013 mainly the burning of fossil fuels \u2013 accounts for around three-quarters of global <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/greenhouse-gas-emissions\">greenhouse gas emissions</a>. Not only is energy production the largest driver of climate change, the burning of fossil fuels and biomass also comes at a large cost to human health: at least five million deaths are <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/air-pollution\">attributed to air pollution</a> each year.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The world therefore needs to shift away from fossil fuels to an energy mix dominated by low-carbon sources of energy \u2013 renewable technologies and nuclear power.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>What does our energy mix look like today? What countries have the ‘cleanest’ energy mix? And are we making progress in shifting towards a low-carbon energy system?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This article focuses on the breakdown of energy sources: how they vary across the world and how this is changing over time.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the energy domain, there are many different units thrown around \u2013 joules, exajoules, million tonnes of oil equivalents, barrel equivalents, British thermal units, terawatt-hours, to name a few. This can be confusing, and make comparisons difficult. So at <em>Our World in Data </em>we try to maintain consistency by converting all energy data to watt-hours. We do this to compare energy data across different metrics and sources.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Global primary energy: how has the mix changed over centuries?</h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-energy-substitution?time=earliest..latest\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h5>Related chart:</h5>\n\n\n <block type=\"prominent-link\" style=\"is-style-thin\">\n <link-url>https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/long-term-energy-transitions</link-url>\n <title>Long-term energy transitions</title>\n <content>\n\n<p>How do our long-term energy transitions look when we consider two additional elements: the work of humans and animals?</p>\n\n</content>\n <figure></figure>\n </block></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Today when we think about energy mixes we think about a diverse range of sources \u2013 coal, oil, gas, nuclear, hydropower, solar, wind, biofuels. But If we look back a couple of centuries ago, our energy mixes where relatively homogeneous. And the transition from one source to another was incredibly slow.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the chart shown we see global primary energy consumption dating back to the year 1800. This earlier data is sourced from Vaclav Smil’s work <em>Energy Transitions: Global and National Perspectives</em>.{ref}Vaclav Smil (2017). <a href=\"http://vaclavsmil.com/2016/12/14/energy-transitions-global-and-national-perspectives-second-expanded-and-updated-edition/\">Energy Transitions: Global and National Perspectives</a>.{/ref} Data from 1965 onwards comes from the latest release of BP’s<em> <a href=\"https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html\">Statistical Review of World Energy</a></em>.{ref}Note that this data presents primary energy consumption via the \u2018substitution method\u2019. The \u2018substitution method\u2019 \u2013 in comparison to the \u2018direct method\u2019 \u2013 attempts to correct for the inefficiencies (energy wasted as heat during combustion) in fossil fuel and biomass conversion. It does this by correcting nuclear and modern renewable technologies to their \u2018primary input equivalents\u2019 if the same quantity of energy were to be produced from fossil fuels.{/ref}</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We see that until the mid-19th century, traditional biomass \u2013 the burning of solid fuels such as wood, crop waste, or charcoal \u2013 was the dominant source of energy used across the world. But with the Industrial Revolution came the rise of coal; followed by oil, gas; and by the turn of the 20th century, hydropower.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It wasn’t until the 1960s that nuclear energy was added to the mix. What are often referred to as ‘modern renewables’ \u2013 solar and wind \u2013 were only added much later, in the 1980s.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>What <em>Vaclav</em> <em>Smil</em> \u2013 and other researchers studying these long-term energy transitions across countries \u2013 highlights in his work is the slow rate at which energy transitions have occurred in the past. The speed and scale of the energy transition we need today in switching from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy is therefore a new challenge, very different from the past.</p>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Energy mix:</strong> what sources do we get our energy from?</h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/energy-consumption-by-source-and-region?stackMode=absolute\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h5>Related chart:</h5>\n\n\n <block type=\"prominent-link\" style=\"is-style-thin\">\n <link-url>https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-sub-energy-source</link-url>\n <title>Primary energy consumption by source</title>\n <content>\n\n<p>Explore the changes in primary energy source by source as a line chart <em>[as opposed to a stacked area]</em>.</p>\n\n</content>\n <figure></figure>\n </block></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Let’s look at our energy mix today, and explore what sources we draw upon. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the interactive chart shown we see the primary energy mix broken down by fuel or generation source. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Globally we get the largest amount of our energy from oil, followed by coal, gas, then hydroelectric power. As we look at in more detail below \u2013 “How much of global energy comes from low-carbon sources?” \u2013 the global energy mix is still dominated by fossil fuels. They account for more than 80% of energy consumption.</p>\n\n\n\t<block type=\"help\">\n\t\t<content>\n\n<h4><strong>How you can interact with this chart</strong></h4>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>On these charts you see the button <strong>Change Country </strong>in the bottom left corner \u2013 with this option you can switch the chart to any other country in the world.</li><li>By ticking the ‘Relative’ box in the bottom left corner you can switch to see each source’s share of the total.</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<p></p>\n\n</content>\n\t</block></div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-side-by-side\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>In the charts here we see the breakdown of the energy mix by country. First with the higher-level breakdown by fossil fuels, nuclear and renewables. Then with the specific breakdown by source, including coal, gas, oil, nuclear, hydro, solar, wind and other renewables (which include bioenergy, wave and tidal).</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is given in terms of per capita consumption. Using the toggle on the interactive charts you can also see the percentage breakdown for each source using the ‘Relative’ tickbox.</p>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\"></div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-side-by-side\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/per-capita-energy-source-stacked?country=OWID_WRL~CAN~BRA~CHN~IND~USA~GBR~AUS~FRA~SWE~ZAF~JPN\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/per-capita-energy-stacked?country=USA~GBR~OWID_WRL~CHN~IND~FRA~DEU~SWE~ZAF~JPN~BRA\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h2>How much of global energy comes from low-carbon sources?</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Around three-quarters of global greenhouse gas <a href=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Emissions-by-sector.png\">emissions come from</a> the burning of fossil fuels for energy.{ref}The remaining quarter comes from industrial processes (such as cement production), agriculture, land use change and waste.{/ref} To reduce global emissions we need to shift our energy systems away from fossil fuels to low-carbon sources of energy. We need to \u2018decarbonize\u2019.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>How big is this challenge? How much of our energy currently comes from low-carbon sources?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the chart here we see the breakdown of global primary energy consumption for 2019.{ref} This is based on primary energy data published annually in BP\u2019s <a href=\"https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html\">Statistical Review of World Energy</a>.{/ref} </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before we look at the numbers, there are two points to note:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Here we take primary energy based on the <em>\u2018substitution method\u2019</em> for energy accounting. For those interested in energy accounting methods, at the end of this post we look at comparisons of direct versus substitution methods. The quick summary of it is that this accounting method tries to account for the energy lost from the inefficiencies in fossil fuel production and aims to provide the appropriate comparison of how much more low-carbon energy we would need to replace fossil fuels in the energy mix. It\u2019s one of the preferred accounting method used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).{ref}Krey V., O. Masera, G. Blanford, T. Bruckner, R. Cooke, K. Fisher-Vanden, H. Haberl, E. Hertwich, E. Kriegler, D. Mueller, S. Paltsev, L. Price, S. Schl\u00f6mer, D. \u00dcrge-Vorsatz, D. van Vuuren, and T. Zwickel, 2014: <a href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-ii.pdf\">Annex II: Metrics & Methodology</a>. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schl\u00f6mer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref}</li><li>These figures don\u2019t include energy produced from traditional biomass. This is because most international energy agencies \u2013 such as BP, IEA or EIA \u2013 only track data on commercially-traded fuels. Traditional biomass \u2013 which are <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/indoor-air-pollution#indoor-air-pollution-results-from-poor-access-to-clean-cooking-fuels\">solid fuels</a> such as wood, crop residues and charcoal \u2013 can be a key source of energy for people living at lower incomes, but it is challenging to quantify and timely data is not available. Based on <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-energy-substitution\">crude estimates from earlier data</a> I would expect it to currently account for an additional 6% of global energy.</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h4>16% of global primary energy came from low-carbon sources in 2019</h4>\n\n\n\n<p>We see that in 2019, almost 16% (15.7% to be precise) of global primary energy came from low-carbon sources. Low-carbon sources are the sum of nuclear energy and renewables \u2013 which includes hydropower, wind, solar, bioenergy, geothermal and wave and tidal.{ref}The emissions from these sources are not necessarily zero \u2013 the mining of materials, production, maintenance and decommissioning of these technologies may produce some carbon, but per unit of  energy this is  very small relative to fossil fuels.<br><br>Schl\u00f6mer S., T. Bruckner, L. Fulton, E. Hertwich, A. McKinnon, D. Perczyk, J. Roy, R. Schaeffer, R. Sims, P. Smith, and R. Wiser, 2014: <a href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-iii.pdf\">Annex III: Technology-specific cost and performance parameters. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change</a>. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schl\u00f6mer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref}</p>\n\n\n\n<p>11.4% came from renewables; and 4.3% came from nuclear.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hydropower and nuclear account for most of our low-carbon energy: combined they account for 10.7%. Wind produces just 2.2%, and solar 1.1% \u2013 but both sources are  <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/percentage-change-energy-by-source\">growing quickly</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite producing more and more energy from renewables each year, the global energy mix is still dominated by coal, oil, and gas. Not only does most of our energy \u2013 84% of it \u2013 come from fossil fuels, we continue to burn more each year: total <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-fossil-fuel-consumption\">production has increased</a> from 116,214 to 136,761 TWh in the last 10 years. <br>We\u2019ve seen the breakdown of the energy mix today. But this does tell us about how it\u2019s changing over time. Are we making progress in decarbonization over time? We look at this question in a related post <strong>here</strong>.</p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"372\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-by-source-800x372.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-35642\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-by-source-800x372.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-by-source-400x186.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-by-source-150x70.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-by-source-768x357.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-by-source-1536x714.png 1536w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-by-source.png 1817w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" /></figure>\n\n\n\n<h2>Which countries get the most energy from low-carbon sources?</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Globally, just 16% of primary energy (15.7% to be precise) came from low-carbon sources \u2013 nuclear and renewables \u2013 in 2019. We are a long way away from the goal to shift towards a low-carbon energy system.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But do some countries do much better than this? Do we have examples of countries who are already paving the way towards a fossil-free energy mix?</p>\n\n\n\n<h4>Which countries are doing better in low-carbon energy production than the global average?</h4>\n\n\n\n<p>In the interactive map here we see the world split into two categories: countries which get <em>more</em> of their energy from low-carbon sources than the global average of 15.7%; and those that get <em>less</em>.{ref}This breakdown of primary energy is based on the \u2018substitution method\u2019 which corrects for the inefficiencies in energy production from fossil fuels, and is a better representation of low-carbon energy\u2019s share of \u2018useful energy\u2019. For an in-depth discussion and comparison of different ways of accounting for energy production, see <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix#direct-vs-substituted-primary-energy-what-are-the-multiple-ways-of-energy-accounting\"><strong>our explainer</strong></a>.{/ref} </p>\n\n\n\n<p>What immediately stands out is that there is a reasonably strong East-West divide: most Western economies get a larger share of energy from low-carbon sources, and those in East get less. Of course this boundary is not absolute: the Netherlands and Ireland, for example, are below the global average.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This divide may be in part, due to differences in income: many richer countries with a long history of fossil fuel-rich energy systems have already shifted away from them.{ref}In <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-low-carbon-energy-vs-gdp\">this related chart</a> you can see how the share of primary energy from low-carbon sources relates to average income \u2013 GDP per capita. This relationship is by no means clear-cut: many rich countries get very little energy from low-carbon sources; and poorer countries get a high share. But overall we see that more rich countries tend to lie above the dotted global average line than countries at lower incomes.{/ref} </p>\n\n\n\n<p>For many poorer countries in our map, no data is shown. This is because the BP Statistical Review of World Energy does not cover all countries in the world \u2013 it relies on energy statistics from commercially-traded fuels. This means traditional biomass burning \u2013 a dominant source of energy at lower incomes are not included. Typically <a href=\"http://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions\">energy-related emissions</a> from low income countries are small because <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access\">access to energy</a> \u2013 both electricity and modern cooking fuels \u2013 is low.</p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-energy-vs-global\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h4>Which countries get the highest share of energy from low-carbon sources?</h4>\n\n\n\n<p>We have a rough categorization of countries that are above and below the global average. But let\u2019s take a closer look at the numbers.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the interactive map here we see the share of primary energy that comes from low-carbon sources across countries.{ref}This breakdown of primary energy is based on the \u2018substitution method\u2019 which corrects for the inefficiencies in energy production from fossil fuels, and is a better representation of low-carbon energy\u2019s share of \u2018useful energy\u2019. For an in-depth discussion and comparison of different ways of accounting for energy production, see <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix#direct-vs-substituted-primary-energy-what-are-the-multiple-ways-of-energy-accounting\"><strong>our explainer</strong></a>.{/ref}</p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-share-energy\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2019, Iceland got 79% of its energy from low-carbon sources. This was the highest in the world. Most of this came from hydropower (55%) but also other renewables \u2013 mainly geothermal energy (24%). You see this breakdown in the interactive chart below. Using the \u201cchange country\u201d toggle you can switch to see the breakdown for other countries.</p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/energy-consumption-by-source-and-region?country=~ISL\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>But Iceland wasn\u2019t the only country to get most of its energy from low-carbon sources: Sweden (69%); Norway (66%) France (49%) and Switzerland (49%) all got a large amount from nuclear or renewables.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finland, and Brazil also had a high share \u2013 more than 40%. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the other end of the scale, some countries rely almost entirely on fossil fuels. Many of the world\u2019s oil-producing countries \u2013 Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait \u2013 got less than 1% from low-carbon sources. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amongst the largest emerging economies, South Africa produced only 5% from low-carbon sources; India got 9%; and China, 15%. Brazil, as we mentioned earlier, achieves a much higher share \u2013 46% in 2019.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Globally, our progress in shifting towards a low-carbon economy has been slow. That may leave us pessimistic about a path forward. But some countries \u2013 often some of the world\u2019s richest countries who have high <a href=\"http://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions\">carbon footprints</a> \u2013 show us that significant progress on decarbonizing our energy systems is possible. They still have a long way to go but are moving in the right direction.<br>Poorer countries face a bigger challenge: they must grow their economies, giving their populations <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access\">access to energy</a>, healthcare and <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/extreme-poverty\">alleviating poverty</a> whilst avoiding the carbon-intensive pathways today\u2019s rich countries have taken. To do this, they need clean energy to be cheap, undercutting fossil fuel alternatives. In this regard, the world\u2019s richest countries also have a role to play: the scale-up of low-carbon energy should help to drive down costs. We have already seen this effect with the rapid <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/solar-pv-prices-vs-cumulative-capacity\">decline in solar prices</a> in recent years.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Is the world making progress in decarbonizing energy?</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Three-quarters of global greenhouse gas <a href=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Emissions-by-sector.png\">emissions come from</a> the burning of fossil fuels for energy.{ref}The remaining quarter comes from industrial processes (mainly cement production), agriculture, land use change and waste.{/ref} To tackle climate change, we need to transition away from fossil fuels and decarbonize our energy systems.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The world got <a href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t2COQwSVDWUke7LvowS-LbKXMpdONaVBODA7J06_tCc/edit?pli=1#heading=h.9xiuxmabyswp\">15.7% of its energy</a> from low-carbon sources \u2013 either nuclear or renewables \u2013 in 2019.  How has this changed over time?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Does our track record give us reason to be optimistic that we can quickly decarbonize?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the chart we see the share of global energy that comes from low-carbon sources. We\u2019ve certainly made progress since half a century ago: while the global consumption of energy <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-energy-cons?tab=chart&country=~OWID_WRL\">increased 3.8-fold</a>, the share of low carbon sources has more than doubled. In the 1960s only 6% of our energy came from renewables or nuclear<em> [at this point in time it was mainly the former, as we\u2019ll see later]</em>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But our rate of progress since the 1990s has been less impressive. By 1994 we were already getting 13.5% from low-carbon sources. Today \u2013 25 years later \u2013 we\u2019ve only increased this by two percentage points. It\u2019s moving in the right direction, but far too slowly \u2013 probably much more slowly than many expect.</p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-share-energy?tab=chart&country=~OWID_WRL\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h4>Fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewables: how is the global energy mix  changing?</h4>\n\n\n\n<p>In the chart we see the share of global energy that comes from fossil fuels, renewables and nuclear. The sum of the top two is what we want to increase. I\u2019ve also summarised this breakdown in the table \u2013 noting each source\u2019s\u2019 share at various points in time since the 1970s.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Part of this slow progress is due to the fact that much of the gains made in renewables has been offset by a decline in nuclear energy. Renewables have been growing while nuclear has been rolled back.{ref}This is even clearer when we <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/electricity-fossil-renewables-nuclear-line\">focus in on</a> global <em>electricity</em> production: nuclear declined by almost as much as renewables gained.{/ref}</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Overall, this means that the combined share from low-carbon sources has increased by less than we might have expected. Having both renewables and nuclear pulling in the same direction would certainly have helped. But it wouldn\u2019t be enough: the rate of progress would still have been slow.</p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/sub-energy-fossil-renewables-nuclear\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Year</th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Fossil Fuels</th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Low-carbon energy<br><em>(Renewables + Nuclear)</em></th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>Renewables</em></th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>Nuclear</em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">1970</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">94%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">6%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>5.6%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>0.4%</em></td></tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">1980</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">91.6%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">8.4%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>6%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>2.4%</em></td></tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">1990</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">88%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">12%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>6.4%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>5.6%</em></td></tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2000</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">87%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">13%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>7%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>6%</em></td></tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2010</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">87%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">13%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>7.8%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>5.2%</em></td></tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2019</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">84.3%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">15.7%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>11.4%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>4.3%</em></td></tr></tbody></table></figure>\n\n\n\n<h4>It\u2019s the total amount of fossil fuels we burn that matters \u2013 and we continue to burn more each year</h4>\n\n\n\n<p>But, actually, we\u2019re still fooling ourselves a bit in looking at this progress through the lens of what <em>share</em> of our energy is low-carbon.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, the atmosphere does not care about shares, only absolutes. That is what ultimately determines the amount of CO<sub>2</sub> we emit, and the rate at which it accumulates in the atmosphere.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Global energy consumption is not stagnant, but growing. And in the past years it has been growing too quickly for renewables and nuclear to keep up.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the chart here we see primary energy consumption in absolute terms for each source. We continue to produce more energy from fossil fuels \u2013 particularly oil and gas \u2013 each year.{ref}This is also very clear when we look at the <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-primary-energy-fossil-vs-low-carbon\">year-on-year <em>change</em></a> in energy consumption by source; this is calculated as the amount of energy produced this year relative to the last, so a positive number means that source is growing; a negative means it decreased. <em>[If you click  the \u2018play\u2019 button on the bottom timeline of the </em><a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-primary-energy-fossil-vs-low-carbon\"><em>year-on-year change</em></a><em> chart you can see how fossil fuel consumption continues to grow each year].</em>{/ref}</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Low-carbon energy is certainly growing across the world \u2013 undoubtedly a sign of progress.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Decarbonization is happening. But not nearly fast enough.To achieve the necessary progress that matters for the climate we need to see its growth not only meet our new energy demands each year, but start displacing existing fossil fuels in the energy mix at a much faster rate.</p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-sub-energy-source\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h2>Energy consumption by source</h2>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Fossil fuels:</strong> what share of energy comes from fossil fuels?</h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/fossil-fuels-share-energy\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h5>Related content:</h5>\n\n\n <block type=\"prominent-link\" style=\"is-style-thin\">\n <link-url>http://ourworldindata.org/fossil-fuels</link-url>\n <title>Fossil fuels</title>\n <content>\n\n<p>Explore our work on Fossil Fuels.</p>\n\n</content>\n <figure></figure>\n </block></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Fossil fuels are the sum of coal, oil and gas. Combined, they are the largest source of global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>). We therefore want to shift our energy systems away from fossil fuels towards low-carbon sources of energy.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas summed together) across the world.</p>\n\n\n\t<block type=\"help\">\n\t\t<content>\n\n<h4>Three tips on how to interact with this map</h4>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>By clicking on any country on the map you see the change over time in this country.</li><li>By moving the time slider (below the map) you can see how the global situation has changed over time.</li><li>You can focus on a particular world region using the dropdown menu to the top-right of the map.</li></ul>\n\n</content>\n\t</block></div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Coal:</strong> what share of energy comes from coal?</h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/coal-energy-share\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Coal has been a critical energy sources, and mainstay in global energy production for centuries.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it’s also the most <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/safest-sources-of-energy\">polluting energy source</a>: both in terms of the amount of CO<sub>2</sub> it produces per unit of energy, but also the amount of local air pollution it creates. Moving away from coal energy is important for climate change as well as human health.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from coal across the world.</p>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Oil:</strong> what share of energy comes from oil?</h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/oil-share-energy\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Oil is the world’s largest energy source today. It is the dominant source of energy for the transport sector in particular.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from oil across the world.</p>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Gas:</strong> what share of energy comes from gas?</h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gas-share-energy\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Natural gas has, for decades, lagged behind coal and oil as an energy source. But today its consumption is growing rapidly \u2013 often as a replacement for coal in the energy mix. Gas is a major provider of <a href=\"http://ourworldindata.org/electricity-mix\">electricity production</a>, and a key source of heat.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from gas across the world.</p>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Nuclear:</strong> what share of energy comes from nuclear?</h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/nuclear-primary-energy\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n\n <block type=\"prominent-link\" style=\"is-style-thin\">\n <link-url>http://ourworldindata.org/nuclear-energy</link-url>\n <title>Nuclear energy</title>\n <content>\n\n<p>Explore our work on Nuclear Energy.</p>\n\n</content>\n <figure></figure>\n </block></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Nuclear energy \u2013 alongside hydropower \u2013 has been a key source of low-carbon energy for many countries across the world in recent decades. But there are large differences in the role of nuclear \u2013 some countries rely heavily on it for energy production; others produce no energy at all from it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from nuclear across the world.</p>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Renewables:</strong> how much of our energy comes from renewables?</h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/renewable-share-energy\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n\n <block type=\"prominent-link\" style=\"is-style-thin\">\n <link-url>http://ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy</link-url>\n <title>Renewable energy</title>\n <content>\n\n<p>Explore our work on Renewable Energy.</p>\n\n</content>\n <figure></figure>\n </block></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Renewable energy is a collective term used to capture a number of different energy sources. ‘Renewables’ typically includes hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and wave and tidal energy.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from renewables (the sum of all renewable energy technologies) across the world.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The share of energy we get from individual renewable technologies \u2013 solar, or wind, for example \u2013 are given in the sections below.</p>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Hydropower:</strong> what share of energy comes from hydropower?</h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/hydro-share-energy\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h5>Related content</h5>\n\n\n <block type=\"prominent-link\" style=\"is-style-thin\">\n <link-url>http://ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy</link-url>\n <title>Hydropower generation</title>\n <content>\n\n<p>How is hydropower generation changing in absolute terms? Explore in more detail in our work on Renewable Energy.</p>\n\n</content>\n <figure></figure>\n </block></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Hydroelectric power has been an influential low-carbon energy technology for many countries for more than half a century. Globally, it is still the largest source of renewable energy.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from hydropower across the world.</p>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Solar:</strong> what share of energy comes from solar?</h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/solar-share-energy\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h5>Related content</h5>\n\n\n <block type=\"prominent-link\" style=\"is-style-thin\">\n <link-url>http://ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy</link-url>\n <title>Solar power generation</title>\n <content>\n\n<p>How quickly is solar production changing? Explore in more detail in our work on Renewable Energy.</p>\n\n</content>\n <figure></figure>\n </block></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Solar energy is often referred to as a ‘modern renewable’ \u2013 a couple of decades ago it made only a tiny contribution to global energy supply. But in recent years it has </p>\n\n\n\n<p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from solar technologies across the world.</p>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Wind:</strong> what share of energy comes from wind?</h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/wind-share-energy\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h5>Related content</h5>\n\n\n <block type=\"prominent-link\" style=\"is-style-thin\">\n <link-url>http://ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy</link-url>\n <title>Wind power generation</title>\n <content>\n\n<p>How quickly is wind production changing? Explore in more detail in our work on Renewable Energy.</p>\n\n</content>\n <figure></figure>\n </block>\n\n\n<p></p>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from wind (both onshore and offshore) across the world.</p>\n\n\n\t<block type=\"help\">\n\t\t<content>\n\n<h4>Three tips on how to interact with this map</h4>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>By clicking on any country on the map you see the change over time in this country.</li><li>By moving the time slider (below the map) you can see how the global situation has changed over time.</li><li>You can focus on a particular world region using the dropdown menu to the top-right of the map.