IEA report: Global electricity demand growing faster than renewables

Renewables are expanding quickly but not enough to satisfy a strong rebound in global electricity demand this year resulting in a sharp rise in the use of coal power that risks pushing carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity sector to record levels next year a new report from the International Energy Agency IEA said on ThursdayAfter falling by about one per cent in 2020 due to the impacts of the Covid19 pandemic global electricity demand is set to grow by close to five per cent in 2021 and four per cent in 2022 driven by the global economic recovery according to the latest edition of the IEAs semiannual Electricity Market ReportThe majority of the increase in electricity demand is expected to come from the Asia Pacific region primarily China and IndiaBased on current policy settings and economic trends electricity generation from renewables including hydropower wind and solar PV is on track to grow strongly around the world over the next two years by eight per cent in 2021 and by more than six per cent in 2022But even with this strong growth renewables will only be able to meet around half the projected increase in global electricity demand over those two years according to the new IEA reportFossil fuelbased electricity generation is set to cover 45 per cent of additional demand in 2021 and 40 per cent in 2022 with nuclear power accounting for the restAs a result CO2 emissions from the electricity sector which fell in both 2019 and 2020 are forecast to increase by 35 per cent in 2021 and by 25 per cent in 2022 which would take them to an alltime highRenewable growth has exceeded demand growth in only two years 2019 and 2020 But in those cases it was largely due to exceptionally slow or declining demand suggesting that renewables outpacing the rest of the electricity sector is not yet the new normalRenewable power is growing impressively in many parts of the world but it still isnt where it needs to be to put us on a path to reaching netzero emissions by midcentury said Keisuke Sadamori the IEA Director of Energy Markets and SecurityAs the economy rebounds after the pandemic weve seen a surge in electrical generation from fossil fuels To shift to a sustainable trajectory we need to massively step up investment in clean energy technologies especially renewables and energy efficiencyIn the pathway set out in IEAs recent Roadmap to Net Zero by 2050 nearly threequarters of global emissions reductions between 2020 and 2025 take place in the electricity sectorTo achieve this decline the pathway calls for coalfired electricity generation to fall by more than six per cent a yearHowever coalfired electricity generation is set to increase by almost five per cent this year and by a further three per cent in 2022 potentially reaching an alltime high according to the Electricity Market Report Gasfired generation which declined two per cent in 2020 is expected to increase by one per cent in 2021 and by nearly two per cent in 2022The growth of gas lags that of coal because it plays a smaller role in the fastgrowing economies in the Asia Pacific region and it faces competition from renewables in Europe and North AmericaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeverAlso Read Basics of Beard Care Experts suggest ways to maintain facial hair this monsoon