While the past two years have been abysmal in more ways than one, they haven’t stopped renewables from continuing their meteoric growth, according to research from climate and energy think tank Ember.
A dazzling progression
As the world recovered from the first year of the pandemic Covid-19, economies were eager to reopen, and demand for electricity surged. Part of this increase has been covered by coal, which has seen its strongest growth since 1985, but renewables have also risen to the challenge. While established sources, such as hydro and nuclear, remained stable in 2021, new entrants (wind and solar) grew. the band Ember determined that they covered 10% of global electricity demand last year, or 29% of the observed increase.
It turns out that three countries in particular have distinguished themselves in this field, managing to switch more than 10% of their electricity consumption from fossil fuels to clean and renewable energies.
With a relatively cold and humid climate, the Netherlands experienced a growth in wind and solar energy, showing that a high rate of sunshine is not essential for the latter to work. the Vietnam encouraged the deployment of solar panels and compensated households for injecting additional energy into the grid, while in Australiafalling renewable energy costs have contributed to a significant reduction in the use of coal.
“Clear signs show that the global electricity transition is on track”
” Even as coal and power emissions reach historic highs, there are clear signs that the global electric transition is on track “, highlighted Dave Jonesanalyst at Ember. ” Wind and solar power grids around the world and can provide the majority of the clean electricity needed to phase out all fossil fuels, while helping to increase energy security. »
According to Emberthe persistence of high gas prices in the context of the war between the Russia and theUkraine implies a real risk of a return to coal, threatening the goal of limiting the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.
“ Leaders are just beginning to realize the need to move quickly to 100% clean electricity », concludes Jones.
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