An Energy Institute Statistical Review reveals that energy use is at all time highs, with coal and oil pushing fossil fuels and their emissions to record levels and China’s per capita consumption overtaking Europe for the first time.

The Energy Institute (EI) and co-authors KPMG and Kearney have the 73rd annual edition of the Statistical Review of World Energy, presenting for the first time full global energy data for 2023.

The Review notes that global primary energy consumption overall was at a record absolute high, up 2 per cent on the previous year to 620 Exajoules (EJ). With this, global fossil fuel consumption reached a record high, up 1.5 per cent to 505 EJ (driven by coal up 1.6 per cent and oil up 2 per cent. Gas was flat). As a share of the overall mix they were at 81.5 per cent, marginally down from 82 per cent last year. So, a smaller slice of a bigger pie.

With that comes the fact that emissions from energy increased by 2 per cent, exceeding 40Gt of CO2 for the first time.

Despite this, there is some better news with dependence on fossil fuels in major advanced economies likely to have peaked, and solar and wind pushed global renewable electricity generation to its own record level, up 13 per cent to a record high of 4,748TWh and 15 per cent of primary energy use (including hydro).

Energy hungry China, despite increasing fossil fuel use, did also add 55 per cent of all renewable generation additions in 2023, more than the rest of the world combined.

EI chief executive Nick Wayth CEng FEI said: “The progress of the transition is slow, but the big picture masks diverse energy stories playing out across different geographies. In advanced economies we observe signs of demand for fossil fuels peaking, contrasting with economies in the Global South for whom economic development and improvements in quality of life continue to drive fossil growth.”

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