</li></ul>\n\n</content>\n\t</block></div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Year-to-year change:</strong> how is energy consumption by source changing?</h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-change-primary-energy-source\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\"></div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-primary-energy-fossil-vs-low-carbon\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\"></div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h2>Direct vs. substituted primary energy: what are the multiple ways of energy accounting?</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Understanding the breakdown of our energy systems \u2013 how much energy we get from coal, oil or gas, how much from nuclear, solar or wind \u2013 is crucial. It allows us to compare energy mixes across the world; track whether we are making progress on decarbonizing our energy systems; and plan and manage demands for natural resources. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>But what seems like a simple exercise \u2013 adding up the produced energy from all the different sources \u2013 is in fact not straightforward at all. These difficulties result in different approaches for \u2018energy accounting\u2019 and present a different picture of the energy mix.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Below, we take a look at the two key methodologies applied to primary energy accounting: \u2018direct\u2019 primary energy and primary energy via the \u2018substitution method\u2019. These methods are discussed (or debated) often, but I couldn\u2019t find particularly clear or simple explanations of how they differ and what this means for understanding our energy mix. The aim here is to fill that gap.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s important is to understand why there are two different methods and how they affect our perspective on the energy mix.</p>\n\n\n\n<h4>Direct vs. substituted primary energy: what\u2019s the difference?</h4>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Primary energy\u2019  refers to energy in its raw form, before it has been converted by humans into other forms of energy like electricity, heat or transport fuels. Think of this as inputs into an energy system: coal, oil or gas before we burn them; or solar or wind energy before we convert them to electricity.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we are asking how much energy is consumed or what the breakdown of the sources of energy is we are asking about primary energy.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here we look at two ways in which \u2018primary energy\u2019 is calculated: the \u2018direct\u2019 and the \u2018substituted\u2019 method. The simplest way to think of the difference between these methods is that \u2018direct\u2019 primary energy <em>does not</em> take account of the energy lost in the conversion of fossil fuels to usable energy. The substitution method <em>does</em> attempt to correct for this loss.</p>\n\n\n\n<h4>An example of the difference between \u2018direct\u2019 and \u2018substituted\u2019 energy</h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>To understand why this distinction is important we need to first consider the process of energy production.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we burn fuel in a thermal power plant most of the energy we put into the process is lost \u2013 primarily in the form of heat. Most fossil fuel plants run with an efficiency of around 33% to 40%.{ref}This can vary from plant-to-plant, and by fuel type. We look in more detail at the assumed efficiencies of power plants later.{/ref} The remaining 60% to 67% of energy is wasted as heat. This means for every unit of energy that we can use, another two are wasted.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we measure electricity\u00a0 generation from renewables or nuclear power, we\u2019re measuring the direct\u00a0 <em>output</em>, with no losses or waste to consider.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s take an example \u2013 shown in the graphic here. Imagine we have a country that needs 100 terawatt-hours (TWh) of energy. We have three different energy mixes: only fossil fuels; only renewable or nuclear energy; and a mix of both. </p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>If we only rely on <strong>fossil fuels</strong> we need 263 TWh of energy input. This is because only around 38% of these inputs are converted into \u2018useful\u2019 energy.{ref}We can calculate this by dividing our 100 TWh demand by 0.38.{/ref} 163 TWh is energy lost as heat.</li><li><strong>If we only rely on either renewable or nuclear energy</strong> these losses do not occur \u2013 the quantity of electricity generated is the same quantity we can use. So we only need 100 TWh.</li><li><strong><strong>If we rely on renewables/nuclear and fossil fuels</strong> it depends on the mix: </strong>let\u2019s say we produce 50 TWh from renewables or nuclear sources. We need another 50 TWh from fossil fuels. But to produce the additional 50 TWh from fossil fuels, we actually need 132 TWh, because we lose 82 TWh as heat <em>[50 TWh / 0.38 = 132 TWh]</em>. Combined, we need 182 TWh of energy input <em>[50 TWh from renewables/nuclear + 50 TWh \u2018useful\u2019 fossil fuel energy + 82 TWh wasted]</em>.</li></ol>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"500\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Three-scenarios-to-supply-100TWh-of-energy-800x500.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-36081\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Three-scenarios-to-supply-100TWh-of-energy-800x500.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Three-scenarios-to-supply-100TWh-of-energy-400x250.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Three-scenarios-to-supply-100TWh-of-energy-150x94.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Three-scenarios-to-supply-100TWh-of-energy-768x480.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Three-scenarios-to-supply-100TWh-of-energy-1536x961.png 1536w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Three-scenarios-to-supply-100TWh-of-energy.png 1765w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" /></figure>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Based on this example we can understand the difference between direct primary energy and the substitution method. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s take the third scenario \u2013 a mixture of fossil fuels and low-carbon energy \u2013 and see how the low-carbon share differs between the two methods. This is shown in the figure.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>From the direct method we get 50 TWh / 182 TWh = 27%. From the substitution  method we get 50 TWh / 100 TWh = 50%.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I find it helpful to think of the distinction as:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Low-carbon\u2019s share in <strong>direct primary energy</strong> = % of <strong>total primary energy</strong> consumption (including all of the inefficiencies of fossil fuel production)</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Low carbon\u2019s share in <strong>substituted primary energy = </strong>% of <strong>useful energy </strong>(once we subtract all of the wasted energy in the burning of fossil fuels)</li></ul>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"490\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/How-are-energy-mixes-calculated-800x490.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-36082\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/How-are-energy-mixes-calculated-800x490.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/How-are-energy-mixes-calculated-400x245.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/How-are-energy-mixes-calculated-150x92.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/How-are-energy-mixes-calculated-768x470.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/How-are-energy-mixes-calculated-1536x941.png 1536w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/How-are-energy-mixes-calculated.png 1763w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" /></figure>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h4>What effect does our choice of accounting method have on the breakdown of the global energy mix?</h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>A question many want the answer to is, how much of our energy comes from low-carbon sources? How close are we to getting rid of fossil fuels?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>As we now know, it depends on whether we\u2019re using the direct or substitution method. In the chart here we show the breakdown of the global primary energy mix in 2019 to compare the two methods.{ref}This is based on data from the <em>BP Statistical Review of World Energy</em>; it considers only commercially-traded fuels, so traditional biomass is not included.{/ref}</p>\n\n\n\n<p>As we should expect from the example we worked through, when we calculate the share of energy from low-carbon sources via the substitution method we get a higher figure: 16% vs. only 7% from the direct method. When we strip away the differences in efficiencies between the sources, both renewables and nuclear make a larger contribution. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the interactive charts you can also compare each source\u2019s share of energy based on the two methods. Using the \u201cchange country\u201d button in the bottom-left of each chart, you can also see this for different countries.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most sources tend to prefer and report on the substitution method (or a similar approach \u2013 the \u2018physical content\u2019 method \u2013 which we don\u2019t discuss here but which gives similar results) rather than the direct method. The substitution method is also the preferred approach of the <em>Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)</em>, for example.{ref}Krey V., O. Masera, G. Blanford, T. Bruckner, R. Cooke, K. Fisher-Vanden, H. Haberl, E. Hertwich, E. Kriegler, D. Mueller, S. Paltsev, L. Price, S. Schl\u00f6mer, D. \u00dcrge-Vorsatz, D. van Vuuren, and T. Zwickel, 2014: <a href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-ii.pdf\">Annex II: Metrics & Methodology</a>. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schl\u00f6mer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref}</p>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"426\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-breakdown-\u2013-sub-vs.-direct-800x426.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-35641\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-breakdown-\u2013-sub-vs.-direct-800x426.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-breakdown-\u2013-sub-vs.-direct-400x213.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-breakdown-\u2013-sub-vs.-direct-150x80.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-breakdown-\u2013-sub-vs.-direct-768x409.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-breakdown-\u2013-sub-vs.-direct-1536x817.png 1536w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-breakdown-\u2013-sub-vs.-direct-2048x1090.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" /></figure>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-side-by-side\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-primary-energy-consumption-by-source\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-energy-source-sub\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h4>How do we convert from direct to substituted primary energy?</h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>At Our World in Data we get most of our energy data from BP; each year it publishes its <em>Statistical Review of World Energy </em>report. It applies the substitution method to its primary energy data <em>[you can read its methodology </em><a href=\"https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/using-the-review/methodology.html#accordion_primary-energy-methodology\"><strong><em>here</em></strong></a><em>]</em>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>How does it convert from direct primary energy \u2013 that we can measure \u2013 into the substitution breakdown? </p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the schematic explanation above, we looked at calculating the share of energy from low-carbon energy sources by comparing it with the amount of useful energy (subtracting the wasted energy) from fossil fuels.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But we can also do the opposite of this to get the same result. In fact, this inverse approach is what is most commonly applied by BP and others who use the \u2018substitution method\u2019. So, instead of assuming fossil fuels have the same efficiency as renewables/nuclear, we do the opposite: we assume renewables/nuclear are as inefficient as fossil fuels. We calculate the equivalent amount of fossil fuels that would be required to produce the amount of electricity we get from non-fossil based sources.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, let\u2019s say we produce 100 TWh of electricity from wind. And we assume the efficiency of a fossil fuel plant is 38%. We would convert this wind electricity into \u2018input-equivalent\u2019 primary energy by dividing by this efficiency <em>[100 / 0.38 = 263 TWh]</em>. This would be the amount of primary energy that would be required from fossil fuels to produce the same amount of electricity as wind.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We should note that this conversion is used as an approximation \u2013 a standard \u2018efficiency\u2019 factor is applied across-the-board. But we know that some power plants have a slightly lower or higher efficiency and it can change over time. In fact, BP changed its methodology in its 2020 assessment to reflect this change over time. Previously it assumed a 38% efficiency factor consistently. But it now applies a \u2018time-dependent\u2019 model to build in improvements over time. Changes in this conversion factor are summarised in the table below.<br>The substitution method gives us a more accurate understanding of how low-carbon energy is competing with fossil fuels. For this reason: when we look at the breakdowns of energy mix on <em>Our World in Data</em> we have tried wherever possible to use primary energy measured by the substitution method.</p>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<h6>Conversion factors applied in converting renewable and nuclear electricity outputs to primary energy{ref}BP Statistical Review of World Energy, <em><a href=\"https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/using-the-review/definitions-and-explanatory-notes.html\">Definitions and Exploratory Notes</a></em> (2020){/ref}</h6>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"551\" height=\"550\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/BP-Primary-Energy-Conversion-Factors-551x550.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-36086\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/BP-Primary-Energy-Conversion-Factors-551x550.png 551w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/BP-Primary-Energy-Conversion-Factors-400x400.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/BP-Primary-Energy-Conversion-Factors-150x150.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/BP-Primary-Energy-Conversion-Factors-768x766.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/BP-Primary-Energy-Conversion-Factors.png 770w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 551px) 100vw, 551px\" /></figure>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h2>Explore more of our work on Energy</h2>\n\n\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-owid-grid \">\n\t\t\n <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/energy\">\n <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/data_explorer-featured-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"COVID-19 data explorer\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/data_explorer-featured-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/data_explorer-featured-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/data_explorer-featured-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/data_explorer-featured-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/data_explorer-featured.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n \n <div class=\"description\">\n \n\n<p>Explore all the metrics \u2013 energy production, electricity consumption, and breakdown of fossil fuels, renewable and nuclear energy.</p>\n\n\n </div>\n </div>\n </a>\n </div>\n\n <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/energy#country-profiles\">\n <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/country_profiles-featured-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"COVID-19 country profiles\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/country_profiles-featured-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/country_profiles-featured-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/country_profiles-featured-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/country_profiles-featured-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/country_profiles-featured.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n \n <div class=\"description\">\n \n\n<p>Get an overview of energy for any country on a single page.</p>\n\n\n </div>\n </div>\n </a>\n </div>\n\n <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n <a href=\"https://github.com/owid/energy-data\">\n <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/download_dataset-featured-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"download complete COVID-19 dataset\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/download_dataset-featured-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/download_dataset-featured-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/download_dataset-featured-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/download_dataset-featured-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/download_dataset-featured.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n \n <div class=\"description\">\n \n\n<p>Download our complete dataset of energy metrics on GitHub. It’s open-access and free for anyone to use.</p>\n\n\n </div>\n </div>\n </a>\n </div>\n\n <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access\">\n <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-access-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-access-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-access-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-access-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-access-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-access.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n \n <div class=\"description\">\n \n\n<p>See how access to electricity and clean cooking fuels vary across the world.</p>\n\n\n </div>\n </div>\n </a>\n </div>\n\n <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/energy-production-consumption\">\n <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-production-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-production-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-production-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-production-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-production-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-production.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n \n <div class=\"description\">\n \n\n<p>Explore long-term changes in energy production and consumption across the world.</p>\n\n\n </div>\n </div>\n </a>\n </div>\n\n <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n <a href=\"https://owid.cloud/energy-mix\">\n <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-mix-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-mix-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-mix-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-mix-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-mix-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-mix.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n \n <div class=\"description\">\n \n\n<p>How much of our energy comes from fossil fuels, renewables and nuclear energy? See the breakdown of the energy mix.</p>\n\n\n </div>\n </div>\n </a>\n </div>\n\n <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n <a href=\"https://owid.cloud/electricity-mix\">\n <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Electricity-Mix-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Electricity-Mix-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Electricity-Mix-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Electricity-Mix-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Electricity-Mix-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Electricity-Mix.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n \n <div class=\"description\">\n \n\n<p>Explore the breakdown of the electricity mix and how this is changing.</p>\n\n\n </div>\n </div>\n </a>\n </div>\n\n <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n <a href=\"https://owid.cloud/fossil-fuels\">\n <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Fossil-Fuels-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Fossil-Fuels-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Fossil-Fuels-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Fossil-Fuels-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Fossil-Fuels-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Fossil-Fuels.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n \n <div class=\"description\">\n \n\n<p>See the long-term changes in coal, oil and gas production and consumption.</p>\n\n\n </div>\n </div>\n </a>\n </div>\n\n <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n <a href=\"https://owid.cloud/renewable-energy\">\n <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Renewable-Energy-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Renewable-Energy-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Renewable-Energy-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Renewable-Energy-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Renewable-Energy-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Renewable-Energy.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n \n <div class=\"description\">\n \n\n<p>How quickly are countries scaling up the production of renewable technologies? Explore the data.</p>\n\n\n </div>\n </div>\n </a>\n </div>\n\n <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n <a href=\"https://owid.cloud/nuclear-energy\">\n <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Nuclear-Energy-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Nuclear-Energy-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Nuclear-Energy-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Nuclear-Energy-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Nuclear-Energy-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Nuclear-Energy.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n \n <div class=\"description\">\n \n\n<p>Explore the long-term changes in nuclear energy production across the world.</p>\n\n\n </div>\n </div>\n </a>\n </div>\n\n <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n <a href=\"http://ourworldindata.org/transport\">\n <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/09/transport-thumbnail-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/09/transport-thumbnail-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/09/transport-thumbnail-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/09/transport-thumbnail-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/09/transport-thumbnail-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/09/transport-thumbnail.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n \n <div class=\"description\">\n \n\n<p>Explore trends in transport technologies and emissions across the world.</p>\n\n\n </div>\n </div>\n </a>\n </div>\n\n\t</div>", "protected": false }, "excerpt": { "rendered": "", "protected": false }, "date_gmt": "2020-07-10T08:23:03", "modified": "2023-08-23T10:28:20", "template": "", "categories": [], "menu_order": 122, "ping_status": "closed", "authors_name": [ "Hannah Ritchie" ], "modified_gmt": "2023-08-23T09:28:20", "comment_status": "closed", "featured_media": 41040, "featured_media_paths": { "thumbnail": "/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-mix-150x79.png", "medium_large": "/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-mix-768x404.png" } }

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Energy Mix

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<p>Energy production – mainly the burning of fossil fuels – accounts for around three-quarters of global <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/greenhouse-gas-emissions">greenhouse gas emissions</a>. Not only is energy production the largest driver of climate change, the burning of fossil fuels and biomass also comes at a large cost to human health: at least five million deaths are <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/air-pollution">attributed to air pollution</a> each year.</p>   <p>The world therefore needs to shift away from fossil fuels to an energy mix dominated by low-carbon sources of energy – renewable technologies and nuclear power.</p>   <p>What does our energy mix look like today? What countries have the 'cleanest' energy mix? And are we making progress in shifting towards a low-carbon energy system?</p>   <p>This article focuses on the breakdown of energy sources: how they vary across the world and how this is changing over time.</p>   <p>In the energy domain, there are many different units thrown around – joules, exajoules, million tonnes of oil equivalents, barrel equivalents, British thermal units, terawatt-hours, to name a few. This can be confusing, and make comparisons difficult. So at <em>Our World in Data </em>we try to maintain consistency by converting all energy data to watt-hours. We do this to compare energy data across different metrics and sources.</p>   <h2>Global primary energy: how has the mix changed over centuries?</h2>   <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-energy-substitution?time=earliest..latest" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe>   <h5>Related chart:</h5>    <p>How do our long-term energy transitions look when we consider two additional elements: the work of humans and animals?</p>  </div>   <div class="wp-block-column"> <p>Today when we think about energy mixes we think about a diverse range of sources – coal, oil, gas, nuclear, hydropower, solar, wind, biofuels. But If we look back a couple of centuries ago, our energy mixes where relatively homogeneous. And the transition from one source to another was incredibly slow.</p>   <p>In the chart shown we see global primary energy consumption dating back to the year 1800. This earlier data is sourced from Vaclav Smil's work <em>Energy Transitions: Global and National Perspectives</em>.{ref}Vaclav Smil (2017). <a href="http://vaclavsmil.com/2016/12/14/energy-transitions-global-and-national-perspectives-second-expanded-and-updated-edition/">Energy Transitions: Global and National Perspectives</a>.{/ref} Data from 1965 onwards comes from the latest release of BP's<em> <a href="https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html">Statistical Review of World Energy</a></em>.{ref}Note that this data presents primary energy consumption via the ‘substitution method’. The ‘substitution method’ – in comparison to the ‘direct method’ – attempts to correct for the inefficiencies (energy wasted as heat during combustion) in fossil fuel and biomass conversion. It does this by correcting nuclear and modern renewable technologies to their ‘primary input equivalents’ if the same quantity of energy were to be produced from fossil fuels.{/ref}</p>   <p>We see that until the mid-19th century, traditional biomass – the burning of solid fuels such as wood, crop waste, or charcoal – was the dominant source of energy used across the world. But with the Industrial Revolution came the rise of coal; followed by oil, gas; and by the turn of the 20th century, hydropower.</p>   <p>It wasn't until the 1960s that nuclear energy was added to the mix. What are often referred to as 'modern renewables' – solar and wind – were only added much later, in the 1980s.</p>   <p>What <em>Vaclav</em> <em>Smil</em> – and other researchers studying these long-term energy transitions across countries – highlights in his work is the slow rate at which energy transitions have occurred in the past. The speed and scale of the energy transition we need today in switching from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy is therefore a new challenge, very different from the past.</p> </div> </div>   <h2><strong>Energy mix:</strong> what sources do we get our energy from?</h2>   <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/energy-consumption-by-source-and-region?stackMode=absolute" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe>   <h5>Related chart:</h5>    <p>Explore the changes in primary energy source by source as a line chart <em>[as opposed to a stacked area]</em>.</p>  </div>   <div class="wp-block-column"> <p>Let's look at our energy mix today, and explore what sources we draw upon. </p>   <p>In the interactive chart shown we see the primary energy mix broken down by fuel or generation source. </p>   <p>Globally we get the largest amount of our energy from oil, followed by coal, gas, then hydroelectric power. As we look at in more detail below – "How much of global energy comes from low-carbon sources?" – the global energy mix is still dominated by fossil fuels. They account for more than 80% of energy consumption.</p>    <h4><strong>How you can interact with this chart</strong></h4>   <ul><li>On these charts you see the button <strong>Change Country </strong>in the bottom left corner – with this option you can switch the chart to any other country in the world.</li><li>By ticking the 'Relative' box in the bottom left corner you can switch to see each source's share of the total.</li></ul>   <p></p>  </div> </div>   <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-side-by-side"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <p>In the charts here we see the breakdown of the energy mix by country. First with the higher-level breakdown by fossil fuels, nuclear and renewables. Then with the specific breakdown by source, including coal, gas, oil, nuclear, hydro, solar, wind and other renewables (which include bioenergy, wave and tidal).</p>   <p>This is given in terms of per capita consumption. Using the toggle on the interactive charts you can also see the percentage breakdown for each source using the 'Relative' tickbox.</p> </div>   <div class="wp-block-column"></div> </div>   <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-side-by-side"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/per-capita-energy-source-stacked?country=OWID_WRL~CAN~BRA~CHN~IND~USA~GBR~AUS~FRA~SWE~ZAF~JPN" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> </div>   <div class="wp-block-column"> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/per-capita-energy-stacked?country=USA~GBR~OWID_WRL~CHN~IND~FRA~DEU~SWE~ZAF~JPN~BRA" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> </div> </div>   <h2>How much of global energy comes from low-carbon sources?</h2>    <p>Around three-quarters of global greenhouse gas <a href="https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Emissions-by-sector.png">emissions come from</a> the burning of fossil fuels for energy.{ref}The remaining quarter comes from industrial processes (such as cement production), agriculture, land use change and waste.{/ref} To reduce global emissions we need to shift our energy systems away from fossil fuels to low-carbon sources of energy. We need to ‘decarbonize’.</p>   <p>How big is this challenge? How much of our energy currently comes from low-carbon sources?</p>   <p>In the chart here we see the breakdown of global primary energy consumption for 2019.{ref} This is based on primary energy data published annually in BP’s <a href="https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html">Statistical Review of World Energy</a>.{/ref} </p>   <p>Before we look at the numbers, there are two points to note:</p>   <ul><li>Here we take primary energy based on the <em>‘substitution method’</em> for energy accounting. For those interested in energy accounting methods, at the end of this post we look at comparisons of direct versus substitution methods. The quick summary of it is that this accounting method tries to account for the energy lost from the inefficiencies in fossil fuel production and aims to provide the appropriate comparison of how much more low-carbon energy we would need to replace fossil fuels in the energy mix. It’s one of the preferred accounting method used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).{ref}Krey V., O. Masera, G. Blanford, T. Bruckner, R. Cooke, K. Fisher-Vanden, H. Haberl, E. Hertwich, E. Kriegler, D. Mueller, S. Paltsev, L. Price, S. Schlömer, D. Ürge-Vorsatz, D. van Vuuren, and T. Zwickel, 2014: <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-ii.pdf">Annex II: Metrics & Methodology</a>. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref}</li><li>These figures don’t include energy produced from traditional biomass. This is because most international energy agencies – such as BP, IEA or EIA – only track data on commercially-traded fuels. Traditional biomass – which are <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/indoor-air-pollution#indoor-air-pollution-results-from-poor-access-to-clean-cooking-fuels">solid fuels</a> such as wood, crop residues and charcoal – can be a key source of energy for people living at lower incomes, but it is challenging to quantify and timely data is not available. Based on <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-energy-substitution">crude estimates from earlier data</a> I would expect it to currently account for an additional 6% of global energy.</li></ul>   <h4>16% of global primary energy came from low-carbon sources in 2019</h4>   <p>We see that in 2019, almost 16% (15.7% to be precise) of global primary energy came from low-carbon sources. Low-carbon sources are the sum of nuclear energy and renewables – which includes hydropower, wind, solar, bioenergy, geothermal and wave and tidal.{ref}The emissions from these sources are not necessarily zero – the mining of materials, production, maintenance and decommissioning of these technologies may produce some carbon, but per unit of  energy this is  very small relative to fossil fuels.<br><br>Schlömer S., T. Bruckner, L. Fulton, E. Hertwich, A. McKinnon, D. Perczyk, J. Roy, R. Schaeffer, R. Sims, P. Smith, and R. Wiser, 2014: <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-iii.pdf">Annex III: Technology-specific cost and performance parameters. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change</a>. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref}</p>   <p>11.4% came from renewables; and 4.3% came from nuclear.</p>   <p>Hydropower and nuclear account for most of our low-carbon energy: combined they account for 10.7%. Wind produces just 2.2%, and solar 1.1% – but both sources are  <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/percentage-change-energy-by-source">growing quickly</a>.</p>   <p>Despite producing more and more energy from renewables each year, the global energy mix is still dominated by coal, oil, and gas. Not only does most of our energy – 84% of it – come from fossil fuels, we continue to burn more each year: total <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-fossil-fuel-consumption">production has increased</a> from 116,214 to 136,761 TWh in the last 10 years. <br>We’ve seen the breakdown of the energy mix today. But this does tell us about how it’s changing over time. Are we making progress in decarbonization over time? We look at this question in a related post <strong>here</strong>.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-by-source-800x372.png" alt="" class="wp-image-35642"/></figure>   <h2>Which countries get the most energy from low-carbon sources?</h2>    <p>Globally, just 16% of primary energy (15.7% to be precise) came from low-carbon sources – nuclear and renewables – in 2019. We are a long way away from the goal to shift towards a low-carbon energy system.</p>   <p>But do some countries do much better than this? Do we have examples of countries who are already paving the way towards a fossil-free energy mix?</p>   <h4>Which countries are doing better in low-carbon energy production than the global average?</h4>   <p>In the interactive map here we see the world split into two categories: countries which get <em>more</em> of their energy from low-carbon sources than the global average of 15.7%; and those that get <em>less</em>.