The world has set a record: of all electricity generated in 2021, 10% came from wind and solar energy, and clean sources accounted for 38% of total energy supply – even surpassing coal.
The data are from a report published this Wednesday (30) by Ember. O think tank The climate review found that 50 countries were generating more than 10% of their energy from wind and solar energy, with the fastest transformations taking place in the Netherlands, Australia and Vietnam.
These countries have switched about a tenth of their energy from fossil fuels to wind and solar power in the last two years alone. Ten others generated more than 25% of their energy from wind and solar, led by Denmark with 52%.
The findings come at a time when the world is facing an energy crisis, both due to the economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian war in Ukraine, which forced countries, mainly European, to seek alternative energy sources to oil and gas. russians.
The report found that solar and wind power could grow fast enough to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrialization levels, a threshold that scientists warn the world must stay below to avoid some of the impacts. most dramatic aspects of the climate crisis.
This would require the 10-year average compound growth rate of 20% to be maintained through 2030.
Solar generation increased by 23% globally in 2021, while wind supply increased by 14% over the same period. Together, both renewables accounted for 10.3% of total global electricity generation, up 1% from 2020, Ember data showed.
“If these trends can be replicated globally and sustained, the energy sector will be on track for the 1.5 degree target,” Ember said in his report.
The report included data from 209 countries spanning the period 2000 to 2020. For 2021, it added data from 75 countries.
The main issue that is currently slowing the rate of growth is local restrictions such as permission, and if governments are to drive growth they need to address issues that slow deployment, said Ember global leader Dave Jones.
Despite gains in wind and solar, however, coal-fired power generation also saw its fastest growth since at least 1985, up 9% in 2021 to 10,042 terawatt hours (TWh), or 59% of the total increase in demand, according to the report.
This came in a year of rapid demand recovery, as 2021 saw the largest recorded annual increase of 1,414 TWh in global electricity demand in 2021, up 5.4% and the equivalent of adding a new India to global demand, they said.
“We’re getting close to the break-even point where wind and solar can cover the new electricity demand, but we’re not there yet. If we maintain the growth rates that we see, we will be there soon,” Jones said.
Gas generation, on the other hand, only increased by 1% in 2021. But the general increase in the use of fossil fuels has pushed carbon dioxide emissions to an all-time high, above the record set in 2018.
The biggest increase in demand for coal was recorded in China, up 13% in 2021 compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, the data showed.
The country largely relies on coal for power production, but it also passed the one-tenth milestone for wind and solar power generation for the first time in 2021, along with six other countries, according to the report.
China “is installing not only record levels of wind and solar, but also record levels of clean electricity such as hydro, nuclear and biopower, which means its coal generation will start to decline,” Jones said.
“What is not clear is how quickly this will be,” he added.
China plans to continue to use coal as a vital part of its energy strategy as it seeks to balance economic stability with its long-term climate goals.
Source: CNN Brasil

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