A recent report from climate think tank Ember has revealed a record-setting 30% of the world’s electricity was generated from renewable energy sources in 2023. Experts said this milestone now sets the stage for a potential global decline in fossil fuel usage, with projections indicating that this shift could occur as early as 2024.
“In this decisive decade for the climate, it is the beginning of the end of the fossil age,” said Małgorzata Wiatros-Motyka, a senior electricity analyst at Ember. “We are entering the clean power era. The stage is set for wind and solar to achieve a meteoric rise to the top. Clean electricity will reshape the global economy, from transport to industry and beyond.”
While energy-related greenhouse gas emissions reached a new record high a year ago, the power was produced more efficiently than ever before. The amount of carbon pollution produced per unit of electricity has reached unprecedented lows, signaling progress in decarbonizing the global power sector.
The rise of renewables has also contributed to a slowdown in the proliferation of fossil fuels, with their growth rate decreasing by almost two-thirds over the past decade. Over half of the world’s nations have already surpassed their peak in fossil fuel-generated electricity by at least five years, helping to drive this drop off of more carbon intensive energy sources.
“Not many people realize just how many countries’ power sectors are already well into a phase of fossil decline,” said Dave Jones, a global insights lead at Ember. “We are on the cusp of a new era of fossil decline in the global power sector.”
Despite these achievements, Ember emphasizes that there is still much work to be done in the transition to renewable energy. The think tank advocates for a tripling of global renewable capacity by 2030, a goal that surpasses even the targets previously proposed by the United Nations.
“Tripling renewables and doubling efficiency will deliver 85% of the cuts in unabated fossil fuels required by 2030,” Ember said in its report. “By 2035, renewables and efficiency will alone more than halve total CO2 emissions, unlocking a fossil fuel phaseout.”
This ambitious target reflects concerns that existing pollutants in the atmosphere will continue to have adverse environmental effects, even as fossil fuel usage declines. Scientists caution that even if greenhouse gas emissions were slashed to zero today, the planet would continue to warm for years due to the damage already inflicted on the environment.