{ref}This breakdown of primary energy is based on the ‘substitution method’ which corrects for the inefficiencies in energy production from fossil fuels, and is a better representation of low-carbon energy’s share of ‘useful energy’. For an in-depth discussion and comparison of different ways of accounting for energy production, see <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix#direct-vs-substituted-primary-energy-what-are-the-multiple-ways-of-energy-accounting"><strong>our explainer</strong></a>.{/ref} </p>   <p>What immediately stands out is that there is a reasonably strong East-West divide: most Western economies get a larger share of energy from low-carbon sources, and those in East get less. Of course this boundary is not absolute: the Netherlands and Ireland, for example, are below the global average.</p>   <p>This divide may be in part, due to differences in income: many richer countries with a long history of fossil fuel-rich energy systems have already shifted away from them.{ref}In <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-low-carbon-energy-vs-gdp">this related chart</a> you can see how the share of primary energy from low-carbon sources relates to average income – GDP per capita. This relationship is by no means clear-cut: many rich countries get very little energy from low-carbon sources; and poorer countries get a high share. But overall we see that more rich countries tend to lie above the dotted global average line than countries at lower incomes.{/ref} </p>   <p>For many poorer countries in our map, no data is shown. This is because the BP Statistical Review of World Energy does not cover all countries in the world – it relies on energy statistics from commercially-traded fuels. This means traditional biomass burning – a dominant source of energy at lower incomes are not included. Typically <a href="http://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions">energy-related emissions</a> from low income countries are small because <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access">access to energy</a> – both electricity and modern cooking fuels – is low.</p>   <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-energy-vs-global"></iframe>   <h4>Which countries get the highest share of energy from low-carbon sources?</h4>   <p>We have a rough categorization of countries that are above and below the global average. But let’s take a closer look at the numbers.</p>   <p>In the interactive map here we see the share of primary energy that comes from low-carbon sources across countries.{ref}This breakdown of primary energy is based on the ‘substitution method’ which corrects for the inefficiencies in energy production from fossil fuels, and is a better representation of low-carbon energy’s share of ‘useful energy’. For an in-depth discussion and comparison of different ways of accounting for energy production, see <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix#direct-vs-substituted-primary-energy-what-are-the-multiple-ways-of-energy-accounting"><strong>our explainer</strong></a>.{/ref}</p>   <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-share-energy"></iframe>   <p>In 2019, Iceland got 79% of its energy from low-carbon sources. This was the highest in the world. Most of this came from hydropower (55%) but also other renewables – mainly geothermal energy (24%). You see this breakdown in the interactive chart below. Using the “change country” toggle you can switch to see the breakdown for other countries.</p>   <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/energy-consumption-by-source-and-region?country=~ISL"></iframe>   <p>But Iceland wasn’t the only country to get most of its energy from low-carbon sources: Sweden (69%); Norway (66%) France (49%) and Switzerland (49%) all got a large amount from nuclear or renewables.</p>   <p>Finland, and Brazil also had a high share – more than 40%. </p>   <p>At the other end of the scale, some countries rely almost entirely on fossil fuels. Many of the world’s oil-producing countries – Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait – got less than 1% from low-carbon sources. </p>   <p>Amongst the largest emerging economies, South Africa produced only 5% from low-carbon sources; India got 9%; and China, 15%. Brazil, as we mentioned earlier, achieves a much higher share – 46% in 2019.</p>   <p>Globally, our progress in shifting towards a low-carbon economy has been slow. That may leave us pessimistic about a path forward. But some countries – often some of the world’s richest countries who have high <a href="http://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions">carbon footprints</a> – show us that significant progress on decarbonizing our energy systems is possible. They still have a long way to go but are moving in the right direction.<br>Poorer countries face a bigger challenge: they must grow their economies, giving their populations <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access">access to energy</a>, healthcare and <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/extreme-poverty">alleviating poverty</a> whilst avoiding the carbon-intensive pathways today’s rich countries have taken. To do this, they need clean energy to be cheap, undercutting fossil fuel alternatives. In this regard, the world’s richest countries also have a role to play: the scale-up of low-carbon energy should help to drive down costs. We have already seen this effect with the rapid <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/solar-pv-prices-vs-cumulative-capacity">decline in solar prices</a> in recent years.</p>   <h2>Is the world making progress in decarbonizing energy?</h2>    <p>Three-quarters of global greenhouse gas <a href="https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Emissions-by-sector.png">emissions come from</a> the burning of fossil fuels for energy.{ref}The remaining quarter comes from industrial processes (mainly cement production), agriculture, land use change and waste.{/ref} To tackle climate change, we need to transition away from fossil fuels and decarbonize our energy systems.</p>   <p>The world got <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t2COQwSVDWUke7LvowS-LbKXMpdONaVBODA7J06_tCc/edit?pli=1#heading=h.9xiuxmabyswp">15.7% of its energy</a> from low-carbon sources – either nuclear or renewables – in 2019.  How has this changed over time?</p>   <p>Does our track record give us reason to be optimistic that we can quickly decarbonize?</p>   <p>In the chart we see the share of global energy that comes from low-carbon sources. We’ve certainly made progress since half a century ago: while the global consumption of energy <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-energy-cons?tab=chart&country=~OWID_WRL">increased 3.8-fold</a>, the share of low carbon sources has more than doubled. In the 1960s only 6% of our energy came from renewables or nuclear<em> [at this point in time it was mainly the former, as we’ll see later]</em>.</p>   <p>But our rate of progress since the 1990s has been less impressive. By 1994 we were already getting 13.5% from low-carbon sources. Today – 25 years later – we’ve only increased this by two percentage points. It’s moving in the right direction, but far too slowly – probably much more slowly than many expect.</p>   <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-share-energy?tab=chart&country=~OWID_WRL"></iframe>   <h4>Fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewables: how is the global energy mix  changing?</h4>   <p>In the chart we see the share of global energy that comes from fossil fuels, renewables and nuclear. The sum of the top two is what we want to increase. I’ve also summarised this breakdown in the table – noting each source’s’ share at various points in time since the 1970s.</p>   <p>Part of this slow progress is due to the fact that much of the gains made in renewables has been offset by a decline in nuclear energy. Renewables have been growing while nuclear has been rolled back.{ref}This is even clearer when we <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/electricity-fossil-renewables-nuclear-line">focus in on</a> global <em>electricity</em> production: nuclear declined by almost as much as renewables gained.{/ref}</p>   <p>Overall, this means that the combined share from low-carbon sources has increased by less than we might have expected. Having both renewables and nuclear pulling in the same direction would certainly have helped. But it wouldn’t be enough: the rate of progress would still have been slow.</p>   <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/sub-energy-fossil-renewables-nuclear"></iframe>   <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><thead><tr><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Year</th><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Fossil Fuels</th><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Low-carbon energy<br><em>(Renewables + Nuclear)</em></th><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Renewables</em></th><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Nuclear</em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">1970</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">94%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">6%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>5.6%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>0.4%</em></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">1980</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">91.6%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">8.4%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>6%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>2.4%</em></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">1990</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">88%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">12%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>6.4%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>5.6%</em></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">2000</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">87%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">13%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>7%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>6%</em></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">2010</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">87%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">13%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>7.8%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>5.2%</em></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">2019</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">84.3%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">15.7%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>11.4%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>4.3%</em></td></tr></tbody></table></figure>   <h4>It’s the total amount of fossil fuels we burn that matters – and we continue to burn more each year</h4>   <p>But, actually, we’re still fooling ourselves a bit in looking at this progress through the lens of what <em>share</em> of our energy is low-carbon.</p>   <p>When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, the atmosphere does not care about shares, only absolutes. That is what ultimately determines the amount of CO<sub>2</sub> we emit, and the rate at which it accumulates in the atmosphere.</p>   <p>Global energy consumption is not stagnant, but growing. And in the past years it has been growing too quickly for renewables and nuclear to keep up.</p>   <p>In the chart here we see primary energy consumption in absolute terms for each source. We continue to produce more energy from fossil fuels – particularly oil and gas – each year.{ref}This is also very clear when we look at the <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-primary-energy-fossil-vs-low-carbon">year-on-year <em>change</em></a> in energy consumption by source; this is calculated as the amount of energy produced this year relative to the last, so a positive number means that source is growing; a negative means it decreased. <em>[If you click  the ‘play’ button on the bottom timeline of the </em><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-primary-energy-fossil-vs-low-carbon"><em>year-on-year change</em></a><em> chart you can see how fossil fuel consumption continues to grow each year].</em>{/ref}</p>   <p>Low-carbon energy is certainly growing across the world – undoubtedly a sign of progress.</p>   <p>Decarbonization is happening. But not nearly fast enough.To achieve the necessary progress that matters for the climate we need to see its growth not only meet our new energy demands each year, but start displacing existing fossil fuels in the energy mix at a much faster rate.</p>   <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-sub-energy-source"></iframe>   <h2>Energy consumption by source</h2>   <h3><strong>Fossil fuels:</strong> what share of energy comes from fossil fuels?</h3>   <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/fossil-fuels-share-energy" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe>   <h5>Related content:</h5>    <p>Explore our work on Fossil Fuels.</p>  </div>   <div class="wp-block-column"> <p>Fossil fuels are the sum of coal, oil and gas. Combined, they are the largest source of global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>). We therefore want to shift our energy systems away from fossil fuels towards low-carbon sources of energy.</p>   <p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas summed together) across the world.</p>    <h4>Three tips on how to interact with this map</h4>   <ul><li>By clicking on any country on the map you see the change over time in this country.</li><li>By moving the time slider (below the map) you can see how the global situation has changed over time.</li><li>You can focus on a particular world region using the dropdown menu to the top-right of the map.</li></ul>  </div> </div>   <h3><strong>Coal:</strong> what share of energy comes from coal?</h3>   <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/coal-energy-share" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> </div>   <div class="wp-block-column"> <p>Coal has been a critical energy sources, and mainstay in global energy production for centuries.</p>   <p>But it's also the most <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/safest-sources-of-energy">polluting energy source</a>: both in terms of the amount of CO<sub>2</sub> it produces per unit of energy, but also the amount of local air pollution it creates. Moving away from coal energy is important for climate change as well as human health.</p>   <p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from coal across the world.</p> </div> </div>   <h3><strong>Oil:</strong> what share of energy comes from oil?</h3>   <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/oil-share-energy" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> </div>   <div class="wp-block-column"> <p>Oil is the world's largest energy source today. It is the dominant source of energy for the transport sector in particular.</p>   <p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from oil across the world.</p> </div> </div>   <h3><strong>Gas:</strong> what share of energy comes from gas?</h3>   <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gas-share-energy" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> </div>   <div class="wp-block-column"> <p>Natural gas has, for decades, lagged behind coal and oil as an energy source. But today its consumption is growing rapidly – often as a replacement for coal in the energy mix. Gas is a major provider of <a href="http://ourworldindata.org/electricity-mix">electricity production</a>, and a key source of heat.</p>   <p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from gas across the world.</p> </div> </div>   <h3><strong>Nuclear:</strong> what share of energy comes from nuclear?</h3>   <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/nuclear-primary-energy" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe>    <p>Explore our work on Nuclear Energy.</p>  </div>   <div class="wp-block-column"> <p>Nuclear energy – alongside hydropower – has been a key source of low-carbon energy for many countries across the world in recent decades. But there are large differences in the role of nuclear – some countries rely heavily on it for energy production; others produce no energy at all from it.</p>   <p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from nuclear across the world.</p> </div> </div>   <h3><strong>Renewables:</strong> how much of our energy comes from renewables?</h3>   <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/renewable-share-energy" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe>    <p>Explore our work on Renewable Energy.</p>  </div>   <div class="wp-block-column"> <p>Renewable energy is a collective term used to capture a number of different energy sources. 'Renewables' typically includes hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and wave and tidal energy.</p>   <p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from renewables (the sum of all renewable energy technologies) across the world.</p>   <p>The share of energy we get from individual renewable technologies – solar, or wind, for example – are given in the sections below.</p> </div> </div>   <h3><strong>Hydropower:</strong> what share of energy comes from hydropower?</h3>   <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/hydro-share-energy" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe>   <h5>Related content</h5>    <p>How is hydropower generation changing in absolute terms? Explore in more detail in our work on Renewable Energy.</p>  </div>   <div class="wp-block-column"> <p>Hydroelectric power has been an influential low-carbon energy technology for many countries for more than half a century. Globally, it is still the largest source of renewable energy.</p>   <p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from hydropower across the world.</p> </div> </div>   <h3><strong>Solar:</strong> what share of energy comes from solar?</h3>   <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/solar-share-energy" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe>   <h5>Related content</h5>    <p>How quickly is solar production changing? Explore in more detail in our work on Renewable Energy.</p>  </div>   <div class="wp-block-column"> <p>Solar energy is often referred to as a 'modern renewable' – a couple of decades ago it made only a tiny contribution to global energy supply. But in recent years it has </p>   <p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from solar technologies across the world.</p> </div> </div>   <h3><strong>Wind:</strong> what share of energy comes from wind?</h3>   <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/wind-share-energy" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe>   <h5>Related content</h5>    <p>How quickly is wind production changing? Explore in more detail in our work on Renewable Energy.</p>    <p></p> </div>   <div class="wp-block-column"> <p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from wind (both onshore and offshore) across the world.</p>    <h4>Three tips on how to interact with this map</h4>   <ul><li>By clicking on any country on the map you see the change over time in this country.</li><li>By moving the time slider (below the map) you can see how the global situation has changed over time.</li><li>You can focus on a particular world region using the dropdown menu to the top-right of the map.</li></ul>  </div> </div>   <h2><strong>Year-to-year change:</strong> how is energy consumption by source changing?</h2>   <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-change-primary-energy-source" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> </div>   <div class="wp-block-column"></div> </div>   <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-primary-energy-fossil-vs-low-carbon" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> </div>   <div class="wp-block-column"></div> </div>   <h2>Direct vs. substituted primary energy: what are the multiple ways of energy accounting?</h2>    <p>Understanding the breakdown of our energy systems – how much energy we get from coal, oil or gas, how much from nuclear, solar or wind – is crucial. It allows us to compare energy mixes across the world; track whether we are making progress on decarbonizing our energy systems; and plan and manage demands for natural resources. </p>   <p>But what seems like a simple exercise – adding up the produced energy from all the different sources – is in fact not straightforward at all. These difficulties result in different approaches for ‘energy accounting’ and present a different picture of the energy mix.</p>   <p>Below, we take a look at the two key methodologies applied to primary energy accounting: ‘direct’ primary energy and primary energy via the ‘substitution method’. These methods are discussed (or debated) often, but I couldn’t find particularly clear or simple explanations of how they differ and what this means for understanding our energy mix. The aim here is to fill that gap.</p>   <p>What’s important is to understand why there are two different methods and how they affect our perspective on the energy mix.</p>   <h4>Direct vs. substituted primary energy: what’s the difference?</h4>   <p>‘Primary energy’  refers to energy in its raw form, before it has been converted by humans into other forms of energy like electricity, heat or transport fuels. Think of this as inputs into an energy system: coal, oil or gas before we burn them; or solar or wind energy before we convert them to electricity.</p>   <p>When we are asking how much energy is consumed or what the breakdown of the sources of energy is we are asking about primary energy.</p>   <p>Here we look at two ways in which ‘primary energy’ is calculated: the ‘direct’ and the ‘substituted’ method. The simplest way to think of the difference between these methods is that ‘direct’ primary energy <em>does not</em> take account of the energy lost in the conversion of fossil fuels to usable energy. The substitution method <em>does</em> attempt to correct for this loss.</p>   <h4>An example of the difference between ‘direct’ and ‘substituted’ energy</h4>   <div class="wp-block-columns"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <p>To understand why this distinction is important we need to first consider the process of energy production.</p>   <p>When we burn fuel in a thermal power plant most of the energy we put into the process is lost – primarily in the form of heat. Most fossil fuel plants run with an efficiency of around 33% to 40%.{ref}This can vary from plant-to-plant, and by fuel type. We look in more detail at the assumed efficiencies of power plants later.{/ref} The remaining 60% to 67% of energy is wasted as heat. This means for every unit of energy that we can use, another two are wasted.</p>   <p>When we measure electricity generation from renewables or nuclear power, we’re measuring the direct <em>output</em>, with no losses or waste to consider.</p>   <p>Let’s take an example – shown in the graphic here. Imagine we have a country that needs 100 terawatt-hours (TWh) of energy. We have three different energy mixes: only fossil fuels; only renewable or nuclear energy; and a mix of both. </p>   <ol><li>If we only rely on <strong>fossil fuels</strong> we need 263 TWh of energy input. This is because only around 38% of these inputs are converted into ‘useful’ energy.{ref}We can calculate this by dividing our 100 TWh demand by 0.38.{/ref} 163 TWh is energy lost as heat.</li><li><strong>If we only rely on either renewable or nuclear energy</strong> these losses do not occur – the quantity of electricity generated is the same quantity we can use. So we only need 100 TWh.</li><li><strong><strong>If we rely on renewables/nuclear and fossil fuels</strong> it depends on the mix: </strong>let’s say we produce 50 TWh from renewables or nuclear sources. We need another 50 TWh from fossil fuels. But to produce the additional 50 TWh from fossil fuels, we actually need 132 TWh, because we lose 82 TWh as heat <em>[50 TWh / 0.38 = 132 TWh]</em>. Combined, we need 182 TWh of energy input <em>[50 TWh from renewables/nuclear + 50 TWh ‘useful’ fossil fuel energy + 82 TWh wasted]</em>.</li></ol> </div>   <div class="wp-block-column"> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Three-scenarios-to-supply-100TWh-of-energy-800x500.png" alt="" class="wp-image-36081"/></figure> </div> </div>   <div class="wp-block-columns"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <p>Based on this example we can understand the difference between direct primary energy and the substitution method. </p>   <p>Let’s take the third scenario – a mixture of fossil fuels and low-carbon energy – and see how the low-carbon share differs between the two methods. This is shown in the figure.</p>   <p>From the direct method we get 50 TWh / 182 TWh = 27%. From the substitution  method we get 50 TWh / 100 TWh = 50%.</p>   <p>I find it helpful to think of the distinction as:</p>   <ul><li>Low-carbon’s share in <strong>direct primary energy</strong> = % of <strong>total primary energy</strong> consumption (including all of the inefficiencies of fossil fuel production)</li></ul>   <ul><li>Low carbon’s share in <strong>substituted primary energy = </strong>% of <strong>useful energy </strong>(once we subtract all of the wasted energy in the burning of fossil fuels)</li></ul> </div>   <div class="wp-block-column"> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/How-are-energy-mixes-calculated-800x490.png" alt="" class="wp-image-36082"/></figure> </div> </div>   <h4>What effect does our choice of accounting method have on the breakdown of the global energy mix?</h4>   <div class="wp-block-columns"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <p>A question many want the answer to is, how much of our energy comes from low-carbon sources? How close are we to getting rid of fossil fuels?</p>   <p>As we now know, it depends on whether we’re using the direct or substitution method. In the chart here we show the breakdown of the global primary energy mix in 2019 to compare the two methods.{ref}This is based on data from the <em>BP Statistical Review of World Energy</em>; it considers only commercially-traded fuels, so traditional biomass is not included.{/ref}</p>   <p>As we should expect from the example we worked through, when we calculate the share of energy from low-carbon sources via the substitution method we get a higher figure: 16% vs. only 7% from the direct method. When we strip away the differences in efficiencies between the sources, both renewables and nuclear make a larger contribution. </p>   <p>In the interactive charts you can also compare each source’s share of energy based on the two methods. Using the “change country” button in the bottom-left of each chart, you can also see this for different countries.</p>   <p>Most sources tend to prefer and report on the substitution method (or a similar approach – the ‘physical content’ method – which we don’t discuss here but which gives similar results) rather than the direct method. The substitution method is also the preferred approach of the <em>Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)</em>, for example.{ref}Krey V., O. Masera, G. Blanford, T. Bruckner, R. Cooke, K. Fisher-Vanden, H. Haberl, E. Hertwich, E. Kriegler, D. Mueller, S. Paltsev, L. Price, S. Schlömer, D. Ürge-Vorsatz, D. van Vuuren, and T. Zwickel, 2014: <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-ii.pdf">Annex II: Metrics & Methodology</a>. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref}</p> </div>   <div class="wp-block-column"> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-breakdown-–-sub-vs.-direct-800x426.png" alt="" class="wp-image-35641"/></figure> </div> </div>   <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-side-by-side"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-primary-energy-consumption-by-source" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> </div>   <div class="wp-block-column"> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-energy-source-sub" loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> </div> </div>   <h4>How do we convert from direct to substituted primary energy?</h4>   <div class="wp-block-columns"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <p>At Our World in Data we get most of our energy data from BP; each year it publishes its <em>Statistical Review of World Energy </em>report. It applies the substitution method to its primary energy data <em>[you can read its methodology </em><a href="https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/using-the-review/methodology.html#accordion_primary-energy-methodology"><strong><em>here</em></strong></a><em>]</em>.</p>   <p>How does it convert from direct primary energy – that we can measure – into the substitution breakdown? </p>   <p>In the schematic explanation above, we looked at calculating the share of energy from low-carbon energy sources by comparing it with the amount of useful energy (subtracting the wasted energy) from fossil fuels.</p>   <p>But we can also do the opposite of this to get the same result. In fact, this inverse approach is what is most commonly applied by BP and others who use the ‘substitution method’. So, instead of assuming fossil fuels have the same efficiency as renewables/nuclear, we do the opposite: we assume renewables/nuclear are as inefficient as fossil fuels. We calculate the equivalent amount of fossil fuels that would be required to produce the amount of electricity we get from non-fossil based sources.</p>   <p>So, let’s say we produce 100 TWh of electricity from wind. And we assume the efficiency of a fossil fuel plant is 38%. We would convert this wind electricity into ‘input-equivalent’ primary energy by dividing by this efficiency <em>[100 / 0.38 = 263 TWh]</em>. This would be the amount of primary energy that would be required from fossil fuels to produce the same amount of electricity as wind.</p>   <p>We should note that this conversion is used as an approximation – a standard ‘efficiency’ factor is applied across-the-board. But we know that some power plants have a slightly lower or higher efficiency and it can change over time. In fact, BP changed its methodology in its 2020 assessment to reflect this change over time. Previously it assumed a 38% efficiency factor consistently. But it now applies a ‘time-dependent’ model to build in improvements over time. Changes in this conversion factor are summarised in the table below.<br>The substitution method gives us a more accurate understanding of how low-carbon energy is competing with fossil fuels. For this reason: when we look at the breakdowns of energy mix on <em>Our World in Data</em> we have tried wherever possible to use primary energy measured by the substitution method.</p> </div>   <div class="wp-block-column"> <h6>Conversion factors applied in converting renewable and nuclear electricity outputs to primary energy{ref}BP Statistical Review of World Energy, <em><a href="https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/using-the-review/definitions-and-explanatory-notes.html">Definitions and Exploratory Notes</a></em> (2020){/ref}</h6>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/BP-Primary-Energy-Conversion-Factors-551x550.png" alt="" class="wp-image-36086"/></figure> </div> </div>   <h2>Explore more of our work on Energy</h2>      <p>Explore all the metrics – energy production, electricity consumption, and breakdown of fossil fuels, renewable and nuclear energy.</p>     <p>Get an overview of energy for any country on a single page.</p>     <p>Download our complete dataset of energy metrics on GitHub. It's open-access and free for anyone to use.</p>     <p>See how access to electricity and clean cooking fuels vary across the world.</p>     <p>Explore long-term changes in energy production and consumption across the world.</p>     <p>How much of our energy comes from fossil fuels, renewables and nuclear energy? See the breakdown of the energy mix.</p>     <p>Explore the breakdown of the electricity mix and how this is changing.</p>     <p>See the long-term changes in coal, oil and gas production and consumption.</p>     <p>How quickly are countries scaling up the production of renewable technologies? Explore the data.</p>     <p>Explore the long-term changes in nuclear energy production across the world.</p>     <p>Explore trends in transport technologies and emissions across the world.</p>

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                        "text": "Energy production \u2013 mainly the burning of fossil fuels \u2013 accounts for around three-quarters of global ",
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                        "text": ". Not only is energy production the largest driver of climate change, the burning of fossil fuels and biomass also comes at a large cost to human health: at least five million deaths are ",
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                        "text": " each year.",
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                        "text": "The world therefore needs to shift away from fossil fuels to an energy mix dominated by low-carbon sources of energy \u2013 renewable technologies and nuclear power.",
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                        "text": "What does our energy mix look like today? What countries have the 'cleanest' energy mix? And are we making progress in shifting towards a low-carbon energy system?",
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                        "text": "In the energy domain, there are many different units thrown around \u2013 joules, exajoules, million tonnes of oil equivalents, barrel equivalents, British thermal units, terawatt-hours, to name a few. This can be confusing, and make comparisons difficult. So at ",
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                        "text": "we try to maintain consistency by converting all energy data to watt-hours. We do this to compare energy data across different metrics and sources.",
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                                "text": "Today when we think about energy mixes we think about a diverse range of sources \u2013 coal, oil, gas, nuclear, hydropower, solar, wind, biofuels.  But If we look back a couple of centuries ago, our energy mixes where relatively homogeneous. And the transition from one source to another was incredibly slow.",
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                                "text": "In the chart shown we see global primary energy consumption dating back to the year 1800. This earlier data is sourced from Vaclav Smil's work ",
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                                "text": ".{ref}Vaclav Smil (2017). ",
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                                "text": ".{/ref} Data from 1965 onwards comes from the latest release of BP's",
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                                "text": ".{ref}Note that this data presents primary energy consumption via the \u2018substitution method\u2019. The \u2018substitution method\u2019 \u2013 in comparison to the \u2018direct method\u2019 \u2013 attempts to correct for the inefficiencies (energy wasted as heat during combustion) in fossil fuel and biomass conversion. It does this by correcting nuclear and modern renewable technologies to their \u2018primary input equivalents\u2019 if the same quantity of energy were to be produced from fossil fuels.{/ref}",
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            },
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                "left": [
                    {
                        "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/energy-consumption-by-source-and-region?stackMode=absolute",
                        "type": "chart",
                        "parseErrors": []
                    },
                    {
                        "text": [
                            {
                                "text": "Related chart:",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                            }
                        ],
                        "type": "heading",
                        "level": 5,
                        "parseErrors": []
                    },
                    {
                        "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-sub-energy-source",
                        "type": "prominent-link",
                        "title": "Primary energy consumption by source",
                        "description": "Explore the changes in primary energy source by source as a line chart [as opposed to a stacked area].",
                        "parseErrors": []
                    }
                ],
                "type": "sticky-right",
                "right": [
                    {
                        "type": "text",
                        "value": [
                            {
                                "text": "Let's look at our energy mix today, and explore what sources we draw upon. ",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                            }
                        ],
                        "parseErrors": []
                    },
                    {
                        "type": "text",
                        "value": [
                            {
                                "text": "In the interactive chart shown we see the primary energy mix broken down by fuel or generation source. ",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                            }
                        ],
                        "parseErrors": []
                    },
                    {
                        "type": "text",
                        "value": [
                            {
                                "text": "Globally we get the largest amount of our energy from oil, followed by coal, gas, then hydroelectric power. As we look at in more detail below \u2013 \"How much of global energy comes from low-carbon sources?\" \u2013 the global energy mix is still dominated by fossil fuels. They account for more than 80% of energy consumption.",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                            }
                        ],
                        "parseErrors": []
                    },
                    {
                        "text": [
                            {
                                "children": [
                                    {
                                        "text": "How you can interact with this chart",
                                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                                    }
                                ],
                                "spanType": "span-bold"
                            }
                        ],
                        "type": "heading",
                        "level": 4,
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                        "type": "list",
                        "items": [
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                                "type": "text",
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                                    {
                                        "text": "On these charts you see the button ",
                                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                                    },
                                    {
                                        "children": [
                                            {
                                                "text": "Change Country ",
                                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                                            }
                                        ],
                                        "spanType": "span-bold"
                                    },
                                    {
                                        "text": "in the bottom left corner \u2013 with this option you can switch the chart to any other country in the world.",
                                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                                    }
                                ],
                                "parseErrors": []
                            },
                            {
                                "type": "text",
                                "value": [
                                    {
                                        "text": "By ticking the 'Relative' box in the bottom left corner you can switch to see each source's share of the total.",
                                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                                    }
                                ],
                                "parseErrors": []
                            }
                        ],
                        "parseErrors": []
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                ],
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                "type": "text",
                "value": [
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                        "text": "In the charts here we see the breakdown of the energy mix by country. First with the higher-level breakdown by fossil fuels, nuclear and renewables. Then with the specific breakdown by source, including coal, gas, oil, nuclear, hydro, solar, wind and other renewables (which include bioenergy, wave and tidal).",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    }
                ],
                "parseErrors": []
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                "type": "text",
                "value": [
                    {
                        "text": "This is given in terms of per capita consumption. Using the toggle on the interactive charts you can also see the percentage breakdown for each source using the 'Relative' tickbox.",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    }
                ],
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "left": [
                    {
                        "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/per-capita-energy-source-stacked?country=OWID_WRL~CAN~BRA~CHN~IND~USA~GBR~AUS~FRA~SWE~ZAF~JPN",
                        "type": "chart",
                        "parseErrors": []
                    }
                ],
                "type": "sticky-right",
                "right": [
                    {
                        "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/per-capita-energy-stacked?country=USA~GBR~OWID_WRL~CHN~IND~FRA~DEU~SWE~ZAF~JPN~BRA",
                        "type": "chart",
                        "parseErrors": []
                    }
                ],
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "text": [
                    {
                        "text": "How much of global energy comes from low-carbon sources?",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    }
                ],
                "type": "heading",
                "level": 2,
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "type": "text",
                "value": [
                    {
                        "text": "Around three-quarters of global greenhouse gas ",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    },
                    {
                        "url": "https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Emissions-by-sector.png",
                        "children": [
                            {
                                "text": "emissions come from",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                            }
                        ],
                        "spanType": "span-link"
                    },
                    {
                        "text": " the burning of fossil fuels for energy.{ref}The remaining quarter comes from industrial processes (such as cement production), agriculture, land use change and waste.{/ref} To reduce global emissions we need to shift our energy systems away from fossil fuels to low-carbon sources of energy. We need to \u2018decarbonize\u2019.",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    }
                ],
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "type": "text",
                "value": [
                    {
                        "text": "How big is this challenge? How much of our energy currently comes from low-carbon sources?",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    }
                ],
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "type": "text",
                "value": [
                    {
                        "text": "In the chart here we see the breakdown of global primary energy consumption for 2019.{ref} This is based on primary energy data published annually in BP\u2019s ",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    },
                    {
                        "url": "https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html",
                        "children": [
                            {
                                "text": "Statistical Review of World Energy",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                            }
                        ],
                        "spanType": "span-link"
                    },
                    {
                        "text": ".{/ref}\u00a0",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    }
                ],
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "type": "text",
                "value": [
                    {
                        "text": "Before we look at the numbers, there are two points to note:",
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                    }
                ],
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "type": "list",
                "items": [
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                        "type": "text",
                        "value": [
                            {
                                "text": "Here we take primary energy based on the ",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                            },
                            {
                                "children": [
                                    {
                                        "text": "\u2018substitution method\u2019",
                                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                                    }
                                ],
                                "spanType": "span-italic"
                            },
                            {
                                "text": " for energy accounting. For those interested in energy accounting methods, at the end of this post we look at comparisons of direct versus substitution methods. The quick summary of it is that this accounting method tries to account for the energy lost from the inefficiencies in fossil fuel production and aims to provide the appropriate comparison of how much more low-carbon energy we would need to replace fossil fuels in the energy mix. It\u2019s one of the preferred accounting method used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).{ref}Krey V., O. Masera, G. Blanford, T. Bruckner, R. Cooke, K. Fisher-Vanden, H. Haberl, E. Hertwich, E. Kriegler, D. Mueller, S. Paltsev, L. Price, S. Schl\u00f6mer, D. \u00dcrge-Vorsatz, D. van Vuuren, and T. Zwickel, 2014: ",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                            },
                            {
                                "url": "https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-ii.pdf",
                                "children": [
                                    {
                                        "text": "Annex II: Metrics & Methodology",
                                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                                    }
                                ],
                                "spanType": "span-link"
                            },
                            {
                                "text": ". In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schl\u00f6mer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref}",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                            }
                        ],
                        "parseErrors": []
                    },
                    {
                        "type": "text",
                        "value": [
                            {
                                "text": "These figures don\u2019t include energy produced from traditional biomass. This is because most international energy agencies \u2013 such as BP, IEA or EIA \u2013 only track data on commercially-traded fuels. Traditional biomass \u2013 which are ",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                            },
                            {
                                "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/indoor-air-pollution#indoor-air-pollution-results-from-poor-access-to-clean-cooking-fuels",
                                "children": [
                                    {
                                        "text": "solid fuels",
                                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                                    }
                                ],
                                "spanType": "span-link"
                            },
                            {
                                "text": " such as wood, crop residues and charcoal \u2013 can be a key source of energy for people living at lower incomes, but it is challenging to quantify and timely data is not available. Based on ",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                            },
                            {
                                "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-energy-substitution",
                                "children": [
                                    {
                                        "text": "crude estimates from earlier data",
                                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                                    }
                                ],
                                "spanType": "span-link"
                            },
                            {
                                "text": " I would expect it to currently account for an additional 6% of global energy.",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                            }
                        ],
                        "parseErrors": []
                    }
                ],
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "text": [
                    {
                        "text": "16% of global primary energy came from low-carbon sources in 2019",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    }
                ],
                "type": "heading",
                "level": 4,
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                "value": [
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                        "text": "We see that in 2019, almost 16% (15.7% to be precise) of global primary energy came from low-carbon sources. Low-carbon sources are the sum of nuclear energy and renewables \u2013 which includes hydropower, wind, solar, bioenergy, geothermal and wave and tidal.{ref}The emissions from these sources are not necessarily zero \u2013 the mining of materials, production, maintenance and decommissioning of these technologies may produce some carbon, but per unit of\u00a0 energy this is\u00a0 very small relative to fossil fuels.",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    },
                    {
                        "spanType": "span-newline"
                    },
                    {
                        "spanType": "span-newline"
                    },
                    {
                        "text": "Schl\u00f6mer S., T. Bruckner, L. Fulton, E. Hertwich, A. McKinnon, D. Perczyk, J. Roy, R. Schaeffer, R. Sims, P. Smith, and R. Wiser, 2014: ",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    },
                    {
                        "url": "https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-iii.pdf",
                        "children": [
                            {
                                "text": "Annex III: Technology-specific cost and performance parameters. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                            }
                        ],
                        "spanType": "span-link"
                    },
                    {
                        "text": ". Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schl\u00f6mer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref}",
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                ],
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            {
                "type": "text",
                "value": [
                    {
                        "text": "11.4% came from renewables; and 4.3% came from nuclear.",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    }
                ],
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "type": "text",
                "value": [
                    {
                        "text": "Hydropower and nuclear account for most of our low-carbon energy: combined they account for 10.7%. Wind produces just 2.2%, and solar 1.1% \u2013 but both sources are\u00a0 ",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    },
                    {
                        "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/percentage-change-energy-by-source",
                        "children": [
                            {
                                "text": "growing quickly",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                            }
                        ],
                        "spanType": "span-link"
                    },
                    {
                        "text": ".",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    }
                ],
                "parseErrors": []
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            {
                "type": "text",
                "value": [
                    {
                        "text": "Despite producing more and more energy from renewables each year, the global energy mix is still dominated by coal, oil, and gas. Not only does most of our energy \u2013 84% of it \u2013 come from fossil fuels, we continue to burn more each year: total ",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    },
                    {
                        "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-fossil-fuel-consumption",
                        "children": [
                            {
                                "text": "production has increased",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                            }
                        ],
                        "spanType": "span-link"
                    },
                    {
                        "text": " from 116,214 to 136,761 TWh in the last 10 years.\u00a0",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    },
                    {
                        "spanType": "span-newline"
                    },
                    {
                        "text": "We\u2019ve seen the breakdown of the energy mix today. But this does tell us about how it\u2019s changing over time. Are we making progress in decarbonization over time? We look at this question in a related post ",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    },
                    {
                        "children": [
                            {
                                "text": "here",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                            }
                        ],
                        "spanType": "span-bold"
                    },
                    {
                        "text": ".",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    }
                ],
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "alt": "",
                "size": "wide",
                "type": "image",
                "filename": "Global-primary-energy-by-source.png",
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "text": [
                    {
                        "text": "Which countries get the most energy from low-carbon sources?",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    }
                ],
                "type": "heading",
                "level": 2,
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "type": "text",
                "value": [
                    {
                        "text": "Globally, just 16% of primary energy (15.7% to be precise) came from low-carbon sources \u2013 nuclear and renewables \u2013 in 2019. We are a long way away from the goal to shift towards a low-carbon energy system.",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    }
                ],
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "type": "text",
                "value": [
                    {
                        "text": "But do some countries do much better than this? Do we have examples of countries who are already paving the way towards a fossil-free energy mix?",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    }
                ],
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "text": [
                    {
                        "text": "Which countries are doing better in low-carbon energy production than the global average?",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    }
                ],
                "type": "heading",
                "level": 4,
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "type": "text",
                "value": [
                    {
                        "text": "In the interactive map here we see the world split into two categories: countries which get ",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    },
                    {
                        "children": [
                            {
                                "text": "more",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                            }
                        ],
                        "spanType": "span-italic"
                    },
                    {
                        "text": " of their energy from low-carbon sources than the global average of 15.7%; and those that get ",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    },
                    {
                        "children": [
                            {
                                "text": "less",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                            }
                        ],
                        "spanType": "span-italic"
                    },
                    {
                        "text": ".{ref}This breakdown of primary energy is based on the \u2018substitution method\u2019 which corrects for the inefficiencies in energy production from fossil fuels, and is a better representation of low-carbon energy\u2019s share of \u2018useful energy\u2019. For an in-depth discussion and comparison of different ways of accounting for energy production, see ",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    },
                    {
                        "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix#direct-vs-substituted-primary-energy-what-are-the-multiple-ways-of-energy-accounting",
                        "children": [
                            {
                                "children": [
                                    {
                                        "text": "our explainer",
                                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                                    }
                                ],
                                "spanType": "span-bold"
                            }
                        ],
                        "spanType": "span-link"
                    },
                    {
                        "text": ".{/ref}\u00a0",
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                    }
                ],
                "parseErrors": []
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            {
                "type": "text",
                "value": [
                    {
                        "text": "What immediately stands out is that there is a reasonably strong East-West divide: most Western economies get a larger share of energy from low-carbon sources, and those in East get less. Of course this boundary is not absolute: the Netherlands and Ireland, for example, are below the global average.",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    }
                ],
                "parseErrors": []
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            {
                "type": "text",
                "value": [
                    {
                        "text": "This divide may be in part, due to differences in income: many richer countries with a long history of fossil fuel-rich energy systems have already shifted away from them.{ref}In ",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    },
                    {
                        "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-low-carbon-energy-vs-gdp",
                        "children": [
                            {
                                "text": "this related chart",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                            }
                        ],
                        "spanType": "span-link"
                    },
                    {
                        "text": " you can see how the share of primary energy from low-carbon sources relates to average income \u2013 GDP per capita. This relationship is by no means clear-cut: many rich countries get very little energy from low-carbon sources; and poorer countries get a high share. But overall we see that more rich countries tend to lie above the dotted global average line than countries at lower incomes.{/ref}\u00a0",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    }
                ],
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "type": "text",
                "value": [
                    {
                        "text": "For many poorer countries in our map, no data is shown. This is because the BP Statistical Review of World Energy does not cover all countries in the world \u2013 it relies on energy statistics from commercially-traded fuels. This means traditional biomass burning \u2013 a dominant source of energy at lower incomes are not included. Typically ",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    },
                    {
                        "url": "http://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions",
                        "children": [
                            {
                                "text": "energy-related emissions",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                            }
                        ],
                        "spanType": "span-link"
                    },
                    {
                        "text": " from low income countries are small because ",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    },
                    {
                        "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access",
                        "children": [
                            {
                                "text": "access to energy",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                            }
                        ],
                        "spanType": "span-link"
                    },
                    {
                        "text": " \u2013 both electricity and modern cooking fuels \u2013 is low.",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    }
                ],
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-energy-vs-global",
                "type": "chart",
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "text": [
                    {
                        "text": "Which countries get the highest share of energy from low-carbon sources?",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    }
                ],
                "type": "heading",
                "level": 4,
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "type": "text",
                "value": [
                    {
                        "text": "We have a rough categorization of countries that are above and below the global average. But let\u2019s take a closer look at the numbers.",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    }
                ],
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "type": "text",
                "value": [
                    {
                        "text": "In the interactive map here we see the share of primary energy that comes from low-carbon sources across countries.{ref}This breakdown of primary energy is based on the \u2018substitution method\u2019 which corrects for the inefficiencies in energy production from fossil fuels, and is a better representation of low-carbon energy\u2019s share of \u2018useful energy\u2019. For an in-depth discussion and comparison of different ways of accounting for energy production, see ",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    },
                    {
                        "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix#direct-vs-substituted-primary-energy-what-are-the-multiple-ways-of-energy-accounting",
                        "children": [
                            {
                                "children": [
                                    {
                                        "text": "our explainer",
                                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                                    }
                                ],
                                "spanType": "span-bold"
                            }
                        ],
                        "spanType": "span-link"
                    },
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                        "text": ".{/ref}",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    }
                ],
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-share-energy",
                "type": "chart",
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            {
                "type": "text",
                "value": [
                    {
                        "text": "In 2019, Iceland got 79% of its energy from low-carbon sources. This was the highest in the world. Most of this came from hydropower (55%) but also other renewables \u2013 mainly geothermal energy (24%). You see this breakdown in the interactive chart below. Using the \u201cchange country\u201d toggle you can switch to see the breakdown for other countries.",
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                    }
                ],
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/energy-consumption-by-source-and-region?country=~ISL",
                "type": "chart",
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "type": "text",
                "value": [
                    {
                        "text": "But Iceland wasn\u2019t the only country to get most of its energy from low-carbon sources: Sweden (69%); Norway (66%) France (49%) and Switzerland (49%) all got a large amount from nuclear or renewables.",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    }
                ],
                "parseErrors": []
            },
            {
                "type": "text",
                "value": [
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                        "text": "Finland, and Brazil also had a high share \u2013 more than 40%.\u00a0",
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                    }
                ],
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                        "text": "At the other end of the scale, some countries rely almost entirely on fossil fuels. Many of the world\u2019s oil-producing countries \u2013 Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait \u2013 got less than 1% from low-carbon sources.\u00a0",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
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                ],
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                "type": "text",
                "value": [
                    {
                        "text": "Amongst the largest emerging economies, South Africa produced only 5% from low-carbon sources; India got 9%; and China, 15%. Brazil, as we mentioned earlier, achieves a much higher share \u2013 46% in 2019.",
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                        "text": "Globally, our progress in shifting towards a low-carbon economy has been slow. That may leave us pessimistic about a path forward. But some countries \u2013 often some of the world\u2019s richest countries who have high ",
                        "spanType": "span-simple-text"
                    },
                    {
                        "url": "http://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions",
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                                "text": "carbon footprints",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
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                        "text": " \u2013 show us that significant progress on decarbonizing our energy systems is possible. They still have a long way to go but are moving in the right direction.",
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                        "spanType": "span-newline"
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                        "text": "Poorer countries face a bigger challenge: they must grow their economies, giving their populations ",
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                        "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access",
                        "children": [
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                                "text": "access to energy",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
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                        ],
                        "spanType": "span-link"
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                    {
                        "text": ", healthcare and ",
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                    },
                    {
                        "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/extreme-poverty",
                        "children": [
                            {
                                "text": "alleviating poverty",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
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                        "spanType": "span-link"
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                        "text": " whilst avoiding the carbon-intensive pathways today\u2019s rich countries have taken. To do this, they need clean energy to be cheap, undercutting fossil fuel alternatives. In this regard, the world\u2019s richest countries also have a role to play: the scale-up of low-carbon energy should help to drive down costs. We have already seen this effect with the rapid ",
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                    },
                    {
                        "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/solar-pv-prices-vs-cumulative-capacity",
                        "children": [
                            {
                                "text": "decline in solar prices",
                                "spanType": "span-simple-text"
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                        "spanType": "span-link"
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                        "text": " in recent years.",
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                "text": [
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                        "text": "Is the world making progress in decarbonizing energy?",
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                        "text": "Three-quarters of global greenhouse gas ",
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                                "text": "emissions come from",
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                    },
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                        "text": " the burning of fossil fuels for energy.{ref}The remaining quarter comes from industrial processes (mainly cement production), agriculture, land use change and waste.{/ref} To tackle climate change, we need to transition away from fossil fuels and decarbonize our energy systems.",
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                        "text": "The world got ",
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                        "url": "https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t2COQwSVDWUke7LvowS-LbKXMpdONaVBODA7J06_tCc/edit?pli=1#heading=h.9xiuxmabyswp",
                        "children": [
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                                "text": "15.7% of its energy",
