Energy demand surge in 2024 met largely by renewables shows report

According to the latest report from the IEA, global energy demand grew at a faster than average pace in 2024 driven by a nearly 1,100TWh rise in the consumption of electricity around the world.

The report, Global Energy Review, also shows that 80% of the increase in global electricity generation in 2024 was provided by renewable sources and nuclear, which together contributed 40% of total generation for the first time.

According to the report, new renewable power capacity installed worldwide rose to around 700GW in 2024, setting a new annual record for the 22nd consecutive year.

The significant increase in the world’s electricity use last year, states the report, was driven by record global temperatures, which boosted demand for cooling in many countries, as well as increased electrification and digitalisation.

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IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, commented on the report: “...Electricity use is growing rapidly, pulling overall energy demand along with it to such an extent that it is enough to reverse years of declining energy consumption in advanced economies. The result is that demand for all major fuels and energy technologies increased in 2024, with renewables covering the largest share of the growth, followed by natural gas. And the strong expansion of solar, wind, nuclear power and EVs is increasingly loosening the links between economic growth and emissions.”

The report noted that emerging and developing economies accounted for over 80% of global energy demand growth, although advanced economies also saw a notable return to growth in energy demand after several years of declines, with demand rising by almost 1%.

Key report findings:

• Natural gas demand rose by 115 billion cubic metres (bcm), as a result of higher power consumption,
• Oil demand grew more slowly, rising by 0.8% in 2024,
• Global coal demand rose by 1% in 2024, half the rate of increase seen the previous year,
• CO2 emissions in advanced economies fell by 1.1% to 10.9 billion tonnes in 2024 – a level last seen 50 years ago,
• The majority of emissions growth in 2024 came from emerging and developing economies other than China.

The IEA explains in the report that due to continued rapid adoption of clean energy technologies, rise in CO2 emissions was limited. Also, there is a continued decoupling showing an increased decoupling from limited the annual rise in energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which are increasingly decoupling from economic growth, according to the report.

“From slowing global oil demand growth and rising deployment of electric cars to the rapidly expanding role of electricity and the increasing decoupling of emissions from economic growth, many of the key trends the IEA has identified ahead of the curve are showing up clearly in the data for 2024,” Dr Birol said.