On Thursday, the Energy Institute in collaboration with  KPMG and Karney released the 73th edition of the annual report entitled Statistical Review of World Energy. For the first time, the document presented “full global energy data for 2023.”

According to the co-authors, 2023 was “another year of highs in our energy-hungry world:  record consumption of fossil fuels and record emissions from energy, but also record generation from renewables.” 

Emissions from energy generation and industrial processes increased by 2,1% exceeding the previous record set in 2022. Furthermore, energy-related emissions passed the 40 GtCO2 level, for the first time while global energy consumption reached a record high of 620 Exajoules, up 2% on the previous year.

Also noticeable is the coal use in India and China compared to other regions in the world.  While consumption in both Europe and North America has been declining constantly over the past decade, China remains by a large margin the biggest consumer, accounting for 56% of the world’s total use. Meanwhile, India “exceeded the combined consumption of Europe and North America for the first time ever,” noticed the authors.

Nonetheless, global power generation from renewable sources also reached a record level, pushed by solar and wind new capacities that reached a new high of 276 GW, a 67% increase compared to the previous year. 

 “In a year where we have seen the contribution of renewables reaching a new record high, ever-increasing global energy demand means the share coming from fossil fuels has remained virtually unchanged”, concluded Simon Virley from KPMG.