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                        "text": " from low-carbon sources \u2013 either nuclear or renewables \u2013 in 2019.\u00a0 How has this changed over time?",
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                        "text": "Does our track record give us reason to be optimistic that we can quickly decarbonize?",
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                        "text": "In the chart we see the share of global energy that comes from low-carbon sources. We\u2019ve certainly made progress since half a century ago: while the global consumption of energy ",
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                                "text": "increased 3.8-fold",
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                        "text": ", the share of low carbon sources has more than doubled. In the 1960s only 6% of our energy came from renewables or nuclear",
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                        "children": [
                            {
                                "text": " [at this point in time it was mainly the former, as we\u2019ll see later]",
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                        "text": ".",
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                        "text": "But our rate of progress since the 1990s has been less impressive. By 1994 we were already getting 13.5% from low-carbon sources. Today \u2013 25 years later \u2013 we\u2019ve only increased this by two percentage points. It\u2019s moving in the right direction, but far too slowly \u2013 probably much more slowly than many expect.",
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                "text": [
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                        "text": "Fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewables: how is the global energy mix\u00a0 changing?",
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                        "text": "In the chart we see the share of global energy that comes from fossil fuels, renewables and nuclear. The sum of the top two is what we want to increase. I\u2019ve also summarised this breakdown in the table \u2013 noting each source\u2019s\u2019 share at various points in time since the 1970s.",
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                        "text": "Part of this slow progress is due to the fact that much of the gains made in renewables has been offset by a decline in nuclear energy. Renewables have been growing while nuclear has been rolled back.{ref}This is even clearer when we ",
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                        "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/electricity-fossil-renewables-nuclear-line",
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                                "text": "focus in on",
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                        "text": " global ",
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                                "text": "electricity",
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                        "text": " production: nuclear declined by almost as much as renewables gained.{/ref}",
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                        "text": "Overall, this means that the combined share from low-carbon sources has increased by less than we might have expected. Having both renewables and nuclear pulling in the same direction would certainly have helped. But it wouldn\u2019t be enough: the rate of progress would still have been slow.",
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                "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/sub-energy-fossil-renewables-nuclear",
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                "type": "html",
                "value": "<div class=\"raw-html-table__container\"><table><thead><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Year</th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Fossil Fuels</th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Low-carbon energy<br><em>(Renewables + Nuclear)</em></th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>Renewables</em></th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>Nuclear</em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">1970</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">94%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">6%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>5.6%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>0.4%</em></td></tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">1980</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">91.6%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">8.4%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>6%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>2.4%</em></td></tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">1990</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">88%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">12%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>6.4%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>5.6%</em></td></tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2000</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">87%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">13%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>7%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>6%</em></td></tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2010</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">87%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">13%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>7.8%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>5.2%</em></td></tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2019</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">84.3%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">15.7%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>11.4%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>4.3%</em></td></tr></tbody></table></div>",
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                "text": [
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                        "text": "It\u2019s the total amount of fossil fuels we burn that matters \u2013 and we continue to burn more each year",
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                        "text": "But, actually, we\u2019re still fooling ourselves a bit in looking at this progress through the lens of what ",
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                                "text": "share",
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                        "text": " of our energy is low-carbon.",
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                        "text": "When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, the atmosphere does not care about shares, only absolutes. That is what ultimately determines the amount of CO",
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                                "text": "2",
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                        "text": " we emit, and the rate at which it accumulates in the atmosphere.",
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                        "text": "Global energy consumption is not stagnant, but growing. And in the past years it has been growing too quickly for renewables and nuclear to keep up.",
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                        "text": "In the chart here we see primary energy consumption in absolute terms for each source. We continue to produce more energy from fossil fuels \u2013 particularly oil and gas \u2013 each year.{ref}This is also very clear when we look at the ",
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                                "text": "year-on-year ",
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                        "text": " in energy consumption by source; this is calculated as the amount of energy produced this year relative to the last, so a positive number means that source is growing; a negative means it decreased. ",
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                        "children": [
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                                "text": "[If you click\u00a0 the \u2018play\u2019 button on the bottom timeline of the ",
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                                        "text": "year-on-year change",
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                        "children": [
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                                "text": " chart you can see how fossil fuel consumption continues to grow each year].",
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                        "text": "{/ref}",
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                        "text": "Low-carbon energy is certainly growing across the world \u2013 undoubtedly a sign of progress.",
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                        "text": "Decarbonization is happening. But not nearly fast enough.To achieve the necessary progress that matters for the climate we need to see its growth not only meet our new energy demands each year, but start displacing existing fossil fuels in the energy mix at a much faster rate.",
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                        "text": "Energy consumption by source",
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                                "text": "Fossil fuels:",
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                        "text": " what share of energy comes from fossil fuels?",
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                                "text": "Related content:",
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                        "url": "ourworldindata.org/fossil-fuels",
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                                "text": "Fossil fuels are the sum of coal, oil and gas. Combined, they are the largest source of global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO",
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                                "children": [
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                                        "text": "2",
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                            {
                                "text": "). We therefore want to shift our energy systems away from fossil fuels towards low-carbon sources of energy.",
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                                "text": "This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas summed together) across the world.",
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                        "text": [
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                                "text": "Three tips on how to interact with this map",
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                                        "text": "By clicking on any country on the map you see the change over time in this country.",
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                                        "text": "By moving the time slider (below the map) you can see how the global situation has changed over time.",
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                                        "text": "You can focus on a particular world region using the dropdown menu to the top-right of the map.",
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                                "text": "Coal:",
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                        "text": " what share of energy comes from coal?",
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                                "text": "Coal has been a critical energy sources, and mainstay in global energy production for centuries.",
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                                "text": "But it's also the most ",
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                                        "text": "polluting energy source",
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                                "text": ": both in terms of the amount of CO",
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                                "text": " it produces per unit of energy, but also the amount of local air pollution it creates. Moving away from coal energy is important for climate change as well as human health.",
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                                "text": "This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from coal across the world.",
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                                "text": "Oil:",
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                        "text": " what share of energy comes from oil?",
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                                "text": "Oil is the world's largest energy source today. It is the dominant source of energy for the transport sector in particular.",
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                                "text": "This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from oil across the world.",
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                                "text": "Gas:",
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                        "text": " what share of energy comes from gas?",
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                                "text": "Natural gas has, for decades, lagged behind coal and oil as an energy source. But today its consumption is growing rapidly \u2013 often as a replacement for coal in the energy mix. Gas is a major provider of ",
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                                        "text": "electricity production",
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                                "text": ", and a key source of heat.",
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                                "text": "This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from gas across the world.",
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                                "text": "Nuclear:",
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                        "text": " what share of energy comes from nuclear?",
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                                "text": "Nuclear energy \u2013 alongside hydropower \u2013 has been a key source of low-carbon energy for many countries across the world in recent decades. But there are large differences in the role of nuclear \u2013 some countries rely heavily on it for energy production; others produce no energy at all from it.",
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                                "text": "This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from nuclear across the world.",
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                                "text": "Renewables:",
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                        "text": " how much of our energy comes from renewables?",
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                                "text": "Renewable energy is a collective term used to capture a number of different energy sources. 'Renewables' typically includes hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and wave and tidal energy.",
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                                "text": "This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from renewables (the sum of all renewable energy technologies) across the world.",
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                                "text": "The share of energy we get from individual renewable technologies \u2013 solar, or wind, for example \u2013 are given in the sections below.",
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                                "text": "Hydropower:",
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                        "text": " what share of energy comes from hydropower?",
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                                "text": "Related content",
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                                "text": "Hydroelectric power has been an influential low-carbon energy technology for many countries for more than half a century. Globally, it is still the largest source of renewable energy.",
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                                "text": "This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from hydropower across the world.",
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                                "text": "Solar:",
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                        "text": " what share of energy comes from solar?",
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                                "text": "Related content",
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                                "text": "Solar energy is often referred to as a 'modern renewable' \u2013 a couple of decades ago it made only a tiny contribution to global energy supply. But in recent years it has ",
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                                "text": "This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from solar technologies across the world.",
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                                "text": "Wind:",
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                        "text": " what share of energy comes from wind?",
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                                "text": "Related content",
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                        "url": "ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy",
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                                "text": "This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from wind (both onshore and offshore) across the world.",
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                        "text": [
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                                "text": "Three tips on how to interact with this map",
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                                        "text": "By clicking on any country on the map you see the change over time in this country.",
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                                        "text": "By moving the time slider (below the map) you can see how the global situation has changed over time.",
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                                        "text": "You can focus on a particular world region using the dropdown menu to the top-right of the map.",
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                                "text": "Year-to-year change:",
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                        "text": " how is energy consumption by source changing?",
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                "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-change-primary-energy-source",
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                "text": [
                    {
                        "text": "Direct vs. substituted primary energy: what are the multiple ways of energy accounting?",
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                        "text": "Understanding the breakdown of our energy systems \u2013 how much energy we get from coal, oil or gas, how much from nuclear, solar or wind \u2013 is crucial. It allows us to compare energy mixes across the world; track whether we are making progress on decarbonizing our energy systems; and plan and manage demands for natural resources.\u00a0",
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                        "text": "But what seems like a simple exercise \u2013 adding up the produced energy from all the different sources \u2013 is in fact not straightforward at all. These difficulties result in different approaches for \u2018energy accounting\u2019 and present a different picture of the energy mix.",
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                        "text": "Below, we take a look at the two key methodologies applied to primary energy accounting: \u2018direct\u2019 primary energy and primary energy via the \u2018substitution method\u2019. These methods are discussed (or debated) often, but I couldn\u2019t find particularly clear or simple explanations of how they differ and what this means for understanding our energy mix. The aim here is to fill that gap.",
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                        "text": "What\u2019s important is to understand why there are two different methods and how they affect our perspective on the energy mix.",
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                        "text": "Direct vs. substituted primary energy: what\u2019s the difference?",
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                        "text": "\u2018Primary energy\u2019\u00a0 refers to energy in its raw form, before it has been converted by humans into other forms of energy like electricity, heat or transport fuels. Think of this as inputs into an energy system: coal, oil or gas before we burn them; or solar or wind energy before we convert them to electricity.",
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                        "text": "When we are asking how much energy is consumed or what the breakdown of the sources of energy is we are asking about primary energy.",
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                        "text": "Here we look at two ways in which \u2018primary energy\u2019 is calculated: the \u2018direct\u2019 and the \u2018substituted\u2019 method. The simplest way to think of the difference between these methods is that \u2018direct\u2019 primary energy ",
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                                "text": "does not",
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                        "text": " take account of the energy lost in the conversion of fossil fuels to usable energy. The substitution method ",
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                                "text": "does",
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                        "text": " attempt to correct for this loss.",
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                        "text": "An example of the difference between \u2018direct\u2019 and \u2018substituted\u2019 energy",
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                                "text": "To understand why this distinction is important we need to first consider the process of energy production.",
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                                "text": "When we burn fuel in a thermal power plant most of the energy we put into the process is lost \u2013 primarily in the form of heat. Most fossil fuel plants run with an efficiency of around 33% to 40%.{ref}This can vary from plant-to-plant, and by fuel type. We look in more detail at the assumed efficiencies of power plants later.{/ref} The remaining 60% to 67% of energy is wasted as heat. This means for every unit of energy that we can use, another two are wasted.",
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                                "text": "When we measure electricity\u00a0 generation from renewables or nuclear power, we\u2019re measuring the direct\u00a0 ",
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                                        "text": "output",
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                                "text": ", with no losses or waste to consider.",
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                                "text": "Let\u2019s take an example \u2013 shown in the graphic here. Imagine we have a country that needs 100 terawatt-hours (TWh) of energy. We have three different energy mixes: only fossil fuels; only renewable or nuclear energy; and a mix of both.\u00a0",
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                                        "text": "If we only rely on ",
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                                                "text": "fossil fuels",
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                                        "text": " we need 263 TWh of energy input. This is because only around 38% of these inputs are converted into \u2018useful\u2019 energy.{ref}We can calculate this by dividing our 100 TWh demand by 0.38.{/ref} 163 TWh is energy lost as heat.",
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                                                "text": "If we only rely on either renewable or nuclear energy",
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                                        "text": " these losses do not occur \u2013 the quantity of electricity generated is the same quantity we can use. So we only need 100 TWh.",
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                                                        "text": "If we rely on renewables/nuclear and fossil fuels",
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                                                "text": " it depends on the mix: ",
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                                        "text": "let\u2019s say we produce 50 TWh from renewables or nuclear sources. We need another 50 TWh from fossil fuels. But to produce the additional 50 TWh from fossil fuels, we actually need 132 TWh, because we lose 82 TWh as heat ",
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                                                "text": "[50 TWh / 0.38 = 132 TWh]",
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                                        "text": ". Combined, we need 182 TWh of energy input ",
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                                                "text": "[50 TWh from renewables/nuclear + 50 TWh \u2018useful\u2019 fossil fuel energy + 82 TWh wasted]",
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                                        "text": ".",
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                                "text": "Based on this example we can understand the difference between direct primary energy and the substitution method.\u00a0",
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                                "text": "Let\u2019s take the third scenario \u2013 a mixture of fossil fuels and low-carbon energy \u2013 and see how the low-carbon share differs between the two methods. This is shown in the figure.",
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                                "text": "From the direct method we get 50 TWh / 182 TWh = 27%. From the substitution\u00a0 method we get 50 TWh / 100 TWh = 50%.",
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                                "text": "I find it helpful to think of the distinction as:",
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                                        "text": "Low-carbon\u2019s share in ",
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                                                "text": "direct primary energy",
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                                        "text": " = % of ",
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                                                "text": "total primary energy",
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                                        "text": " consumption (including all of the inefficiencies of fossil fuel production)",
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                                        "text": "Low carbon\u2019s share in ",
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                                                "text": "substituted primary energy = ",
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                                        "text": "% of ",
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                                                "text": "useful energy ",
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                                        "text": "(once we subtract all of the wasted energy in the burning of fossil fuels)",
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                                "text": "A question many want the answer to is, how much of our energy comes from low-carbon sources? How close are we to getting rid of fossil fuels?",
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                                "text": "As we now know, it depends on whether we\u2019re using the direct or substitution method. In the chart here we show the breakdown of the global primary energy mix in 2019 to compare the two methods.{ref}This is based on data from the ",
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                                "text": "; it considers only commercially-traded fuels, so traditional biomass is not included.{/ref}",
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                                "text": "As we should expect from the example we worked through, when we calculate the share of energy from low-carbon sources via the substitution method we get a higher figure: 16% vs. only 7% from the direct method. When we strip away the differences in efficiencies between the sources, both renewables and nuclear make a larger contribution.\u00a0",
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                                "text": "In the interactive charts you can also compare each source\u2019s share of energy based on the two methods. Using the \u201cchange country\u201d button in the bottom-left of each chart, you can also see this for different countries.",
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                                "text": "Most sources tend to prefer and report on the substitution method (or a similar approach \u2013 the \u2018physical content\u2019 method \u2013 which we don\u2019t discuss here but which gives similar results) rather than the direct method. The substitution method is also the preferred approach of the ",
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                                "text": ", for example.{ref}Krey V., O. Masera, G. Blanford, T. Bruckner, R. Cooke, K. Fisher-Vanden, H. Haberl, E. Hertwich, E. Kriegler, D. Mueller, S. Paltsev, L. Price, S. Schl\u00f6mer, D. \u00dcrge-Vorsatz, D. van Vuuren, and T. Zwickel, 2014: ",
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                                "text": ". In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schl\u00f6mer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref}",
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                                "text": "But we can also do the opposite of this to get the same result. In fact, this inverse approach is what is most commonly applied by BP and others who use the \u2018substitution method\u2019. So, instead of assuming fossil fuels have the same efficiency as renewables/nuclear, we do the opposite: we assume renewables/nuclear are as inefficient as fossil fuels. We calculate the equivalent amount of fossil fuels that would be required to produce the amount of electricity we get from non-fossil based sources.",
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                                "text": "So, let\u2019s say we produce 100 TWh of electricity from wind. And we assume the efficiency of a fossil fuel plant is 38%. We would convert this wind electricity into \u2018input-equivalent\u2019 primary energy by dividing by this efficiency ",
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                                "text": "The substitution method gives us a more accurate understanding of how low-carbon energy is competing with fossil fuels. For this reason: when we look at the breakdowns of energy mix on ",
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                        "text": "Explore more of our work on Energy",
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                        "text": "See how access to electricity and clean cooking fuels vary across the world.",
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                        "text": "How much of our energy comes from fossil fuels, renewables and nuclear energy? See the breakdown of the energy mix.",
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                        "text": "Explore the breakdown of the electricity mix and how this is changing.",
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2020-07-10 08:23:03

2024-02-16 14:22:40

18gw4JicXUOgnz0E7FqORPo9Glg1PL4_WWhdgcWtTXTY

[
    "Hannah Ritchie"
]

2020-07-10 09:23:03

2023-08-23 09:28:20

https://ourworldindata.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Energy-mix.png

