For the first time in the world, a third of electricity comes from renewable sources

In the global energy mix, renewable energy sources have gone from 19% in 2000 to over 30% in 2023, thanks to the increase in solar and wind energy, going from 0.2% in 2000 to 13.4% in 2023 .Thus, last year, the carbon intensity of global electricity generation reached a new historic low, 12% lower than the peak in 2007.The fifth Global Electricity Review by the Ember energy expert group was responsible for reporting these data.The document covers electricity data from 215 countries, as well as the latest 2023 data for 80 countries accounting for 92% of global electricity demand.For the first time - the report certified - the global energy system was able to count on almost a third of electricity generated from clean sources.

Inside the relationship we read that “the renewable energy revolution, led by solar and wind, is breaking all records and favoring increasingly cleaner electricity production” and that “the world is now at an inflection point where solar and wind not only slow the growth of emissions, but actually begin to push fossil generation into decline.”The research highlighted how solar energy has "maintained its status as the fastest growing source of electricity for the nineteenth consecutive year", overtaking wind and becoming the most important source of new electricity for the second consecutive year .Specifically, More than half of the global increase in solar and wind capacity has occurred in China, with total global solar generation growing by 23.2% and wind production increasing by 9.8%.The world's second highest share of solar energy is held by Greece, with 19%, followed by Hungary (18%) and the Netherlands (17%).Furthermore, according to what was certified by Ember, renewables represent as much as 44% of the electricity production of the European continent.As was agreed by over 100 countries at the United Nations climate change conference last December, the international goal is to increase the share of renewables by 2030 up to 60% of global electricity.

Within the research it is highlighted how to make theadvanced of renewable sources has been the widespread phenomenon of drought, which had an extremely impactful impact on China, India, Vietnam and Mexico, where 95% of the increase in coal production occurred in 2023.Due to this scenario, hydroelectric energy production recorded its lowest result in the last five years.Despite this, the report forecasts that the continued growth of renewables will see fossil fuel energy production fall by 2% in 2024 to less than 60% of global electricity production for the first time since 2000, when the first Ember data appeared.In fact, the Ember document states that “a permanent decline in the use of fossil fuels in the energy sector at a global level, which will lead to a decrease in emissions from the sector" is "now inevitable".«The increase in solar capacity that occurred during 2023 really opens up the possibility of reaching the objective set for renewables by 2030 and of triple the capacity promised at COP28said Dave Jones, director of Ember's Global Insights Program.

[by Stefano Baudino]