posts: 36046
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| 36046 | Is the world making progress in decarbonizing energy? | untitled-reusable-block-227 | wp_block | publish | <!-- 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 --> | {
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2020-08-21 09:09:30 | 2024-02-16 14:23:00 | [
null
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2020-08-21 10:09:47 | 2024-01-31 12:57:53 | {} |
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"/> | {
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"content": "\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"
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