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Energy production – mainly the burning of fossil fuels – accounts for around three-quarters of global [greenhouse gas emissions](https://ourworldindata.org/greenhouse-gas-emissions). Not only is energy production the largest driver of climate change, the burning of fossil fuels and biomass also comes at a large cost to human health: at least five million deaths are [attributed to air pollution](https://ourworldindata.org/air-pollution) each year. The world therefore needs to shift away from fossil fuels to an energy mix dominated by low-carbon sources of energy – renewable technologies and nuclear power. What does our energy mix look like today? What countries have the 'cleanest' energy mix? And are we making progress in shifting towards a low-carbon energy system? This article focuses on the breakdown of energy sources: how they vary across the world and how this is changing over time. In the energy domain, there are many different units thrown around – joules, exajoules, million tonnes of oil equivalents, barrel equivalents, British thermal units, terawatt-hours, to name a few. This can be confusing, and make comparisons difficult. So at _Our World in Data _we try to maintain consistency by converting all energy data to watt-hours. We do this to compare energy data across different metrics and sources. ## Global primary energy: how has the mix changed over centuries? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-energy-substitution?time=earliest..latest"/> ##### Related chart: ### Long-term energy transitions How do our long-term energy transitions look when we consider two additional elements: the work of humans and animals? https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/long-term-energy-transitions Today when we think about energy mixes we think about a diverse range of sources – coal, oil, gas, nuclear, hydropower, solar, wind, biofuels. But If we look back a couple of centuries ago, our energy mixes where relatively homogeneous. And the transition from one source to another was incredibly slow. In the chart shown we see global primary energy consumption dating back to the year 1800. This earlier data is sourced from Vaclav Smil's work _Energy Transitions: Global and National Perspectives_.{ref}Vaclav Smil (2017). [Energy Transitions: Global and National Perspectives](http://vaclavsmil.com/2016/12/14/energy-transitions-global-and-national-perspectives-second-expanded-and-updated-edition/).{/ref} Data from 1965 onwards comes from the latest release of BP's_ [Statistical Review of World Energy](https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html)_.{ref}Note that this data presents primary energy consumption via the ‘substitution method’. The ‘substitution method’ – in comparison to the ‘direct method’ – attempts to correct for the inefficiencies (energy wasted as heat during combustion) in fossil fuel and biomass conversion. It does this by correcting nuclear and modern renewable technologies to their ‘primary input equivalents’ if the same quantity of energy were to be produced from fossil fuels.{/ref} We see that until the mid-19th century, traditional biomass – the burning of solid fuels such as wood, crop waste, or charcoal – was the dominant source of energy used across the world. But with the Industrial Revolution came the rise of coal; followed by oil, gas; and by the turn of the 20th century, hydropower. It wasn't until the 1960s that nuclear energy was added to the mix. What are often referred to as 'modern renewables' – solar and wind – were only added much later, in the 1980s. What _Vaclav__Smil_ – and other researchers studying these long-term energy transitions across countries – highlights in his work is the slow rate at which energy transitions have occurred in the past. The speed and scale of the energy transition we need today in switching from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy is therefore a new challenge, very different from the past. ## **Energy mix:** what sources do we get our energy from? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/energy-consumption-by-source-and-region?stackMode=absolute"/> ##### Related chart: ### Primary energy consumption by source Explore the changes in primary energy source by source as a line chart [as opposed to a stacked area]. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-sub-energy-source Let's look at our energy mix today, and explore what sources we draw upon. In the interactive chart shown we see the primary energy mix broken down by fuel or generation source. Globally we get the largest amount of our energy from oil, followed by coal, gas, then hydroelectric power. As we look at in more detail below – "How much of global energy comes from low-carbon sources?" – the global energy mix is still dominated by fossil fuels. They account for more than 80% of energy consumption. #### **How you can interact with this chart** * On these charts you see the button **Change Country **in the bottom left corner – with this option you can switch the chart to any other country in the world. * By ticking the 'Relative' box in the bottom left corner you can switch to see each source's share of the total. In the charts here we see the breakdown of the energy mix by country. First with the higher-level breakdown by fossil fuels, nuclear and renewables. Then with the specific breakdown by source, including coal, gas, oil, nuclear, hydro, solar, wind and other renewables (which include bioenergy, wave and tidal). This is given in terms of per capita consumption. Using the toggle on the interactive charts you can also see the percentage breakdown for each source using the 'Relative' tickbox. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/per-capita-energy-source-stacked?country=OWID_WRL~CAN~BRA~CHN~IND~USA~GBR~AUS~FRA~SWE~ZAF~JPN"/> <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/per-capita-energy-stacked?country=USA~GBR~OWID_WRL~CHN~IND~FRA~DEU~SWE~ZAF~JPN~BRA"/> ## How much of global energy comes from low-carbon sources? Around three-quarters of global greenhouse gas [emissions come from](https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Emissions-by-sector.png) the burning of fossil fuels for energy.{ref}The remaining quarter comes from industrial processes (such as cement production), agriculture, land use change and waste.{/ref} To reduce global emissions we need to shift our energy systems away from fossil fuels to low-carbon sources of energy. We need to ‘decarbonize’. How big is this challenge? How much of our energy currently comes from low-carbon sources? In the chart here we see the breakdown of global primary energy consumption for 2019.{ref} This is based on primary energy data published annually in BP’s [Statistical Review of World Energy](https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html).{/ref} Before we look at the numbers, there are two points to note: * Here we take primary energy based on the _‘substitution method’_ for energy accounting. For those interested in energy accounting methods, at the end of this post we look at comparisons of direct versus substitution methods. The quick summary of it is that this accounting method tries to account for the energy lost from the inefficiencies in fossil fuel production and aims to provide the appropriate comparison of how much more low-carbon energy we would need to replace fossil fuels in the energy mix. It’s one of the preferred accounting method used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).{ref}Krey V., O. Masera, G. Blanford, T. Bruckner, R. Cooke, K. Fisher-Vanden, H. Haberl, E. Hertwich, E. Kriegler, D. Mueller, S. Paltsev, L. Price, S. Schlömer, D. Ürge-Vorsatz, D. van Vuuren, and T. Zwickel, 2014: [Annex II: Metrics & Methodology](https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-ii.pdf). In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref} * These figures don’t include energy produced from traditional biomass. This is because most international energy agencies – such as BP, IEA or EIA – only track data on commercially-traded fuels. Traditional biomass – which are [solid fuels](https://ourworldindata.org/indoor-air-pollution#indoor-air-pollution-results-from-poor-access-to-clean-cooking-fuels) such as wood, crop residues and charcoal – can be a key source of energy for people living at lower incomes, but it is challenging to quantify and timely data is not available. Based on [crude estimates from earlier data](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-energy-substitution) I would expect it to currently account for an additional 6% of global energy. #### 16% of global primary energy came from low-carbon sources in 2019 We see that in 2019, almost 16% (15.7% to be precise) of global primary energy came from low-carbon sources. Low-carbon sources are the sum of nuclear energy and renewables – which includes hydropower, wind, solar, bioenergy, geothermal and wave and tidal.{ref}The emissions from these sources are not necessarily zero – the mining of materials, production, maintenance and decommissioning of these technologies may produce some carbon, but per unit of energy this is very small relative to fossil fuels. Schlömer S., T. Bruckner, L. Fulton, E. Hertwich, A. McKinnon, D. Perczyk, J. Roy, R. Schaeffer, R. Sims, P. Smith, and R. Wiser, 2014: [Annex III: Technology-specific cost and performance parameters. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change](https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-iii.pdf). Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref} 11.4% came from renewables; and 4.3% came from nuclear. Hydropower and nuclear account for most of our low-carbon energy: combined they account for 10.7%. Wind produces just 2.2%, and solar 1.1% – but both sources are [growing quickly](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/percentage-change-energy-by-source). Despite producing more and more energy from renewables each year, the global energy mix is still dominated by coal, oil, and gas. Not only does most of our energy – 84% of it – come from fossil fuels, we continue to burn more each year: total [production has increased](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-fossil-fuel-consumption) from 116,214 to 136,761 TWh in the last 10 years. We’ve seen the breakdown of the energy mix today. But this does tell us about how it’s changing over time. Are we making progress in decarbonization over time? We look at this question in a related post **here**. <Image filename="Global-primary-energy-by-source.png" alt=""/> ## Which countries get the most energy from low-carbon sources? Globally, just 16% of primary energy (15.7% to be precise) came from low-carbon sources – nuclear and renewables – in 2019. We are a long way away from the goal to shift towards a low-carbon energy system. But do some countries do much better than this? Do we have examples of countries who are already paving the way towards a fossil-free energy mix? #### Which countries are doing better in low-carbon energy production than the global average? In the interactive map here we see the world split into two categories: countries which get _more_ of their energy from low-carbon sources than the global average of 15.7%; and those that get _less_.{ref}This breakdown of primary energy is based on the ‘substitution method’ which corrects for the inefficiencies in energy production from fossil fuels, and is a better representation of low-carbon energy’s share of ‘useful energy’. For an in-depth discussion and comparison of different ways of accounting for energy production, see [**our explainer**](https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix#direct-vs-substituted-primary-energy-what-are-the-multiple-ways-of-energy-accounting).{/ref} What immediately stands out is that there is a reasonably strong East-West divide: most Western economies get a larger share of energy from low-carbon sources, and those in East get less. Of course this boundary is not absolute: the Netherlands and Ireland, for example, are below the global average. This divide may be in part, due to differences in income: many richer countries with a long history of fossil fuel-rich energy systems have already shifted away from them.{ref}In [this related chart](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-low-carbon-energy-vs-gdp) you can see how the share of primary energy from low-carbon sources relates to average income – GDP per capita. This relationship is by no means clear-cut: many rich countries get very little energy from low-carbon sources; and poorer countries get a high share. But overall we see that more rich countries tend to lie above the dotted global average line than countries at lower incomes.{/ref} For many poorer countries in our map, no data is shown. This is because the BP Statistical Review of World Energy does not cover all countries in the world – it relies on energy statistics from commercially-traded fuels. This means traditional biomass burning – a dominant source of energy at lower incomes are not included. Typically [energy-related emissions](http://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions) from low income countries are small because [access to energy](https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access) – both electricity and modern cooking fuels – is low. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-energy-vs-global"/> #### Which countries get the highest share of energy from low-carbon sources? We have a rough categorization of countries that are above and below the global average. But let’s take a closer look at the numbers. In the interactive map here we see the share of primary energy that comes from low-carbon sources across countries.{ref}This breakdown of primary energy is based on the ‘substitution method’ which corrects for the inefficiencies in energy production from fossil fuels, and is a better representation of low-carbon energy’s share of ‘useful energy’. For an in-depth discussion and comparison of different ways of accounting for energy production, see [**our explainer**](https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix#direct-vs-substituted-primary-energy-what-are-the-multiple-ways-of-energy-accounting).{/ref} <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-share-energy"/> In 2019, Iceland got 79% of its energy from low-carbon sources. This was the highest in the world. Most of this came from hydropower (55%) but also other renewables – mainly geothermal energy (24%). You see this breakdown in the interactive chart below. Using the “change country” toggle you can switch to see the breakdown for other countries. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/energy-consumption-by-source-and-region?country=~ISL"/> But Iceland wasn’t the only country to get most of its energy from low-carbon sources: Sweden (69%); Norway (66%) France (49%) and Switzerland (49%) all got a large amount from nuclear or renewables. Finland, and Brazil also had a high share – more than 40%. At the other end of the scale, some countries rely almost entirely on fossil fuels. Many of the world’s oil-producing countries – Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait – got less than 1% from low-carbon sources. Amongst the largest emerging economies, South Africa produced only 5% from low-carbon sources; India got 9%; and China, 15%. Brazil, as we mentioned earlier, achieves a much higher share – 46% in 2019. Globally, our progress in shifting towards a low-carbon economy has been slow. That may leave us pessimistic about a path forward. But some countries – often some of the world’s richest countries who have high [carbon footprints](http://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions) – show us that significant progress on decarbonizing our energy systems is possible. They still have a long way to go but are moving in the right direction. Poorer countries face a bigger challenge: they must grow their economies, giving their populations [access to energy](https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access), healthcare and [alleviating poverty](https://ourworldindata.org/extreme-poverty) whilst avoiding the carbon-intensive pathways today’s rich countries have taken. To do this, they need clean energy to be cheap, undercutting fossil fuel alternatives. In this regard, the world’s richest countries also have a role to play: the scale-up of low-carbon energy should help to drive down costs. We have already seen this effect with the rapid [decline in solar prices](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/solar-pv-prices-vs-cumulative-capacity) in recent years. ## Is the world making progress in decarbonizing energy? Three-quarters of global greenhouse gas [emissions come from](https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Emissions-by-sector.png) the burning of fossil fuels for energy.{ref}The remaining quarter comes from industrial processes (mainly cement production), agriculture, land use change and waste.{/ref} To tackle climate change, we need to transition away from fossil fuels and decarbonize our energy systems. The world got [15.7% of its energy](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t2COQwSVDWUke7LvowS-LbKXMpdONaVBODA7J06_tCc/edit?pli=1#heading=h.9xiuxmabyswp) from low-carbon sources – either nuclear or renewables – in 2019. How has this changed over time? Does our track record give us reason to be optimistic that we can quickly decarbonize? In the chart we see the share of global energy that comes from low-carbon sources. We’ve certainly made progress since half a century ago: while the global consumption of energy [increased 3.8-fold](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-energy-cons?tab=chart&country=~OWID_WRL), the share of low carbon sources has more than doubled. In the 1960s only 6% of our energy came from renewables or nuclear_ [at this point in time it was mainly the former, as we’ll see later]_. But our rate of progress since the 1990s has been less impressive. By 1994 we were already getting 13.5% from low-carbon sources. Today – 25 years later – we’ve only increased this by two percentage points. It’s moving in the right direction, but far too slowly – probably much more slowly than many expect. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-share-energy?tab=chart&country=~OWID_WRL"/> #### Fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewables: how is the global energy mix changing? In the chart we see the share of global energy that comes from fossil fuels, renewables and nuclear. The sum of the top two is what we want to increase. I’ve also summarised this breakdown in the table – noting each source’s’ share at various points in time since the 1970s. Part of this slow progress is due to the fact that much of the gains made in renewables has been offset by a decline in nuclear energy. Renewables have been growing while nuclear has been rolled back.{ref}This is even clearer when we [focus in on](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/electricity-fossil-renewables-nuclear-line) global _electricity_ production: nuclear declined by almost as much as renewables gained.{/ref} Overall, this means that the combined share from low-carbon sources has increased by less than we might have expected. Having both renewables and nuclear pulling in the same direction would certainly have helped. But it wouldn’t be enough: the rate of progress would still have been slow. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/sub-energy-fossil-renewables-nuclear"/> <div class="raw-html-table__container"><table><thead><tr><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Year</th><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Fossil Fuels</th><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Low-carbon energy<br><em>(Renewables + Nuclear)</em></th><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Renewables</em></th><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Nuclear</em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">1970</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">94%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">6%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>5.6%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>0.4%</em></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">1980</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">91.6%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">8.4%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>6%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>2.4%</em></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">1990</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">88%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">12%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>6.4%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>5.6%</em></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">2000</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">87%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">13%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>7%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>6%</em></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">2010</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">87%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">13%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>7.8%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>5.2%</em></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">2019</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">84.3%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">15.7%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>11.4%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>4.3%</em></td></tr></tbody></table></div> #### It’s the total amount of fossil fuels we burn that matters – and we continue to burn more each year But, actually, we’re still fooling ourselves a bit in looking at this progress through the lens of what _share_ of our energy is low-carbon. When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, the atmosphere does not care about shares, only absolutes. That is what ultimately determines the amount of CO2 we emit, and the rate at which it accumulates in the atmosphere. Global energy consumption is not stagnant, but growing. And in the past years it has been growing too quickly for renewables and nuclear to keep up. In the chart here we see primary energy consumption in absolute terms for each source. We continue to produce more energy from fossil fuels – particularly oil and gas – each year.{ref}This is also very clear when we look at the [year-on-year _change_](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-primary-energy-fossil-vs-low-carbon) in energy consumption by source; this is calculated as the amount of energy produced this year relative to the last, so a positive number means that source is growing; a negative means it decreased. _[If you click the ‘play’ button on the bottom timeline of the _[_year-on-year change_](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-primary-energy-fossil-vs-low-carbon)_ chart you can see how fossil fuel consumption continues to grow each year]._{/ref} Low-carbon energy is certainly growing across the world – undoubtedly a sign of progress. Decarbonization is happening. But not nearly fast enough.To achieve the necessary progress that matters for the climate we need to see its growth not only meet our new energy demands each year, but start displacing existing fossil fuels in the energy mix at a much faster rate. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-sub-energy-source"/> ## Energy consumption by source ### **Fossil fuels:** what share of energy comes from fossil fuels? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/fossil-fuels-share-energy"/> ##### Related content: ### Fossil fuels Explore our work on Fossil Fuels. ourworldindata.org/fossil-fuels Fossil fuels are the sum of coal, oil and gas. Combined, they are the largest source of global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). We therefore want to shift our energy systems away from fossil fuels towards low-carbon sources of energy. This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas summed together) across the world. #### Three tips on how to interact with this map * By clicking on any country on the map you see the change over time in this country. * By moving the time slider (below the map) you can see how the global situation has changed over time. * You can focus on a particular world region using the dropdown menu to the top-right of the map. ### **Coal:** what share of energy comes from coal? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/coal-energy-share"/> Coal has been a critical energy sources, and mainstay in global energy production for centuries. But it's also the most [polluting energy source](https://ourworldindata.org/safest-sources-of-energy): both in terms of the amount of CO2 it produces per unit of energy, but also the amount of local air pollution it creates. Moving away from coal energy is important for climate change as well as human health. This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from coal across the world. ### **Oil:** what share of energy comes from oil? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/oil-share-energy"/> Oil is the world's largest energy source today. It is the dominant source of energy for the transport sector in particular. This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from oil across the world. ### **Gas:** what share of energy comes from gas? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gas-share-energy"/> Natural gas has, for decades, lagged behind coal and oil as an energy source. But today its consumption is growing rapidly – often as a replacement for coal in the energy mix. Gas is a major provider of [electricity production](http://ourworldindata.org/electricity-mix), and a key source of heat. This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from gas across the world. ### **Nuclear:** what share of energy comes from nuclear? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/nuclear-primary-energy"/> ### Nuclear energy Explore our work on Nuclear Energy. ourworldindata.org/nuclear-energy Nuclear energy – alongside hydropower – has been a key source of low-carbon energy for many countries across the world in recent decades. But there are large differences in the role of nuclear – some countries rely heavily on it for energy production; others produce no energy at all from it. This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from nuclear across the world. ### **Renewables:** how much of our energy comes from renewables? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/renewable-share-energy"/> ### Renewable energy Explore our work on Renewable Energy. ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy Renewable energy is a collective term used to capture a number of different energy sources. 'Renewables' typically includes hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and wave and tidal energy. This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from renewables (the sum of all renewable energy technologies) across the world. The share of energy we get from individual renewable technologies – solar, or wind, for example – are given in the sections below. ### **Hydropower:** what share of energy comes from hydropower? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/hydro-share-energy"/> ##### Related content ### Hydropower generation How is hydropower generation changing in absolute terms? Explore in more detail in our work on Renewable Energy. ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy Hydroelectric power has been an influential low-carbon energy technology for many countries for more than half a century. Globally, it is still the largest source of renewable energy. This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from hydropower across the world. ### **Solar:** what share of energy comes from solar? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/solar-share-energy"/> ##### Related content ### Solar power generation How quickly is solar production changing? Explore in more detail in our work on Renewable Energy. ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy Solar energy is often referred to as a 'modern renewable' – a couple of decades ago it made only a tiny contribution to global energy supply. But in recent years it has This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from solar technologies across the world. ### **Wind:** what share of energy comes from wind? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/wind-share-energy"/> ##### Related content ### Wind power generation How quickly is wind production changing? Explore in more detail in our work on Renewable Energy. ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from wind (both onshore and offshore) across the world. #### Three tips on how to interact with this map * By clicking on any country on the map you see the change over time in this country. * By moving the time slider (below the map) you can see how the global situation has changed over time. * You can focus on a particular world region using the dropdown menu to the top-right of the map. ## **Year-to-year change:** how is energy consumption by source changing? <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-change-primary-energy-source"/> <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-primary-energy-fossil-vs-low-carbon"/> ## Direct vs. substituted primary energy: what are the multiple ways of energy accounting? Understanding the breakdown of our energy systems – how much energy we get from coal, oil or gas, how much from nuclear, solar or wind – is crucial. It allows us to compare energy mixes across the world; track whether we are making progress on decarbonizing our energy systems; and plan and manage demands for natural resources. But what seems like a simple exercise – adding up the produced energy from all the different sources – is in fact not straightforward at all. These difficulties result in different approaches for ‘energy accounting’ and present a different picture of the energy mix. Below, we take a look at the two key methodologies applied to primary energy accounting: ‘direct’ primary energy and primary energy via the ‘substitution method’. These methods are discussed (or debated) often, but I couldn’t find particularly clear or simple explanations of how they differ and what this means for understanding our energy mix. The aim here is to fill that gap. What’s important is to understand why there are two different methods and how they affect our perspective on the energy mix. #### Direct vs. substituted primary energy: what’s the difference? ‘Primary energy’ refers to energy in its raw form, before it has been converted by humans into other forms of energy like electricity, heat or transport fuels. Think of this as inputs into an energy system: coal, oil or gas before we burn them; or solar or wind energy before we convert them to electricity. When we are asking how much energy is consumed or what the breakdown of the sources of energy is we are asking about primary energy. Here we look at two ways in which ‘primary energy’ is calculated: the ‘direct’ and the ‘substituted’ method. The simplest way to think of the difference between these methods is that ‘direct’ primary energy _does not_ take account of the energy lost in the conversion of fossil fuels to usable energy. The substitution method _does_ attempt to correct for this loss. #### An example of the difference between ‘direct’ and ‘substituted’ energy To understand why this distinction is important we need to first consider the process of energy production. When we burn fuel in a thermal power plant most of the energy we put into the process is lost – primarily in the form of heat. Most fossil fuel plants run with an efficiency of around 33% to 40%.{ref}This can vary from plant-to-plant, and by fuel type. We look in more detail at the assumed efficiencies of power plants later.{/ref} The remaining 60% to 67% of energy is wasted as heat. This means for every unit of energy that we can use, another two are wasted. When we measure electricity generation from renewables or nuclear power, we’re measuring the direct _output_, with no losses or waste to consider. Let’s take an example – shown in the graphic here. Imagine we have a country that needs 100 terawatt-hours (TWh) of energy. We have three different energy mixes: only fossil fuels; only renewable or nuclear energy; and a mix of both. 0. If we only rely on **fossil fuels** we need 263 TWh of energy input. This is because only around 38% of these inputs are converted into ‘useful’ energy.{ref}We can calculate this by dividing our 100 TWh demand by 0.38.{/ref} 163 TWh is energy lost as heat. 1. **If we only rely on either renewable or nuclear energy** these losses do not occur – the quantity of electricity generated is the same quantity we can use. So we only need 100 TWh. 2. ****If we rely on renewables/nuclear and fossil fuels** it depends on the mix: **let’s say we produce 50 TWh from renewables or nuclear sources. We need another 50 TWh from fossil fuels. But to produce the additional 50 TWh from fossil fuels, we actually need 132 TWh, because we lose 82 TWh as heat _[50 TWh / 0.38 = 132 TWh]_. Combined, we need 182 TWh of energy input _[50 TWh from renewables/nuclear + 50 TWh ‘useful’ fossil fuel energy + 82 TWh wasted]_. <Image filename="Three-scenarios-to-supply-100TWh-of-energy.png" alt=""/> Based on this example we can understand the difference between direct primary energy and the substitution method. Let’s take the third scenario – a mixture of fossil fuels and low-carbon energy – and see how the low-carbon share differs between the two methods. This is shown in the figure. From the direct method we get 50 TWh / 182 TWh = 27%. From the substitution method we get 50 TWh / 100 TWh = 50%. I find it helpful to think of the distinction as: * Low-carbon’s share in **direct primary energy** = % of **total primary energy** consumption (including all of the inefficiencies of fossil fuel production) * Low carbon’s share in **substituted primary energy = **% of **useful energy **(once we subtract all of the wasted energy in the burning of fossil fuels) <Image filename="How-are-energy-mixes-calculated.png" alt=""/> #### What effect does our choice of accounting method have on the breakdown of the global energy mix? A question many want the answer to is, how much of our energy comes from low-carbon sources? How close are we to getting rid of fossil fuels? As we now know, it depends on whether we’re using the direct or substitution method. In the chart here we show the breakdown of the global primary energy mix in 2019 to compare the two methods.{ref}This is based on data from the _BP Statistical Review of World Energy_; it considers only commercially-traded fuels, so traditional biomass is not included.{/ref} As we should expect from the example we worked through, when we calculate the share of energy from low-carbon sources via the substitution method we get a higher figure: 16% vs. only 7% from the direct method. When we strip away the differences in efficiencies between the sources, both renewables and nuclear make a larger contribution. In the interactive charts you can also compare each source’s share of energy based on the two methods. Using the “change country” button in the bottom-left of each chart, you can also see this for different countries. Most sources tend to prefer and report on the substitution method (or a similar approach – the ‘physical content’ method – which we don’t discuss here but which gives similar results) rather than the direct method. The substitution method is also the preferred approach of the _Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)_, for example.{ref}Krey V., O. Masera, G. Blanford, T. Bruckner, R. Cooke, K. Fisher-Vanden, H. Haberl, E. Hertwich, E. Kriegler, D. Mueller, S. Paltsev, L. Price, S. Schlömer, D. Ürge-Vorsatz, D. van Vuuren, and T. Zwickel, 2014: [Annex II: Metrics & Methodology](https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-ii.pdf). In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref} <Image filename="Global-primary-energy-breakdown-–-sub-vs.-direct.png" alt=""/> <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-primary-energy-consumption-by-source"/> <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-energy-source-sub"/> #### How do we convert from direct to substituted primary energy? At Our World in Data we get most of our energy data from BP; each year it publishes its _Statistical Review of World Energy _report. It applies the substitution method to its primary energy data _[you can read its methodology _[**_here_**](https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/using-the-review/methodology.html#accordion_primary-energy-methodology)_]_. How does it convert from direct primary energy – that we can measure – into the substitution breakdown? In the schematic explanation above, we looked at calculating the share of energy from low-carbon energy sources by comparing it with the amount of useful energy (subtracting the wasted energy) from fossil fuels. But we can also do the opposite of this to get the same result. In fact, this inverse approach is what is most commonly applied by BP and others who use the ‘substitution method’. So, instead of assuming fossil fuels have the same efficiency as renewables/nuclear, we do the opposite: we assume renewables/nuclear are as inefficient as fossil fuels. We calculate the equivalent amount of fossil fuels that would be required to produce the amount of electricity we get from non-fossil based sources. So, let’s say we produce 100 TWh of electricity from wind. And we assume the efficiency of a fossil fuel plant is 38%. We would convert this wind electricity into ‘input-equivalent’ primary energy by dividing by this efficiency _[100 / 0.38 = 263 TWh]_. This would be the amount of primary energy that would be required from fossil fuels to produce the same amount of electricity as wind. We should note that this conversion is used as an approximation – a standard ‘efficiency’ factor is applied across-the-board. But we know that some power plants have a slightly lower or higher efficiency and it can change over time. In fact, BP changed its methodology in its 2020 assessment to reflect this change over time. Previously it assumed a 38% efficiency factor consistently. But it now applies a ‘time-dependent’ model to build in improvements over time. Changes in this conversion factor are summarised in the table below. The substitution method gives us a more accurate understanding of how low-carbon energy is competing with fossil fuels. For this reason: when we look at the breakdowns of energy mix on _Our World in Data_ we have tried wherever possible to use primary energy measured by the substitution method. ###### Conversion factors applied in converting renewable and nuclear electricity outputs to primary energy{ref}BP Statistical Review of World Energy, _[Definitions and Exploratory Notes](https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/using-the-review/definitions-and-explanatory-notes.html)_ (2020){/ref} <Image filename="BP-Primary-Energy-Conversion-Factors.png" alt=""/> ## Explore more of our work on Energy Explore all the metrics – energy production, electricity consumption, and breakdown of fossil fuels, renewable and nuclear energy. Get an overview of energy for any country on a single page. Download our complete dataset of energy metrics on GitHub. It's open-access and free for anyone to use. See how access to electricity and clean cooking fuels vary across the world. Explore long-term changes in energy production and consumption across the world. How much of our energy comes from fossil fuels, renewables and nuclear energy? See the breakdown of the energy mix. Explore the breakdown of the electricity mix and how this is changing. See the long-term changes in coal, oil and gas production and consumption. How quickly are countries scaling up the production of renewable technologies? Explore the data. Explore the long-term changes in nuclear energy production across the world. Explore trends in transport technologies and emissions across the world.

