
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has unveiled a compelling narrative of progress in its latest analysis, revealing that without the integration of electric vehicles (EVs), and the adoption of solar, wind, and nuclear energy, the global emissions spike over the past five years would have tripled.
The IEA’s annual report on global energy-related CO2 emissions, coupled with the debut of its Clean Energy Market Monitor series, offers a comprehensive look at the state of clean energy and its profound effects on the world’s energy markets.
Renewables curbed emissions rise in 2024
A Mixed Bag for E and Renewables year witnessed a bitters development in the realm of energy-related emissions. On one hand, there was an uptick in emissions; on the other, the robust growth of clean energy technologies ensured that this increase was less pronounced than the previous year, despite a surge in overall energy demand.
Emissions climbed by 410 million tonnes, marking a 1.1% increase in 2024, as opposed to the 490 million tonne rise in 2022. This escalation pushed emissions to an unprecedented 37.4 billion tonnes.
A notable dip in hy, triggered by severe droughts in the US, China, and other nations, contributed to over 40% of the emissions surge in 2024. This shortfall led countries to heavily rely on fossil fuels. Without this hy deficit, emissions from electricity generation would have seen a decline, significantly reducing the overall growth in energy-related emissions.
Despite economic growth, advanced economies experienced a historic drop in emissions in 2024, reaching a nadir unseen in half a century. Coal demand plummeted to levels last observed in the early 20th century.
downturn in emissions among developed nations can be attributed to a potent mix of aggressive renewable energy deployment, a shift from coal to gas, enhancements in energy efficiency, and a moderation in industrial output, as per the IEA’s findings.
For the first time, low-emission sources like renewables and nuclear accounted for at least half of the electricity generated in advanced economies last year.
Clean energy’s impact over the last 5 years
The Five-Year Influence of Clean Energy Between 2019 and 2024, the expansion of clean energy outpaced that of fossil fuels twofold. The IEA’s analysis indicates that the clean energy advancements made in the last five years have significantly curbed the demand for fossil fuels, setting a solid foundation for hastening the energy transition in the current decade.
The integration of wind and solar power into global electricity grids since 2019 has successfully averted coal consumption on a scale comparable to the combined electricity sectors of India and Indonesia. It has also made a dent in the annual demand for natural gas, equivalent to the pre-conf gas exports from Russia to the EU.
The burgeoning EV market, which represented 20% of new car sales worldwide in 2024, has been instrumental in preventing oil demand from surpassing pre-pand levels in terms of energy content.
IEA executive director Fatih Birol reflected on the resilience of the clean energy transition, stating, “In the face of a pandemic, an energy crisis, and geopolitical turmoil, the clean energy transition has been put to the test over the past five years – and it has proven its robust. Rather than being dera, we’ve observed the opposite effect in numerous economies, reinforcing the drive towards cleaner, more secure energy systems.”