posts: 46725

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46725 How have the world’s energy sources changed over the last two centuries? global-energy-200-years post publish <!-- wp:columns --> <div class="wp-block-columns"><!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Today when we think about energy sources, a diverse mix comes to mind – coal, oil, gas, nuclear, hydropower, solar, wind, and biofuels. But a diverse energy system is a very recent phenomenon. Go back a couple of centuries and we see that we relied on only one or two key sources of energy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the chart we see global primary energy consumption dating back to the year 1800.{ref}This earlier data is sourced from 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>. Data from 1965 onwards comes from the latest release of BP’s <a href="https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html"><em>Statistical Review of World Energy</em></a>.{/ref}</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>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. With the Industrial Revolution came the staggering rise of coal. By the turn of the 20th century, around half of the world’s energy came from coal; and half still came from biomass.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Throughout the 1900s, the world adopted a broader range of sources. First oil, gas, then 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 stands out from this 200-year history of global energy use is that energy transitions have been very slow in the past. It has taken many decades – or even a century – for a particular energy source to become dominant. While this is true of the past, there are signs that this is changing. Some recent energy transitions happened very quickly. In the UK, for example, nearly two-thirds of <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/electricity-mix-uk?country=~GBR">electricity came from coal power</a> in 1990. By 2010, this had fallen to just below one-third. And in the decade that followed it fell to around 1%. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Historical energy transitions have been slow; but future transitions do not have to be.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --></div> <!-- /wp:column --> <!-- wp:column --> <div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-energy-substitution?country=~OWID_WRL" 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?country=","className":"is-style-thin"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>How do our long-term energy transitions look when we consider two additional components of energy: the work of animals and humans?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:owid/prominent-link --></div> <!-- /wp:column --></div> <!-- /wp:columns --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>Related</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:owid/prominent-link {"title":"","linkUrl":"https://ourworldindata.org/sources-global-energy","className":"is-style-thin"} /--> <!-- wp:owid/prominent-link {"title":"","linkUrl":"https://ourworldindata.org/decarbonizing-energy-progress","className":"is-style-thin"} /--> <!-- wp:owid/prominent-link {"title":"","linkUrl":"https://ourworldindata.org/energy","className":"is-style-thin"} /--> 
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                                "text": "Today when we think about energy sources, a diverse mix comes to mind \u2013 coal, oil, gas, nuclear, hydropower, solar, wind, and biofuels. But a diverse energy system is a very recent phenomenon. Go back a couple of centuries and we see that we relied on only one or two key sources of energy.",
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 2021-12-01 09:32:53 2024-02-16 14:22:52 1eUctOKGKWOui0IXQz07XQkxG1B3ySYI-rivnpfoN8cA 
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 Today when we think about energy sources, a diverse mix comes to mind – coal, oil, gas, nuclear, hydropower, solar, wind, and biofuels. But a diverse energy system is a very recent phenomenon. Go back a couple of centuries and we see that we relied on only one or two key sources of energy. In the chart we see global primary energy consumption dating back to the year 1800.{ref}This earlier data is sourced from 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/). 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} 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. With the Industrial Revolution came the staggering rise of coal. By the turn of the 20th century, around half of the world’s energy came from coal; and half still came from biomass. Throughout the 1900s, the world adopted a broader range of sources. First oil, gas, then 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 stands out from this 200-year history of global energy use is that energy transitions have been very slow in the past. It has taken many decades – or even a century – for a particular energy source to become dominant. While this is true of the past, there are signs that this is changing. Some recent energy transitions happened very quickly. In the UK, for example, nearly two-thirds of [electricity came from coal power](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/electricity-mix-uk?country=~GBR) in 1990. By 2010, this had fallen to just below one-third. And in the decade that followed it fell to around 1%. Historical energy transitions have been slow; but future transitions do not have to be. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-energy-substitution?country=~OWID_WRL"/> ##### Related chart ### Long-term energy transitions How do our long-term energy transitions look when we consider two additional components of energy: the work of animals and humans? https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/long-term-energy-transitions?country= ## Related ### https://ourworldindata.org/sources-global-energy ### https://ourworldindata.org/decarbonizing-energy-progress ### https://ourworldindata.org/energy 
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        "rendered": "\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p>Today when we think about energy sources, a diverse mix comes to mind \u2013 coal, oil, gas, nuclear, hydropower, solar, wind, and biofuels. But a diverse energy system is a very recent phenomenon. Go back a couple of centuries and we see that we relied on only one or two key sources of energy.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the chart we see global primary energy consumption dating back to the year 1800.{ref}This earlier data is sourced from 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>. Data from 1965 onwards comes from the latest release of BP\u2019s <a href=\"https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html\"><em>Statistical Review of World Energy</em></a>.{/ref}</p>\n\n\n\n<p>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. With the Industrial Revolution came the staggering rise of coal. By the turn of the 20th century, around half of the world\u2019s energy came from coal; and half still came from biomass.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Throughout the 1900s, the world adopted a broader range of sources. First oil, gas, then hydropower. It wasn\u2019t until the 1960s that nuclear energy was added to the mix. What are often referred to as \u2018modern renewables\u2019 \u2013 solar and wind \u2013 were only added much later, in the 1980s.What stands out from this 200-year history of global energy use is that energy transitions have been very slow in the past. It has taken many decades \u2013 or even a century \u2013 for a particular energy source to become dominant. While this is true of the past, there are signs that this is changing. Some recent energy transitions happened very quickly. In the UK, for example, nearly two-thirds of <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/electricity-mix-uk?country=~GBR\">electricity came from coal power</a> in 1990. By 2010, this had fallen to just below one-third. And in the decade that followed it fell to around 1%. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Historical energy transitions have been slow; but future transitions do not have to be.</p>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-energy-substitution?country=~OWID_WRL\" 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?country=</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 components of energy: the work of animals and humans?</p>\n\n</content>\n        <figure></figure>\n    </block></div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"/>\n\n\n\n<h4>Related</h4>\n\n\n    <block type=\"prominent-link\" style=\"is-style-thin\">\n        <link-url>https://ourworldindata.org/sources-global-energy</link-url>\n        <title></title>\n        <content></content>\n        <figure></figure>\n    </block>\n\n    <block type=\"prominent-link\" style=\"is-style-thin\">\n        <link-url>https://ourworldindata.org/decarbonizing-energy-progress</link-url>\n        <title></title>\n        <content></content>\n        <figure></figure>\n    </block>\n\n    <block type=\"prominent-link\" style=\"is-style-thin\">\n        <link-url>https://ourworldindata.org/energy</link-url>\n        <title></title>\n        <content></content>\n        <figure></figure>\n    </block>",
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