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        "rendered": "\n<!-- formatting-options subnavId:energy subnavCurrentId:energy-mix -->\n\n\n\n<p>Energy production \u2013 mainly the burning of fossil fuels \u2013 accounts for around three-quarters of global <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/greenhouse-gas-emissions\">greenhouse gas emissions</a>. Not only is energy production the largest driver of climate change, the burning of fossil fuels and biomass also comes at a large cost to human health: at least five million deaths are <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/air-pollution\">attributed to air pollution</a> each year.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The world therefore needs to shift away from fossil fuels to an energy mix dominated by low-carbon sources of energy \u2013 renewable technologies and nuclear power.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>What does our energy mix look like today? What countries have the &#8216;cleanest&#8217; energy mix? And are we making progress in shifting towards a low-carbon energy system?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This article focuses on the breakdown of energy sources: how they vary across the world and how this is changing over time.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the energy domain, there are many different units thrown around \u2013 joules, exajoules, million tonnes of oil equivalents, barrel equivalents, British thermal units, terawatt-hours, to name a few. This can be confusing, and make comparisons difficult. So at <em>Our World in Data </em>we try to maintain consistency by converting all energy data to watt-hours. We do this to compare energy data across different metrics and sources.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Global primary energy: how has the mix changed over centuries?</h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-energy-substitution?time=earliest..latest\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h5>Related chart:</h5>\n\n\n    <block type=\"prominent-link\" style=\"is-style-thin\">\n        <link-url>https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/long-term-energy-transitions</link-url>\n        <title>Long-term energy transitions</title>\n        <content>\n\n<p>How do our long-term energy transitions look when we consider two additional elements: the work of humans and animals?</p>\n\n</content>\n        <figure></figure>\n    </block></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Today when we think about energy mixes we think about a diverse range of sources \u2013 coal, oil, gas, nuclear, hydropower, solar, wind, biofuels.  But If we look back a couple of centuries ago, our energy mixes where relatively homogeneous. And the transition from one source to another was incredibly slow.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the chart shown we see global primary energy consumption dating back to the year 1800. This earlier data is sourced from Vaclav Smil&#8217;s work <em>Energy Transitions: Global and National Perspectives</em>.{ref}Vaclav Smil (2017). <a href=\"http://vaclavsmil.com/2016/12/14/energy-transitions-global-and-national-perspectives-second-expanded-and-updated-edition/\">Energy Transitions: Global and National Perspectives</a>.{/ref} Data from 1965 onwards comes from the latest release of BP&#8217;s<em> <a href=\"https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html\">Statistical Review of World Energy</a></em>.{ref}Note that this data presents primary energy consumption via the \u2018substitution method\u2019. The \u2018substitution method\u2019 \u2013 in comparison to the \u2018direct method\u2019 \u2013 attempts to correct for the inefficiencies (energy wasted as heat during combustion) in fossil fuel and biomass conversion. It does this by correcting nuclear and modern renewable technologies to their \u2018primary input equivalents\u2019 if the same quantity of energy were to be produced from fossil fuels.{/ref}</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We see that until the mid-19th century, traditional biomass \u2013 the burning of solid fuels such as wood, crop waste, or charcoal \u2013 was the dominant source of energy used across the world. But with the Industrial Revolution came the rise of coal; followed by oil, gas; and by the turn of the 20th century, hydropower.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It wasn&#8217;t until the 1960s that nuclear energy was added to the mix. What are often referred to as &#8216;modern renewables&#8217; \u2013 solar and wind \u2013 were only added much later, in the 1980s.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>What <em>Vaclav</em> <em>Smil</em> \u2013  and other researchers studying these long-term energy transitions across countries \u2013 highlights in his work is the slow rate at which energy transitions have occurred in the past. The speed and scale of the energy transition we need today in switching from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy is therefore a new challenge, very different from the past.</p>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Energy mix:</strong> what sources do we get our energy from?</h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/energy-consumption-by-source-and-region?stackMode=absolute\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h5>Related chart:</h5>\n\n\n    <block type=\"prominent-link\" style=\"is-style-thin\">\n        <link-url>https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-sub-energy-source</link-url>\n        <title>Primary energy consumption by source</title>\n        <content>\n\n<p>Explore the changes in primary energy source by source as a line chart <em>[as opposed to a stacked area]</em>.</p>\n\n</content>\n        <figure></figure>\n    </block></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Let&#8217;s look at our energy mix today, and explore what sources we draw upon. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the interactive chart shown we see the primary energy mix broken down by fuel or generation source. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Globally we get the largest amount of our energy from oil, followed by coal, gas, then hydroelectric power. As we look at in more detail below \u2013 &#8220;How much of global energy comes from low-carbon sources?&#8221; \u2013 the global energy mix is still dominated by fossil fuels. They account for more than 80% of energy consumption.</p>\n\n\n\t<block type=\"help\">\n\t\t<content>\n\n<h4><strong>How you can interact with this chart</strong></h4>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>On these charts you see the button <strong>Change Country </strong>in the bottom left corner \u2013 with this option you can switch the chart to any other country in the world.</li><li>By ticking the &#8216;Relative&#8217; box in the bottom left corner you can switch to see each source&#8217;s share of the total.</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<p></p>\n\n</content>\n\t</block></div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-side-by-side\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>In the charts here we see the breakdown of the energy mix by country. First with the higher-level breakdown by fossil fuels, nuclear and renewables. Then with the specific breakdown by source, including coal, gas, oil, nuclear, hydro, solar, wind and other renewables (which include bioenergy, wave and tidal).</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is given in terms of per capita consumption. Using the toggle on the interactive charts you can also see the percentage breakdown for each source using the &#8216;Relative&#8217; tickbox.</p>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\"></div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-side-by-side\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/per-capita-energy-source-stacked?country=OWID_WRL~CAN~BRA~CHN~IND~USA~GBR~AUS~FRA~SWE~ZAF~JPN\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/per-capita-energy-stacked?country=USA~GBR~OWID_WRL~CHN~IND~FRA~DEU~SWE~ZAF~JPN~BRA\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h2>How much of global energy comes from low-carbon sources?</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Around three-quarters of global greenhouse gas <a href=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Emissions-by-sector.png\">emissions come from</a> the burning of fossil fuels for energy.{ref}The remaining quarter comes from industrial processes (such as cement production), agriculture, land use change and waste.{/ref} To reduce global emissions we need to shift our energy systems away from fossil fuels to low-carbon sources of energy. We need to \u2018decarbonize\u2019.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>How big is this challenge? How much of our energy currently comes from low-carbon sources?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the chart here we see the breakdown of global primary energy consumption for 2019.{ref} This is based on primary energy data published annually in BP\u2019s <a href=\"https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html\">Statistical Review of World Energy</a>.{/ref}&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before we look at the numbers, there are two points to note:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Here we take primary energy based on the <em>\u2018substitution method\u2019</em> for energy accounting. For those interested in energy accounting methods, at the end of this post we look at comparisons of direct versus substitution methods. The quick summary of it is that this accounting method tries to account for the energy lost from the inefficiencies in fossil fuel production and aims to provide the appropriate comparison of how much more low-carbon energy we would need to replace fossil fuels in the energy mix. It\u2019s one of the preferred accounting method used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).{ref}Krey V., O. Masera, G. Blanford, T. Bruckner, R. Cooke, K. Fisher-Vanden, H. Haberl, E. Hertwich, E. Kriegler, D. Mueller, S. Paltsev, L. Price, S. Schl\u00f6mer, D. \u00dcrge-Vorsatz, D. van Vuuren, and T. Zwickel, 2014: <a href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-ii.pdf\">Annex II: Metrics &amp; Methodology</a>. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schl\u00f6mer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref}</li><li>These figures don\u2019t include energy produced from traditional biomass. This is because most international energy agencies \u2013 such as BP, IEA or EIA \u2013 only track data on commercially-traded fuels. Traditional biomass \u2013 which are <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/indoor-air-pollution#indoor-air-pollution-results-from-poor-access-to-clean-cooking-fuels\">solid fuels</a> such as wood, crop residues and charcoal \u2013 can be a key source of energy for people living at lower incomes, but it is challenging to quantify and timely data is not available. Based on <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-energy-substitution\">crude estimates from earlier data</a> I would expect it to currently account for an additional 6% of global energy.</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h4>16% of global primary energy came from low-carbon sources in 2019</h4>\n\n\n\n<p>We see that in 2019, almost 16% (15.7% to be precise) of global primary energy came from low-carbon sources. Low-carbon sources are the sum of nuclear energy and renewables \u2013 which includes hydropower, wind, solar, bioenergy, geothermal and wave and tidal.{ref}The emissions from these sources are not necessarily zero \u2013 the mining of materials, production, maintenance and decommissioning of these technologies may produce some carbon, but per unit of&nbsp; energy this is&nbsp; very small relative to fossil fuels.<br><br>Schl\u00f6mer S., T. Bruckner, L. Fulton, E. Hertwich, A. McKinnon, D. Perczyk, J. Roy, R. Schaeffer, R. Sims, P. Smith, and R. Wiser, 2014: <a href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-iii.pdf\">Annex III: Technology-specific cost and performance parameters. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change</a>. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schl\u00f6mer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref}</p>\n\n\n\n<p>11.4% came from renewables; and 4.3% came from nuclear.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hydropower and nuclear account for most of our low-carbon energy: combined they account for 10.7%. Wind produces just 2.2%, and solar 1.1% \u2013 but both sources are&nbsp; <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/percentage-change-energy-by-source\">growing quickly</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite producing more and more energy from renewables each year, the global energy mix is still dominated by coal, oil, and gas. Not only does most of our energy \u2013 84% of it \u2013 come from fossil fuels, we continue to burn more each year: total <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-fossil-fuel-consumption\">production has increased</a> from 116,214 to 136,761 TWh in the last 10 years.&nbsp;<br>We\u2019ve seen the breakdown of the energy mix today. But this does tell us about how it\u2019s changing over time. Are we making progress in decarbonization over time? We look at this question in a related post <strong>here</strong>.</p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"372\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-by-source-800x372.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-35642\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-by-source-800x372.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-by-source-400x186.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-by-source-150x70.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-by-source-768x357.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-by-source-1536x714.png 1536w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-by-source.png 1817w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" /></figure>\n\n\n\n<h2>Which countries get the most energy from low-carbon sources?</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Globally, just 16% of primary energy (15.7% to be precise) came from low-carbon sources \u2013 nuclear and renewables \u2013 in 2019. We are a long way away from the goal to shift towards a low-carbon energy system.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But do some countries do much better than this? Do we have examples of countries who are already paving the way towards a fossil-free energy mix?</p>\n\n\n\n<h4>Which countries are doing better in low-carbon energy production than the global average?</h4>\n\n\n\n<p>In the interactive map here we see the world split into two categories: countries which get <em>more</em> of their energy from low-carbon sources than the global average of 15.7%; and those that get <em>less</em>.{ref}This breakdown of primary energy is based on the \u2018substitution method\u2019 which corrects for the inefficiencies in energy production from fossil fuels, and is a better representation of low-carbon energy\u2019s share of \u2018useful energy\u2019. For an in-depth discussion and comparison of different ways of accounting for energy production, see <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix#direct-vs-substituted-primary-energy-what-are-the-multiple-ways-of-energy-accounting\"><strong>our explainer</strong></a>.{/ref}&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>What immediately stands out is that there is a reasonably strong East-West divide: most Western economies get a larger share of energy from low-carbon sources, and those in East get less. Of course this boundary is not absolute: the Netherlands and Ireland, for example, are below the global average.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This divide may be in part, due to differences in income: many richer countries with a long history of fossil fuel-rich energy systems have already shifted away from them.{ref}In <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-low-carbon-energy-vs-gdp\">this related chart</a> you can see how the share of primary energy from low-carbon sources relates to average income \u2013 GDP per capita. This relationship is by no means clear-cut: many rich countries get very little energy from low-carbon sources; and poorer countries get a high share. But overall we see that more rich countries tend to lie above the dotted global average line than countries at lower incomes.{/ref}&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>For many poorer countries in our map, no data is shown. This is because the BP Statistical Review of World Energy does not cover all countries in the world \u2013 it relies on energy statistics from commercially-traded fuels. This means traditional biomass burning \u2013 a dominant source of energy at lower incomes are not included. Typically <a href=\"http://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions\">energy-related emissions</a> from low income countries are small because <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access\">access to energy</a> \u2013 both electricity and modern cooking fuels \u2013 is low.</p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-energy-vs-global\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h4>Which countries get the highest share of energy from low-carbon sources?</h4>\n\n\n\n<p>We have a rough categorization of countries that are above and below the global average. But let\u2019s take a closer look at the numbers.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the interactive map here we see the share of primary energy that comes from low-carbon sources across countries.{ref}This breakdown of primary energy is based on the \u2018substitution method\u2019 which corrects for the inefficiencies in energy production from fossil fuels, and is a better representation of low-carbon energy\u2019s share of \u2018useful energy\u2019. For an in-depth discussion and comparison of different ways of accounting for energy production, see <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix#direct-vs-substituted-primary-energy-what-are-the-multiple-ways-of-energy-accounting\"><strong>our explainer</strong></a>.{/ref}</p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-share-energy\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2019, Iceland got 79% of its energy from low-carbon sources. This was the highest in the world. Most of this came from hydropower (55%) but also other renewables \u2013 mainly geothermal energy (24%). You see this breakdown in the interactive chart below. Using the \u201cchange country\u201d toggle you can switch to see the breakdown for other countries.</p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/energy-consumption-by-source-and-region?country=~ISL\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>But Iceland wasn\u2019t the only country to get most of its energy from low-carbon sources: Sweden (69%); Norway (66%) France (49%) and Switzerland (49%) all got a large amount from nuclear or renewables.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finland, and Brazil also had a high share \u2013 more than 40%.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the other end of the scale, some countries rely almost entirely on fossil fuels. Many of the world\u2019s oil-producing countries \u2013 Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait \u2013 got less than 1% from low-carbon sources.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amongst the largest emerging economies, South Africa produced only 5% from low-carbon sources; India got 9%; and China, 15%. Brazil, as we mentioned earlier, achieves a much higher share \u2013 46% in 2019.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Globally, our progress in shifting towards a low-carbon economy has been slow. That may leave us pessimistic about a path forward. But some countries \u2013 often some of the world\u2019s richest countries who have high <a href=\"http://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions\">carbon footprints</a> \u2013 show us that significant progress on decarbonizing our energy systems is possible. They still have a long way to go but are moving in the right direction.<br>Poorer countries face a bigger challenge: they must grow their economies, giving their populations <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access\">access to energy</a>, healthcare and <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/extreme-poverty\">alleviating poverty</a> whilst avoiding the carbon-intensive pathways today\u2019s rich countries have taken. To do this, they need clean energy to be cheap, undercutting fossil fuel alternatives. In this regard, the world\u2019s richest countries also have a role to play: the scale-up of low-carbon energy should help to drive down costs. We have already seen this effect with the rapid <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/solar-pv-prices-vs-cumulative-capacity\">decline in solar prices</a> in recent years.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Is the world making progress in decarbonizing energy?</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Three-quarters of global greenhouse gas <a href=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Emissions-by-sector.png\">emissions come from</a> the burning of fossil fuels for energy.{ref}The remaining quarter comes from industrial processes (mainly cement production), agriculture, land use change and waste.{/ref} To tackle climate change, we need to transition away from fossil fuels and decarbonize our energy systems.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The world got <a href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t2COQwSVDWUke7LvowS-LbKXMpdONaVBODA7J06_tCc/edit?pli=1#heading=h.9xiuxmabyswp\">15.7% of its energy</a> from low-carbon sources \u2013 either nuclear or renewables \u2013 in 2019.&nbsp; How has this changed over time?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Does our track record give us reason to be optimistic that we can quickly decarbonize?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the chart we see the share of global energy that comes from low-carbon sources. We\u2019ve certainly made progress since half a century ago: while the global consumption of energy <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-energy-cons?tab=chart&amp;country=~OWID_WRL\">increased 3.8-fold</a>, the share of low carbon sources has more than doubled. In the 1960s only 6% of our energy came from renewables or nuclear<em> [at this point in time it was mainly the former, as we\u2019ll see later]</em>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But our rate of progress since the 1990s has been less impressive. By 1994 we were already getting 13.5% from low-carbon sources. Today \u2013 25 years later \u2013 we\u2019ve only increased this by two percentage points. It\u2019s moving in the right direction, but far too slowly \u2013 probably much more slowly than many expect.</p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/low-carbon-share-energy?tab=chart&amp;country=~OWID_WRL\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h4>Fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewables: how is the global energy mix&nbsp; changing?</h4>\n\n\n\n<p>In the chart we see the share of global energy that comes from fossil fuels, renewables and nuclear. The sum of the top two is what we want to increase. I\u2019ve also summarised this breakdown in the table \u2013 noting each source\u2019s\u2019 share at various points in time since the 1970s.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Part of this slow progress is due to the fact that much of the gains made in renewables has been offset by a decline in nuclear energy. Renewables have been growing while nuclear has been rolled back.{ref}This is even clearer when we <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/electricity-fossil-renewables-nuclear-line\">focus in on</a> global <em>electricity</em> production: nuclear declined by almost as much as renewables gained.{/ref}</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Overall, this means that the combined share from low-carbon sources has increased by less than we might have expected. Having both renewables and nuclear pulling in the same direction would certainly have helped. But it wouldn\u2019t be enough: the rate of progress would still have been slow.</p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/sub-energy-fossil-renewables-nuclear\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Year</th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Fossil Fuels</th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Low-carbon energy<br><em>(Renewables + Nuclear)</em></th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>Renewables</em></th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>Nuclear</em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">1970</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">94%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">6%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>5.6%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>0.4%</em></td></tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">1980</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">91.6%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">8.4%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>6%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>2.4%</em></td></tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">1990</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">88%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">12%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>6.4%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>5.6%</em></td></tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2000</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">87%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">13%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>7%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>6%</em></td></tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2010</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">87%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">13%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>7.8%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>5.2%</em></td></tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2019</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">84.3%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">15.7%</td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>11.4%</em></td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><em>4.3%</em></td></tr></tbody></table></figure>\n\n\n\n<h4>It\u2019s the total amount of fossil fuels we burn that matters \u2013 and we continue to burn more each year</h4>\n\n\n\n<p>But, actually, we\u2019re still fooling ourselves a bit in looking at this progress through the lens of what <em>share</em> of our energy is low-carbon.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, the atmosphere does not care about shares, only absolutes. That is what ultimately determines the amount of CO<sub>2</sub> we emit, and the rate at which it accumulates in the atmosphere.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Global energy consumption is not stagnant, but growing. And in the past years it has been growing too quickly for renewables and nuclear to keep up.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the chart here we see primary energy consumption in absolute terms for each source. We continue to produce more energy from fossil fuels \u2013 particularly oil and gas \u2013 each year.{ref}This is also very clear when we look at the <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-primary-energy-fossil-vs-low-carbon\">year-on-year <em>change</em></a> in energy consumption by source; this is calculated as the amount of energy produced this year relative to the last, so a positive number means that source is growing; a negative means it decreased. <em>[If you click&nbsp; the \u2018play\u2019 button on the bottom timeline of the </em><a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-primary-energy-fossil-vs-low-carbon\"><em>year-on-year change</em></a><em> chart you can see how fossil fuel consumption continues to grow each year].</em>{/ref}</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Low-carbon energy is certainly growing across the world \u2013 undoubtedly a sign of progress.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Decarbonization is happening. But not nearly fast enough.To achieve the necessary progress that matters for the climate we need to see its growth not only meet our new energy demands each year, but start displacing existing fossil fuels in the energy mix at a much faster rate.</p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-sub-energy-source\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h2>Energy consumption by source</h2>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Fossil fuels:</strong> what share of energy comes from fossil fuels?</h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/fossil-fuels-share-energy\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h5>Related content:</h5>\n\n\n    <block type=\"prominent-link\" style=\"is-style-thin\">\n        <link-url>http://ourworldindata.org/fossil-fuels</link-url>\n        <title>Fossil fuels</title>\n        <content>\n\n<p>Explore our work on Fossil Fuels.</p>\n\n</content>\n        <figure></figure>\n    </block></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Fossil fuels are the sum of coal, oil and gas. Combined, they are the largest source of global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>). We therefore want to shift our energy systems away from fossil fuels towards low-carbon sources of energy.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas summed together) across the world.</p>\n\n\n\t<block type=\"help\">\n\t\t<content>\n\n<h4>Three tips on how to interact with this map</h4>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>By clicking on any country on the map you see the change over time in this country.</li><li>By moving the time slider (below the map) you can see how the global situation has changed over time.</li><li>You can focus on a particular world region using the dropdown menu to the top-right of the map.</li></ul>\n\n</content>\n\t</block></div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Coal:</strong> what share of energy comes from coal?</h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/coal-energy-share\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Coal has been a critical energy sources, and mainstay in global energy production for centuries.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it&#8217;s also the most <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/safest-sources-of-energy\">polluting energy source</a>: both in terms of the amount of CO<sub>2</sub> it produces per unit of energy, but also the amount of local air pollution it creates. Moving away from coal energy is important for climate change as well as human health.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from coal across the world.</p>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Oil:</strong> what share of energy comes from oil?</h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/oil-share-energy\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Oil is the world&#8217;s largest energy source today. It is the dominant source of energy for the transport sector in particular.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from oil across the world.</p>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Gas:</strong> what share of energy comes from gas?</h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gas-share-energy\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Natural gas has, for decades, lagged behind coal and oil as an energy source. But today its consumption is growing rapidly \u2013 often as a replacement for coal in the energy mix. Gas is a major provider of <a href=\"http://ourworldindata.org/electricity-mix\">electricity production</a>, and a key source of heat.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from gas across the world.</p>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Nuclear:</strong> what share of energy comes from nuclear?