Report Review by Muhammad Hammad

This edition of the Global Energy Review is the first comprehensive depiction of the trends in 2024 across the entire energy sector. It covers data for all fuels and technologies, all regions and major countries, and energy-related carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions.

Global trends

Different elements of the world’s energy system saw very different growth rates in 2024, reflecting the impact of short-term factors and deeper structural trends. Global energy demand grew by 2.2% in 2024, a notably faster rate than the annual average of 1.3% seen between 2013 and 2023. This uptick was partly due to the effect of extreme weather, which we estimate added 0.3 percentage points to the 2.2% growth. Despite this, energy demand grew more slowly than the global economy, which expanded by 3.2% in 2024, close to its long-term average.

Global energy demand was impacted by extreme temperatures in 2024, the warmest year recorded, surpassing the previous record set in 2023. Global cooling degree days (a measure of cooling needs) were 6% higher in 2024 than in 2023, and 20% higher than the long-term average between 2000 and 2020. Regions with high cooling demand were particularly affected, including China, India, and the United States.

In addition to driving cooling demand, temperature trends can also impact electricity generation, including from hydropower. In all, we estimate that weather effects contributed about 15% of the overall increase in global energy demand.

The effects were higher for electricity, coal, and natural gas consumption, as electricity demand is directly impacted by cooling, while coal and gas stepped in to meet higher electricity demand in several regions. We estimate that temperature effects contributed around 20% to the increase in electricity and natural gas demand and drove the entire increase in coal demand. For CO₂ emissions, weather effects contributed around half of the 2024 increase.

Oil

Growth in global oil demand slowed markedly in 2024, with consumption rising by 0.8% to 193 EJ after jumping by 1.9% in 2023. This reflected the end of the post-pandemic mobility rebound, slower industrial growth, and the increasing impact of electric vehicles. This 0.8% increase in demand – below the pre-pandemic growth rate of over 1% in the decade to 2019 – was closely in line with the IEA’s first forecast for 2024 set out in June 2023, which noted that structural macroeconomic trends would reassert themselves as Covid pandemic effects eased. Oil’s share of total energy demand fell below 30% for the first time, 50 years after peaking at 46%.

Natural Gas

Natural gas demand in emerging markets and developing economies in Asia expanded by around 6% in 2024, accounting for nearly 40% of the incremental global gas demand. This strong increase was primarily driven by China and India. Both gas markets displayed high growth rates, supported by relatively low LNG prices during the first half of the year and widespread heatwaves in the second and third quarters of 2024.

China’s natural gas demand increased by over 7%, although demand growth turned negative in the last two months of the year. In India, natural gas demand increased by 10%, supported by a healthy macroeconomic environment, expanding natural gas grids, and higher gas-based power generation needs due to high temperatures.

Coal

Global coal demand grew by 1.2% in 2024 in energy terms, rising by around 67 million tons of coal equivalent (Mtce) (or in physical terms by 1.4% or 123 million tons). The growth rate has been declining since the strong rebound in 2021 following the end of COVID-19 lockdowns in many countries.

Electricity

Global electricity demand increased by 4.3% in 2024, a step change from the 2.5% growth seen in 2023. The average pace of electricity demand growth from 2010 to 2023 was 2.7%, double the rate of total energy demand growth over the same period. Electrification picked up across sectors, raising electricity demand in most major economies in 2024.

Technology: Electric Vehicles

Electric car sales continued to rise globally in 2024, increasing by more than 25% to more than 17 million units, up from below 14 million units in 2023. EV sales accounted for over 20% of all car sales in 2024.

China was the leading driver of growth, accounting for almost two-thirds of global electric car sales in 2024. The country’s electric vehicle sales experienced an impressive annual growth rate of nearly 40%. A large share of this growth came from plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), where sales saw an 80% increase, compared with a nearly 20% rise in battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

The United States experienced sales growth of over 10%, largely driven by the release of new electric vehicle models and the availability of EV tax credits, which provided financial aid to consumers.

Electric car sales in the European Union fell by 6%, in large part due to decreased sales in Germany, where purchase subsidies were removed at the end of 2023. In contrast, EV sales in the United Kingdom surged, driven by the Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate. Emerging markets and developing economies outside China witnessed a significant 80% annual increase in EV sales.

Technology: Solar PV and Wind

In 2024, global annual renewable capacity additions surged by an estimated 25% to around 700 GW, marking the 22nd consecutive year that renewables have set new records for expansion. Solar PV accounted for over three-quarters of renewable capacity additions, followed by wind (17%) and hydropower (4%), with bioenergy, geothermal, concentrating solar power, and marine making up the remainder.

Technology: Nuclear

Globally, there were nine construction starts of nuclear reactors in 2024, 50% more than in 2023. When completed, they are expected to have a total capacity of 11 GW. China began construction of six nuclear reactors in 2024 (all of Chinese design) – one of the highest numbers of starts in the country ever, and extending its market leadership in terms of construction. Pakistan began construction of one reactor in 2024, the first Generation III+ design of Chinese origin used outside of China. Egypt and Russia each began constructing one nuclear reactor in 2024, both of Russian design. Over the past five years, all nuclear construction starts have used either Chinese or Russian designs.

CO₂ Emissions

Total energy-related CO₂ emissions increased by 0.8% in 2024, hitting an all-time high of 37.8 Gt CO₂. This rise contributed to record atmospheric CO₂ concentrations of 422.5 ppm in 2024, around 3 ppm higher than 2023 and 50% higher than pre-industrial levels.

In 2024, CO₂ emissions from fuel combustion grew by around 1% or 357 Mt CO₂, while emissions from industrial processes declined by 2.3% or 62 Mt CO₂. Emissions growth was lower than global GDP growth (+3.2%), restoring the decades-long trend of decoupling emissions growth from economic growth, which had been disrupted in 2021.This edition of the Global Energy Review is the first comprehensive depiction of the trends in 2024 across the entire energy sector. It covers data for all fuels and technologies, all regions and major countries, and energy-related carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions.