Despite the scaling up of renewable energy sources, global fossil fuel consumption and energy emissions hit all-time highs in 2023, according to the industry’s Statistical Review of World Energy report.
The report, published by the Energy Institute, KPMG, and Kearney, shows that overall global primary energy consumption reached a record high of 620 Exajoules (EJ), with emissions exceeding 40 gigatonnes of CO2 for the first time.
This growth in fossil fuel use could be a sticking point for the transition to lower-carbon energy as global temperature increases reach 1.5°C (2.7°F), the threshold beyond which scientists say impacts such as temperature rise, drought, and flooding will become more extreme.
Romain Debarre of consultancy Kearney said, “We hope that this report will help governments, world leaders and analysts move forward, clear-eyed about the challenge that lies ahead.”
The report noted shifting trends in fossil fuel use across different regions. In Europe, the fossil fuel share of energy fell below 70% for the first time since the industrial revolution. However, in economies in the Global South, economic development and improvements in quality of life continue to drive fossil fuel growth.
India, for example, saw almost all of its demand growth come from fossil fuels in 2023, while China’s fossil fuel use rose 6% to a new high. Nonetheless, China also accounted for over half of global additions in renewable energy generation last year, which KPMG’s Simon Virley described as “remarkable.”
The report’s findings underscore the ongoing challenge of balancing the world’s growing energy needs with the imperative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change.