</h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/nuclear-primary-energy\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n\n    <block type=\"prominent-link\" style=\"is-style-thin\">\n        <link-url>http://ourworldindata.org/nuclear-energy</link-url>\n        <title>Nuclear energy</title>\n        <content>\n\n<p>Explore our work on Nuclear Energy.</p>\n\n</content>\n        <figure></figure>\n    </block></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Nuclear energy \u2013 alongside hydropower \u2013 has been a key source of low-carbon energy for many countries across the world in recent decades. But there are large differences in the role of nuclear \u2013 some countries rely heavily on it for energy production; others produce no energy at all from it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from nuclear across the world.</p>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Renewables:</strong> how much of our energy comes from renewables?</h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/renewable-share-energy\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n\n    <block type=\"prominent-link\" style=\"is-style-thin\">\n        <link-url>http://ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy</link-url>\n        <title>Renewable energy</title>\n        <content>\n\n<p>Explore our work on Renewable Energy.</p>\n\n</content>\n        <figure></figure>\n    </block></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Renewable energy is a collective term used to capture a number of different energy sources. &#8216;Renewables&#8217; typically includes hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and wave and tidal energy.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from renewables (the sum of all renewable energy technologies) across the world.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The share of energy we get from individual renewable technologies \u2013 solar, or wind, for example \u2013 are given in the sections below.</p>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Hydropower:</strong> what share of energy comes from hydropower?</h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/hydro-share-energy\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h5>Related content</h5>\n\n\n    <block type=\"prominent-link\" style=\"is-style-thin\">\n        <link-url>http://ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy</link-url>\n        <title>Hydropower generation</title>\n        <content>\n\n<p>How is hydropower generation changing in absolute terms? Explore in more detail in our work on Renewable Energy.</p>\n\n</content>\n        <figure></figure>\n    </block></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Hydroelectric power has been an influential low-carbon energy technology for many countries for more than half a century. Globally, it is still the largest source of renewable energy.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from hydropower across the world.</p>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Solar:</strong> what share of energy comes from solar?</h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/solar-share-energy\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h5>Related content</h5>\n\n\n    <block type=\"prominent-link\" style=\"is-style-thin\">\n        <link-url>http://ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy</link-url>\n        <title>Solar power generation</title>\n        <content>\n\n<p>How quickly is solar production changing? Explore in more detail in our work on Renewable Energy.</p>\n\n</content>\n        <figure></figure>\n    </block></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Solar energy is often referred to as a &#8216;modern renewable&#8217; \u2013 a couple of decades ago it made only a tiny contribution to global energy supply. But in recent years it has </p>\n\n\n\n<p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from solar technologies across the world.</p>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Wind:</strong> what share of energy comes from wind?</h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/wind-share-energy\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h5>Related content</h5>\n\n\n    <block type=\"prominent-link\" style=\"is-style-thin\">\n        <link-url>http://ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy</link-url>\n        <title>Wind power generation</title>\n        <content>\n\n<p>How quickly is wind production changing? Explore in more detail in our work on Renewable Energy.</p>\n\n</content>\n        <figure></figure>\n    </block>\n\n\n<p></p>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>This interactive map shows the share of primary energy that comes from wind (both onshore and offshore) across the world.</p>\n\n\n\t<block type=\"help\">\n\t\t<content>\n\n<h4>Three tips on how to interact with this map</h4>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>By clicking on any country on the map you see the change over time in this country.</li><li>By moving the time slider (below the map) you can see how the global situation has changed over time.</li><li>You can focus on a particular world region using the dropdown menu to the top-right of the map.</li></ul>\n\n</content>\n\t</block></div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Year-to-year change:</strong> how is energy consumption by source changing?</h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-change-primary-energy-source\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\"></div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-primary-energy-fossil-vs-low-carbon\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\"></div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h2>Direct vs. substituted primary energy: what are the multiple ways of energy accounting?</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Understanding the breakdown of our energy systems \u2013 how much energy we get from coal, oil or gas, how much from nuclear, solar or wind \u2013 is crucial. It allows us to compare energy mixes across the world; track whether we are making progress on decarbonizing our energy systems; and plan and manage demands for natural resources.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But what seems like a simple exercise \u2013 adding up the produced energy from all the different sources \u2013 is in fact not straightforward at all. These difficulties result in different approaches for \u2018energy accounting\u2019 and present a different picture of the energy mix.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Below, we take a look at the two key methodologies applied to primary energy accounting: \u2018direct\u2019 primary energy and primary energy via the \u2018substitution method\u2019. These methods are discussed (or debated) often, but I couldn\u2019t find particularly clear or simple explanations of how they differ and what this means for understanding our energy mix. The aim here is to fill that gap.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s important is to understand why there are two different methods and how they affect our perspective on the energy mix.</p>\n\n\n\n<h4>Direct vs. substituted primary energy: what\u2019s the difference?</h4>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Primary energy\u2019&nbsp; refers to energy in its raw form, before it has been converted by humans into other forms of energy like electricity, heat or transport fuels. Think of this as inputs into an energy system: coal, oil or gas before we burn them; or solar or wind energy before we convert them to electricity.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we are asking how much energy is consumed or what the breakdown of the sources of energy is we are asking about primary energy.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here we look at two ways in which \u2018primary energy\u2019 is calculated: the \u2018direct\u2019 and the \u2018substituted\u2019 method. The simplest way to think of the difference between these methods is that \u2018direct\u2019 primary energy <em>does not</em> take account of the energy lost in the conversion of fossil fuels to usable energy. The substitution method <em>does</em> attempt to correct for this loss.</p>\n\n\n\n<h4>An example of the difference between \u2018direct\u2019 and \u2018substituted\u2019 energy</h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>To understand why this distinction is important we need to first consider the process of energy production.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we burn fuel in a thermal power plant most of the energy we put into the process is lost \u2013 primarily in the form of heat. Most fossil fuel plants run with an efficiency of around 33% to 40%.{ref}This can vary from plant-to-plant, and by fuel type. We look in more detail at the assumed efficiencies of power plants later.{/ref} The remaining 60% to 67% of energy is wasted as heat. This means for every unit of energy that we can use, another two are wasted.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we measure electricity\u00a0 generation from renewables or nuclear power, we\u2019re measuring the direct\u00a0 <em>output</em>, with no losses or waste to consider.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s take an example \u2013 shown in the graphic here. Imagine we have a country that needs 100 terawatt-hours (TWh) of energy. We have three different energy mixes: only fossil fuels; only renewable or nuclear energy; and a mix of both.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>If we only rely on <strong>fossil fuels</strong> we need 263 TWh of energy input. This is because only around 38% of these inputs are converted into \u2018useful\u2019 energy.{ref}We can calculate this by dividing our 100 TWh demand by 0.38.{/ref} 163 TWh is energy lost as heat.</li><li><strong>If we only rely on either renewable or nuclear energy</strong> these losses do not occur \u2013 the quantity of electricity generated is the same quantity we can use. So we only need 100 TWh.</li><li><strong><strong>If we rely on renewables/nuclear and fossil fuels</strong> it depends on the mix: </strong>let\u2019s say we produce 50 TWh from renewables or nuclear sources. We need another 50 TWh from fossil fuels. But to produce the additional 50 TWh from fossil fuels, we actually need 132 TWh, because we lose 82 TWh as heat <em>[50 TWh / 0.38 = 132 TWh]</em>. Combined, we need 182 TWh of energy input <em>[50 TWh from renewables/nuclear + 50 TWh \u2018useful\u2019 fossil fuel energy + 82 TWh wasted]</em>.</li></ol>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"500\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Three-scenarios-to-supply-100TWh-of-energy-800x500.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-36081\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Three-scenarios-to-supply-100TWh-of-energy-800x500.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Three-scenarios-to-supply-100TWh-of-energy-400x250.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Three-scenarios-to-supply-100TWh-of-energy-150x94.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Three-scenarios-to-supply-100TWh-of-energy-768x480.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Three-scenarios-to-supply-100TWh-of-energy-1536x961.png 1536w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Three-scenarios-to-supply-100TWh-of-energy.png 1765w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" /></figure>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Based on this example we can understand the difference between direct primary energy and the substitution method.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s take the third scenario \u2013 a mixture of fossil fuels and low-carbon energy \u2013 and see how the low-carbon share differs between the two methods. This is shown in the figure.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>From the direct method we get 50 TWh / 182 TWh = 27%. From the substitution&nbsp; method we get 50 TWh / 100 TWh = 50%.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I find it helpful to think of the distinction as:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Low-carbon\u2019s share in <strong>direct primary energy</strong> = % of <strong>total primary energy</strong> consumption (including all of the inefficiencies of fossil fuel production)</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Low carbon\u2019s share in <strong>substituted primary energy = </strong>% of <strong>useful energy </strong>(once we subtract all of the wasted energy in the burning of fossil fuels)</li></ul>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"490\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/How-are-energy-mixes-calculated-800x490.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-36082\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/How-are-energy-mixes-calculated-800x490.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/How-are-energy-mixes-calculated-400x245.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/How-are-energy-mixes-calculated-150x92.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/How-are-energy-mixes-calculated-768x470.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/How-are-energy-mixes-calculated-1536x941.png 1536w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/How-are-energy-mixes-calculated.png 1763w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" /></figure>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h4>What effect does our choice of accounting method have on the breakdown of the global energy mix?</h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>A question many want the answer to is, how much of our energy comes from low-carbon sources? How close are we to getting rid of fossil fuels?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>As we now know, it depends on whether we\u2019re using the direct or substitution method. In the chart here we show the breakdown of the global primary energy mix in 2019 to compare the two methods.{ref}This is based on data from the <em>BP Statistical Review of World Energy</em>; it considers only commercially-traded fuels, so traditional biomass is not included.{/ref}</p>\n\n\n\n<p>As we should expect from the example we worked through, when we calculate the share of energy from low-carbon sources via the substitution method we get a higher figure: 16% vs. only 7% from the direct method. When we strip away the differences in efficiencies between the sources, both renewables and nuclear make a larger contribution.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the interactive charts you can also compare each source\u2019s share of energy based on the two methods. Using the \u201cchange country\u201d button in the bottom-left of each chart, you can also see this for different countries.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most sources tend to prefer and report on the substitution method (or a similar approach \u2013 the \u2018physical content\u2019 method \u2013 which we don\u2019t discuss here but which gives similar results) rather than the direct method. The substitution method is also the preferred approach of the <em>Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)</em>, for example.{ref}Krey V., O. Masera, G. Blanford, T. Bruckner, R. Cooke, K. Fisher-Vanden, H. Haberl, E. Hertwich, E. Kriegler, D. Mueller, S. Paltsev, L. Price, S. Schl\u00f6mer, D. \u00dcrge-Vorsatz, D. van Vuuren, and T. Zwickel, 2014: <a href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-ii.pdf\">Annex II: Metrics &amp; Methodology</a>. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schl\u00f6mer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.{/ref}</p>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"426\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-breakdown-\u2013-sub-vs.-direct-800x426.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-35641\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-breakdown-\u2013-sub-vs.-direct-800x426.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-breakdown-\u2013-sub-vs.-direct-400x213.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-breakdown-\u2013-sub-vs.-direct-150x80.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-breakdown-\u2013-sub-vs.-direct-768x409.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-breakdown-\u2013-sub-vs.-direct-1536x817.png 1536w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/Global-primary-energy-breakdown-\u2013-sub-vs.-direct-2048x1090.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" /></figure>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-style-side-by-side\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-primary-energy-consumption-by-source\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-energy-source-sub\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h4>How do we convert from direct to substituted primary energy?</h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>At Our World in Data we get most of our energy data from BP; each year it publishes its <em>Statistical Review of World Energy </em>report. It applies the substitution method to its primary energy data <em>[you can read its methodology </em><a href=\"https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/using-the-review/methodology.html#accordion_primary-energy-methodology\"><strong><em>here</em></strong></a><em>]</em>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>How does it convert from direct primary energy \u2013 that we can measure \u2013 into the substitution breakdown?&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the schematic explanation above, we looked at calculating the share of energy from low-carbon energy sources by comparing it with the amount of useful energy (subtracting the wasted energy) from fossil fuels.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But we can also do the opposite of this to get the same result. In fact, this inverse approach is what is most commonly applied by BP and others who use the \u2018substitution method\u2019. So, instead of assuming fossil fuels have the same efficiency as renewables/nuclear, we do the opposite: we assume renewables/nuclear are as inefficient as fossil fuels. We calculate the equivalent amount of fossil fuels that would be required to produce the amount of electricity we get from non-fossil based sources.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, let\u2019s say we produce 100 TWh of electricity from wind. And we assume the efficiency of a fossil fuel plant is 38%. We would convert this wind electricity into \u2018input-equivalent\u2019 primary energy by dividing by this efficiency <em>[100 / 0.38 = 263 TWh]</em>. This would be the amount of primary energy that would be required from fossil fuels to produce the same amount of electricity as wind.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We should note that this conversion is used as an approximation \u2013 a standard \u2018efficiency\u2019 factor is applied across-the-board. But we know that some power plants have a slightly lower or higher efficiency and it can change over time. In fact, BP changed its methodology in its 2020 assessment to reflect this change over time. Previously it assumed a 38% efficiency factor consistently. But it now applies a \u2018time-dependent\u2019 model to build in improvements over time. Changes in this conversion factor are summarised in the table below.<br>The substitution method gives us a more accurate understanding of how low-carbon energy is competing with fossil fuels. For this reason: when we look at the breakdowns of energy mix on <em>Our World in Data</em> we have tried wherever possible to use primary energy measured by the substitution method.</p>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<h6>Conversion factors applied in converting renewable and nuclear electricity outputs to primary energy{ref}BP Statistical Review of World Energy, <em><a href=\"https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/using-the-review/definitions-and-explanatory-notes.html\">Definitions and Exploratory Notes</a></em> (2020){/ref}</h6>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"551\" height=\"550\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/BP-Primary-Energy-Conversion-Factors-551x550.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-36086\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/BP-Primary-Energy-Conversion-Factors-551x550.png 551w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/BP-Primary-Energy-Conversion-Factors-400x400.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/BP-Primary-Energy-Conversion-Factors-150x150.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/BP-Primary-Energy-Conversion-Factors-768x766.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2020/08/BP-Primary-Energy-Conversion-Factors.png 770w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 551px) 100vw, 551px\" /></figure>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h2>Explore more of our work on Energy</h2>\n\n\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-owid-grid \">\n\t\t\n      <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card  with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n        <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/energy\">\n            <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/data_explorer-featured-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"COVID-19 data explorer\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/data_explorer-featured-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/data_explorer-featured-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/data_explorer-featured-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/data_explorer-featured-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/data_explorer-featured.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n            <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n              \n              <div class=\"description\">\n                \n\n<p>Explore all the metrics \u2013 energy production, electricity consumption, and breakdown of fossil fuels, renewable and nuclear energy.</p>\n\n\n              </div>\n            </div>\n        </a>\n      </div>\n\n      <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card  with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n        <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/energy#country-profiles\">\n            <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/country_profiles-featured-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"COVID-19 country profiles\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/country_profiles-featured-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/country_profiles-featured-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/country_profiles-featured-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/country_profiles-featured-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/country_profiles-featured.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n            <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n              \n              <div class=\"description\">\n                \n\n<p>Get an overview of energy for any country on a single page.</p>\n\n\n              </div>\n            </div>\n        </a>\n      </div>\n\n      <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card  with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n        <a href=\"https://github.com/owid/energy-data\">\n            <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/download_dataset-featured-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"download complete COVID-19 dataset\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/download_dataset-featured-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/download_dataset-featured-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/download_dataset-featured-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/download_dataset-featured-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/01/download_dataset-featured.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n            <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n              \n              <div class=\"description\">\n                \n\n<p>Download our complete dataset of energy metrics on GitHub.  It&#8217;s open-access and free for anyone to use.</p>\n\n\n              </div>\n            </div>\n        </a>\n      </div>\n\n      <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card  with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n        <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access\">\n            <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-access-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-access-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-access-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-access-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-access-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-access.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n            <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n              \n              <div class=\"description\">\n                \n\n<p>See how access to electricity and clean cooking fuels vary across the world.</p>\n\n\n              </div>\n            </div>\n        </a>\n      </div>\n\n      <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card  with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n        <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/energy-production-consumption\">\n            <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-production-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-production-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-production-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-production-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-production-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-production.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n            <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n              \n              <div class=\"description\">\n                \n\n<p>Explore long-term changes in energy production and consumption across the world.</p>\n\n\n              </div>\n            </div>\n        </a>\n      </div>\n\n      <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card  with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n        <a href=\"https://owid.cloud/energy-mix\">\n            <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-mix-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-mix-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-mix-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-mix-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-mix-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Energy-mix.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n            <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n              \n              <div class=\"description\">\n                \n\n<p>How much of our energy comes from fossil fuels, renewables and nuclear energy? See the breakdown of the energy mix.</p>\n\n\n              </div>\n            </div>\n        </a>\n      </div>\n\n      <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card  with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n        <a href=\"https://owid.cloud/electricity-mix\">\n            <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Electricity-Mix-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Electricity-Mix-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Electricity-Mix-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Electricity-Mix-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Electricity-Mix-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Electricity-Mix.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n            <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n              \n              <div class=\"description\">\n                \n\n<p>Explore the breakdown of the electricity mix and how this is changing.</p>\n\n\n              </div>\n            </div>\n        </a>\n      </div>\n\n      <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card  with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n        <a href=\"https://owid.cloud/fossil-fuels\">\n            <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Fossil-Fuels-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Fossil-Fuels-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Fossil-Fuels-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Fossil-Fuels-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Fossil-Fuels-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Fossil-Fuels.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n            <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n              \n              <div class=\"description\">\n                \n\n<p>See the long-term changes in coal, oil and gas production and consumption.</p>\n\n\n              </div>\n            </div>\n        </a>\n      </div>\n\n      <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card  with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n        <a href=\"https://owid.cloud/renewable-energy\">\n            <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Renewable-Energy-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Renewable-Energy-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Renewable-Energy-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Renewable-Energy-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Renewable-Energy-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Renewable-Energy.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n            <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n              \n              <div class=\"description\">\n                \n\n<p>How quickly are countries scaling up the production of renewable technologies? Explore the data.</p>\n\n\n              </div>\n            </div>\n        </a>\n      </div>\n\n      <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card  with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n        <a href=\"https://owid.cloud/nuclear-energy\">\n            <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Nuclear-Energy-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Nuclear-Energy-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Nuclear-Energy-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Nuclear-Energy-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Nuclear-Energy-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/02/Nuclear-Energy.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n            <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n              \n              <div class=\"description\">\n                \n\n<p>Explore the long-term changes in nuclear energy production across the world.</p>\n\n\n              </div>\n            </div>\n        </a>\n      </div>\n\n      <div class=\"wp-block-owid-card  with-image\" data-no-lightbox>\n        <a href=\"http://ourworldindata.org/transport\">\n            <figure><img width=\"768\" height=\"404\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/09/transport-thumbnail-768x404.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/09/transport-thumbnail-768x404.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/09/transport-thumbnail-400x210.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/09/transport-thumbnail-800x421.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/09/transport-thumbnail-150x79.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2021/09/transport-thumbnail.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" /></figure>\n            <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n              \n              <div class=\"description\">\n                \n\n<p>Explore trends in transport technologies and emissions across the world.</p>\n\n\n              </div>\n            </div>\n        </a>\n      </div>\n\n\t</div>",
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    "modified": "2023-08-23T10:28:20",
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    "authors_name": [
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